What to use for a powder measure?

[pwbsmokey]

I would say a adjustable powder measurement is a good investment works for all different calibers and if you stay shooting muzzleloaders long enough odds are you gonna have a few different ones .But that’s just my one cent

It's good for working up a load

 

[Brownwl]

no. as long as you have a scale and can weigh the powder or how would you know where to mark it???.. it takes time to work up a load for your rifle. an adjustable powder measure is much easier to use than a scale.cheaper too. also what are you counting????

Black rifle powder is measured by volume, not weight.

 

[springfield art]

BTW, the Dixie catalog has a little graph in the technicals section showing what amount of black powder is held in common empty shell casings; example, the .30 carbine holds 30 grains, that sort of thing. .45ACP, /45-70, etc., shows amount in grains they hold. I always found it interesting, though a true muzzleloader will want authentic measures, etc. Volume, yes.

 

[TDM]

I never have shot in formal competition or done any long range (200+) BP shooting. So all my measurements are strictly by volume. Never weighed one even out of curiosity. Perhaps if I did it would improve my accuracy. But I doubt I'll ever know.

 

[springfield art]

Black rifle powder is measured by volume, not weight.

Yes, volume.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

I never have shot in formal competition or done any long range (200+) BP shooting. So all my measurements are strictly by volume. Never weighed one even out of curiosity. Perhaps if I did it would improve my accuracy. But I doubt I'll ever know.

My brother used to shoot Long Rang BP all over the USA, at 1000 yds! LOL, I can't see half that far on my best day!!

 

[cositrike]

Most flasks have a removable nozzle that can be cut to a length that will accept powder charges.

There are several different nozzle lengths available, if the one on your flask isn't long enough.

In use, the thumb is placed to block the nozzle, with the nozzle pointed down - the valve is then activated to drop powder into the nozzle, then closed so the powder charge can be transferred into the muzzle, downbore.

I never load direct from a flask. Too risky in my opinion! Always use a separate charger

 

[BillKilgore]

These are my powder measures. The brass one is an old rifle round that holds 60 gr. The rattler holds 76 gr and the large antler holds 97 gr.

 

[user 49399]

The cap from this sharpie marker holds a little over 50 grains.

 

[TDM]

Well that's certainly different. Kudos!

 

[Eutycus]

Some empty shell casings, some copper

wire, a little JB Weld. I didnt have a solder gun at the time. The handles are knobs from the chains on a ceiling fan.All the ingredients dont make sparks either. Far from attractive but they work.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

Some empty shell casings, some copper View attachment 176311 wire, a little JB Weld. I didnt have a solder gun at the time. The handles are knobs from the chains on a ceiling fan.All the ingredients dont make sparks either. Far from attractive but they work.

I use one of these sometimes, They are very handy especially when using shot. Can measure both shot & powder.

 

[Eutycus]

Oh the round thing at bottom is a ball starter, homemade of course. That's one of the "good side effects" of this hobby, making things.

 

[user 49399]

Some store bought adjustable measures.

Some homemade wooden measures. Two 75gr, two 60gr and a 20gr.

Three more homemade measures. A 60gr bamboo measure, a 50gr deer antler measure and a 50gr elk antler measure.

 

[TDM]

I kinda like the sharpie cap better.

 

[Buckskinquin]

I've got a little brass flask for dispensing powder, but what should I use to actually measure it (it's a .54 so I'd say maybe 35 grains of GOEX FFF)? Are there devices for that or should I just get a small tube and start counting.

For everyone who was following my old thread about the antique rifle I found, it's not safe to shoot. It's making a lovely wall decoration next to my Hawken reproduction that I'm shooting this weekend.

Thanks a lot, really looking forward to getting shooting!

JH, If you want to get involved in BP shooting, invest in the proper accoutrements. Short cuts and “yeh, that’ll work” will bring you trouble and possibly danger. Find BP club or shooter and watch and ask questions. This is a great sport, Get what you need, material and knowledge and shoot often.

 

[TDM]

You can never have too many accoutrements. And this is an old photo.

 

[deerstalkert]

just as a cautionary tale. I am not trying to scare you away from this hobby/lifestyle/addiction but am going to post a friends post from another forum in an attempt to give you some idea of a don't do this.
A friend had a very bad accident at his shooting range this past weekend. First off, he is a very careful man in all of his shooting pursuits, seriously, but sometimes it's the little things that are our (his) undoing.

While shooting a new-to-him .54 Hawken percussion gun, a can of blackpowder exploded at less than arms length. A spark from the gun ignited the powder. It was standing open on the bench because he was charging his powder measure directly from the can for each shot, his protocol being to close the can after each charging. He dropped the can lid on the ground, but went ahead and fired the freshly prepped charge before bending down to retrieve it, leaving the container stand open. "I'll pick it up after this shot."

How can a percussion gun dispense such sparkage so as to cause the explosion?

Evidently, upon thorough investigation after the fact the gun was found to have its hammer at full cock. Hmmm, that shouldn't be, it should've been down in the fired position resting on the spent cap. Upon removing the nipple for cleaning the why-for became obvious - its vent hole had been reamed out to a very large diameter by a previous owner. The resultant magnified venting allowed an excessive amount of back-blast to channel back out into the atmosphere, throwing lots of hot flotsam and jetsam out and causing the hammer to fly back into full cock. One tiny bit of something, or a spark, made a perfect dive into the powder can. Boom.

It blew his shooting box 20 feet away, and scattered everything else to hell-and-gone. He himself is a very very very lucky man - he sustained 1st&2nd degree, and some 3rd degree, burns over his head and upper body. All hair - poof, gone. Clothes on fire. Scary (but good) part was his shooting glasses looked like they were raked through the coals of a campfire and then shot with a shotgun - but his eyes were A-ok. Luckily there was somebody with him who got him squared away and a trip to the ER got him fixed up (kind of). He's home and on the mend, but really rattled as you might imagine. (The gun is perfectly ok.)

Moral of the story: don't drill out the hole in a percussion rifle nipple, even if you think it might aid ignition for some reason; and don't ever leave containers of gunpowder stand open on the shooting bench. If you're having ignition issues, resolve them by other means.

 

[user 49399]

You can never have too many accoutrements. And this is an old photo.

That’s a fact.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

/concur