Question about pellets

[wpjson]

At an auction I bought a box of BP stuff. The previous owner had a couple of in-lines. There are several packages of Pryodex pellets, 50 grain, 50 cal. It said for in-lines. Can I shoot them in my percussion? I would think I could, but thought I would check.

 

[BrownBear]

I tried some, and they worked most of the time. But use them up fast. Best of all, drop a little primer charge of powder down the bore before loading them. Just be sure to use them up quick. At least in my wet climate, moisture in the air degraded them quickly. I'd never rely on them for anything more than plinking, but when they're free and they go bang most of the time, why not burn them up rather than just throw them away.

 

[mooman76]

You might want to use magnum caps too if you can get them. I've never fired them myself. Never liked the fact that you were stuck with whatever grain the pellet already is plus the cost. Good luck to you.

 

[Zonie]

If your gun has one of the typical scroll or snail breeches with a long fire channel connecting the nipple with the breech your luck with pellets will be rather marginal.

The flame from the cap will cool considerably as it passes from the bottom of the nipple to the rear of the pellet.

If your gun is a custom percussion sidelock with the flame channel in the drum going right thru the side of the barrel, the pellets may not work at all.

Pellets have a ring or layer of real black powder bonded to the rear of them to initiate ignition.

With the flame coming in from the side, ahead of that ring with these side drum guns, the black powder ring/layer may not get heated at all.

If your gun has the snail/scroll type breech, putting some loose powder in under the pellet like Brown Bear suggested might help a lot.

If you use a double pellet load, don't be surprised to see the upper pellet exit the barrel and go flying down range like a smoky tracer bullet.
The front pellet doesn't always ignite to add to the total powder load. :rotf:

 

[sidelock]

I have never even seen pellets so know nothing about them. I was wondering if all inline shoots use them, and wouldn't they better served with real BP? Not that I would like to help users of such contraptions I'll stick to my sidelock and be happy.

 

[curator]

wpjson,
Brown bear has good advice. A small charge of real black powder down into the breech first will allow the pellet to ignite. They do work best under a heavy bullet. They also make for fun "pyrotechnics" if you are not in a fire-prone area or shoot over a large lake (flaming tracer) . Truthfully, they don't ignite properly in a sidelock, but you may find a formula that works for you. Most need a hotter flame and ignition down the center tube to work well. They also make good charcoal grill igniters if you run out of ideas.