Stand up brass tube flask,safe on shooting bench?

[Prairieofthedog]

This may sound like a stupid question,but I want to make sure.I just got a brass tube stand up powder flask.It has a spout and a cutoff valve.Is it safe from errant sparks while shooting with it on the bench,being it has the cutoff valve? I always load from a measure,and know it is not a good idea to pour from a flask directly in to the barrel.Thanks.

 

[Kansas Jake]

At the range we shoot at, loading done behind the line at a bench and then capped or primed at the line. It is unlikely the brass tube would catch a spark, (and I have several of them) but I would be hesitant to use one at the same bench I am firing from. I've never heard of one going off, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

It has a spout and a cutoff valve

IF you are placing the flask on the shooting bench...then you are betting that brass valve over time is not going to get dirty, and jam open, or not wear and always seal, and that an errant spark won't end up making that into a hand grenade.

Have you thought about going to the hardware store and simply buying a cork to put into the mouth of the spout, when you're not loading? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

LD

 

[Prairieofthedog]

IF you are placing the flask on the shooting bench...then you are betting that brass valve over time is not going to get dirty, and jam open, or not wear and always seal, and that an errant spark won't end up making that into a hand grenade.

Have you thought about going to the hardware store and simply buying a cork to put into the mouth of the spout, when you're not loading? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

LD

I have a .38 special cartridge that fits on the spout,if I remember to put it on.Like you said the gate on the "Safety" valve sticking open could be a problem.

 

[bang]

My range has walls each side of shooters area. If I'm there and no one is next to me I put mine behind the wall next to me. Other wise I lay it on its side and cover with towel.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Should be safe and in accordance with most (e.g. NMLRA) rules. Or just lay it on it's side and don't fret.

 

[Mulebrain]

You are fine, however open powder containers are a no go

 

[Griz44Mag]

I leave mine on the loading table.
After dispensing into the measure, I point it up and open the valve again and give it a quick shake. Anything in the tube will fall back into the flask. I lay it down on the left side of the bench, away from the right side of the gun where cap or flintlock side blast is most prevelent.
I have never seen an incident where a flask ignited but I can see where it might be an issue.
https://www.military.com/video/guns/rifles/black-powder-gun-torches-dude/1555469767001
At 5 seconds you can see the spark ignite an open box of black powder pellets on the bench.
Too bad it was his eyebrows that got scorched instead of his reproductive system.

 

[user 34300]

I put my measure over the flask spout. It also make it easy to find the measure later.

 

[Eddie2002]

I always have a small piece of towel on the bench to wipe my hands on. I lay my brass powder dispenser on it's side and toss the towel over it. I also make sure there's no powder in the dispenser tip after measuring the charge.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I put my measure over the flask spout. It also make it easy to find the measure later.

Some range officers will insist you do it that way.

 

[Dphar1950]

A brass tube powder flask, unless the tube wall is VERY thin, is basically a hand grenade. There is a reason the old flasks were made of such thin material and the seams soft soldered. Heavy material, strong flasks, contains the pressure until it is high enough to burst it. A thin, weak, container will produce a "whoosh" a strong container "bang" or "boom". Bang or boom is more dangerous. Whoosh is bad enough but will only produce burns on exposed skin not serious shrapnel or blast injury. The old sheet metal cans and the current plastic bottles are so weak that they produce little explosive force. I have seen swiss powder bottles that were tested in a case. A center bottle in the case was fused and ignited. It did not set of the rest of the case just scattered them somewhat and scorched the labels. While I did not witness this I was told the story by the powder dealer who was selling the scorched bottles of powder from a test by a distributor. If you put a pound of powder in a stronger metal container, like brass or steel pipe and seal it, this basically makes a grenade.
I always load from the horn and pouch. Unless doing chunk gun then the loading is so far for the firing point its not an issue but I still use a horn... Most modern made flask head are so sloppily made there is not real seal. Some of the vintage English flasks had double valves to give two layers of protection below the spout.