I mostly agree. However just considering that powder blocking the flash hole could burn incompletely or produce carbon fouling and block the flash hole.
Flash in the pan
- Thread starter ModelA
- Start date
If the priming charge ignites reliably - something is preventing hot gasses from getting to the main charge (duh!) ... I think everyone else has exhausted what the common problems are.
The cap lock version of that gun has a clean out screw on the opposite side - check if you have one, remove and inspect/clean if so.
Figure out if it uses a patent breech/chamber and let us know.
Fill the bore with water, water should drain out the hole in a stream if it trickles/dribbles out there is an obstruction of some sort.
How much did you drill out that touch hole? Depending on climate/temperature/humidity - it may not be enough. let us know.
The liner - depends on when and how it got there, but aftermarket liners are longer than the barrel is thick and may not have been trimmed properly... i.e. it protrudes into the bore, can be by more than half way! a 1/4" liner that is too long can significantly obstruct a .45 calibre bore. i.e. your 30 shots have built up enough crud behind and around it to block the touch hole completely.
You can test that theory by using a ram rod to measure the depth (it will stop at the liner)
That will also trick you thinking by picking the hole it must be clear - a "white lightening" or liner with an interior cone may only be partially clear...
Hit the dollar store, grab a pack of pipe cleaners - measure one against the muzzle stick it in the touch hole (all the way touching the opposite wall of the bore, you know how long, because you measured against the breech) - leave it there, load. pull it out before you prime the pan - it should have some resistance (because you compressed the powder around it into a pellet) and drag some powder out with it though probably not that much.
Not just a troubleshooting trick - it leaves a channel in the charge, operating a lot like a model rocket engine .....
Some percussion rifles were made with a drum having a fine thread and which screwed almost all the way to the far side of the barrel. The flint version retained the long threaded bushing and put a vent liner in the middle of it. In both cases there was a small hole in the bushing, that allowed the flash to get to the powder. Those small holes fouled quickly and especially in a flintlock where hard to fire.
Check around your vent liner for any indication that the vent liner screws into a bushing.. Also most vent liners have a 1/4 inch thread; you could drill out the existing vent liner and retap to 5/16" which gets powder closer to the outside of the barrel
Check around your vent liner for any indication that the vent liner screws into a bushing.. Also most vent liners have a 1/4 inch thread; you could drill out the existing vent liner and retap to 5/16" which gets powder closer to the outside of the barrel
