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Priming The Pan

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Is anyone priming the pan with black powder but using Triple Seven loose powder for the load in the barrel?
The short answer is No on the pan, I guess you can use it in the barrel. I use 777 in the 1860 Army only. It gives a better bang for the buck.
In the flinter only 3f down the gullet and 4f in the pan, always holy black.


Get a regulated pan charger, and 4f powder, One can will last a decade.
This is my pan charger, it is a repop of a Rev War British warrant pan charger. It has served me well since the 90s.
20221211_092704[1].jpg
 
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Ha! Watched a guy several years back use straight pyrodex. The hang fire was incredible! Had electronic earmuffs and could hear it for several seconds before I looked up. Guy did a great job of just holding steady as it popped and fizzed. There was smoke shooting out of the touch hole, too!
If my memory serves me correctly he said that the charge was left in from the previous season. Probably didn't help any.
I use it (777)in my pistol to get a little more punch for hunting. Add 10grns fffg then the sub.
 
I tried it just to see, as real BP was in very short supply locally.
Three shots in a T/C Hawken, PRB and 60 grains Triple Seven, went off without a hitch.
Mind you, I always plug the vent with a toothpick when loading, so I know there's no fouling blocking the ignition.

I still wouldn't hunt that way; I tried duplex loads, as some have suggested, with 30 grains of real fffg and50 grains of Pyro RS or 777 and got reliable ignition and good accuracy.
 
The way I look at it - 'wasting' a day at the range, go ahead with t7 loads. burn as much of it as you want. BUT when you go to the field, even for bunnies use BP. Not worth the hassle.
 
Here's what happens . 777 main load with 4 f in pan. Can you say hangfire ? Should be titled "How NOT to load a flintlock "


You got it right.Sad to see someone who obviously knows nothing to speak of about flintlocks and putting out a "how to" video. Gives a newcomer bad advise which in the long run can be dangerous. Too many things to list that are wrong with this video. At least he knows that it is not supposed to have the delayed fire! He had better have a solid rest and lots of time to make his shot on a deer.
 
Never used it.
People complain about Priming with 4F and not just using the main charge xF....complain about making it complicated, carrying multiple measures, horns, cans (bottles)....

Well, Tripole Seven alone in a flintlock won't cut it so they say "Mix it, it'll be fine".....SO now your gonna carry not two but Three grades and measures?

Put xx amount of xF down the barrel, grab the 3-7 and measure out xx amount and dump it down the barrel, don't shake it so you keep xF on the bottom, load patch and ball, prime pan with 4F from your other horn, use your extra set of arms and hands to put it all back - pull the trigger and wait...wait...

I will stick to Black Powder, it can be got; maybe not at the corner market, but it can be got (and made)

...hmmmm, are we allowed to talk about 'Home Made 3-7'??
 
Where do these people pick up bouncing the loading rod crap as proper loading technique and no rod guide use in the muzzle. Wood rods that pick up abrasive dirt are about as bad as fiberglass for ruining crowns with no muzzle rod guide protector.
Wood rods are acceptably for field loading while hunting but should be limited in their use as they pick up abrasive over time and wear out muzzle crowns.
 
I have lived in two states since I began muzzleloaders, not long as I didn't start until mid 90s.
I have NEVER had a store I could just drive to and buy BP over the counter.
My last two years in California however I did find a range where i could buy "One Pound Per Person - Must Use On Our Range" (but no one frisked us as we left ;)

My experience with 'Group Buys':
First you have to Wait for enough people to want to pitch in and order.
Then i began hearing (locally) a lot of complaint that the Group Leader (one with the Permit to make large orders) was Skimming powder from each pound before delivering it and claiming "It Settled During Shipping".
But some put it on a scale and found they were only getting 3/4 and some just 1/2 pound!??!
A lot of angry people, threats, name calling....didn't sound like anything I wanted involved with.

So I ordered my own from Graf & Sons!
Sure I had to take a day off from work to Sign for it....one time it came a day Early, UPS went next door and my neighbor signed....when I got home he brought to me and asked "WHAT did I just Sign for???" - I told him "Black Powder..." (he knew I did Reenactments)

So I just don't understand all this "I can't find BP locally so I am forced to use fake powder, no choice"

The state I live in now I can buy all the Fake stuff I want from just two blocks away....but NO Black Powder ANYWHERE. No where within 450 miles in either direction (Each way).
Sure I found a few pounds at a local Gun Show but even then we only get two shows a year (spring and fall) and other then one guy they try to Gouge the heck out of us (even unmentionable ammo for that matter - $65 to $85 for 50 rounds of .44??? I Won't Pay It!....besides, I have contacts $30 to $40 and that is still too high in my opinion)

So what I am getting at is: This is the Age of the Internet!
I envy those back east and mid west that can still buy BP at their local gas station, I envy those who can find Percussion caps at their local convenience stores....but so long as I have an Internet connection and a phone - Black Powder and Caps are just a few clicks or phone call away.
Sure, I have to pay shipping and hazmat....it is the penalty for living in a Nanny State I guess, so i save up and Pony up for as much as i can afford, then i don't need it for a while, so i save up for when i do.

I wonder if Real Mountain Men, Long Hunters, Frontiersman used to only buy one or two pounds at a time, and always had access to more just across town?
 
Where do these people pick up bouncing the loading rod crap as proper loading technique and no rod guide use in the muzzle. Wood rods that pick up abrasive dirt are about as bad as fiberglass for ruining crowns with no muzzle rod guide protector.
Wood rods are acceptably for field loading while hunting but should be limited in their use as they pick up abrasive over time and wear out muzzle crowns.

Where do these people pick up bouncing the loading rod crap as proper loading technique and no rod guide use in the muzzle. Wood rods that pick up abrasive dirt are about as bad as fiberglass for ruining crowns with no muzzle rod guide protector.
Wood rods are acceptably for field loading while hunting but should be limited in their use as they pick up abrasive over time and wear out muzzle crowns.
Remember the practice of freshing out barrels periodically in the old days. This was made necessary and caused by the practice of poor cleaning and loading with wood ram rods and no muzzle protection.
 

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