Question About Priming a Flintlock

swiss1911

swiss1911

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I've been shooting my flintlock rifle for some time now and it is great, but the only store in the area that sells black powder only had FFg for sale. So I figured I would just use the FFg for priming as well. It works, but it does prove unreliable after i have tried it quite a bit. So my question is, does crushing the powder increase the chance of ignition? I am starting to find that it does and if someone could clarify that for me before i go and spend money on priming powder that would be great.

Thanks.
 
One trick is to use two spoons to crush the powder. Put some in the bowl of one and work the other down on top.
 
Black powder is the same formula just different grain size so crushing ffg to ffffg is a perfect solution.

Just watch out for the "poof - no eyebrows! " That flash burn really stings.
 
Can do. I have put some powder in a film canister with a ball bearing and shook till it looked right to prime with myself.
 
When you use up the can you bought, make sure you get some 3F and use that as your main charge and priming moving forward. You will never have any issues with ignition again. Also, if you are not busy this weekend, come on out to the Saugeen Bluffs Maple Syrup Festival (March 25-26th). We have a living history/ black powder demonstration happening with various firearms and a cannon. More details here: https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1520620-Black-Powder-Event-(SW-Ontario)-March-25-amp-26-Saugeen-Bluffs-Maple-Syrup-Festival
 
neos said:
Can do. I have put some powder in a film canister with a ball bearing and shook till it looked right to prime with myself.
Click to expand...

I like that, the only thing that is maybe "remotely" possible is a static discharge? I could be completely wrong here though, hopefully.

If someone here can confirm, I may just use this method as it contains your powder.
 
I would discourage vigorous shaking. The "two spoons" crushing method sounds safer.

Small quantities, safety glasses are your friends.

Tyockell18 said:
I like that, the only thing that is maybe "remotely" possible is a static discharge? I could be completely wrong here though, hopefully.

If someone here can confirm, I may just use this method as it contains your powder.
Click to expand...
 
I always prime with 3F because I don't want to carry a priming horn and I don't notice any difference in speed of ignition. I have noticed that 2F gives a slower ignition time

cheers mooncoon
 
One thing you could try is to put some of your 2f into a jar and set it on something like your washing machine or other machine that vibrates. The fines will settle or rise and you can spoon them off or spoon off the coarser grains to put back in the bottle/can. Then you're left with more of a 3f to 4f grade you can use for priming.

What size bore is your flintlock? All the reading I've done suggests that the cross over for 3f to 2f is around .50 cal. But it's OK to go up to .54 with 3f. But any of the larger smoothbores really should be using 2f. Similarly some I know of use 2f down to .45 without an issue as well.
 
My flintlock is a .50 cal rifle with a very small lock (which is sometimes a pain). I feel that one of my problems is the small flint doesn't create enough sparks to ignite the small amount of powder in the pan. (It's a Pedersoli Kentucky rifle) The 2f is good in the rifle, haven't had any problems with the main charge.
 
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