flintlock still not igniting often should i use real black powder?

[rob the painter]

i am useing the black powder substitute pyrodex p - fffg i ground down some of this to use in the pan and it ignites perfect! i thouroughly cleaned the flash hole and barrel and everything else to make sure there is no residue anywhere but still no ignition and the times it does ignite there is a really long delay, nothing like i see in other flintlock videos, is this because i need real black powder?

[Texman]

yepp, REAL black powder, and DRY at that and your flint dry also.

[Oneida Steve]

We have discussed this before. Pyrodex is great stuff, but not for flintlocks, at least not by itself.

I've been shooting flintlocks for 15+ years. I had ignition problems early on. I solved the problem by loading 15 gr. of real blackpowder into the barrel first, then putting the Pyrodex charge in next. I would then seat the ball on top of this load.

Try this "duplex" load and prime with BP and your problems should be over. Good luck.

[rob the painter]

thanks ! i know i read about the duplex load you wrote about , but then i heard that wasnt safe, so i tried grinding some pyrodex down for the first part of the load but only about 8 grains then the load of pyrodex , i also found that i was useing pyrodex p and this was for use pistols and rifles upto 40cal but i am shooting .54 cal dont know if this matters but i thought it would make ignition easier useing a finer grain , it is hard to find real black powder i live in san bernardino , california and cant find any real black powder!

[Oneida Steve]

Rob, I know what you mean about finding real blackpowder. It is NOT easy. I was lucky to find some 4F at a local shop back before 9/11.

Grinding down Pyrodex? Using Pyrodex P? Clever ideas

If I ever get extremely desperate for blackpowder I might buy a box of 12 ga. blank BP shells, the kind they use for signal cannons. Cutting them open should yield many grains of blackpowder, but the cost is nutz.

[Little Rooster]

You can still buy Black Powder even have it shipped you'll pay a hazmat fee.

Try www.powderinc.com


or http://www.blackpowderva.com/ this is where I buy, both will ship

[rob the painter]

what would be your powder of choice? goex? and for a flint lock what is best in a .54 cal rifle ff or fff ,ffff? thanks!

[Little Rooster]

Originally Posted by rob the painter

what would be your powder of choice? goex? and for a flint lock what is best in a .54 cal rifle ff or fff ,ffff? thanks!

The way the prices are I may switch o Shutezen(sp) I normally use Goex FFFg both my .45 and 54 cals and pistol cal loads

[torpedoman]

ffff or special finer powder(used to be able to buy a special powder for priming) in pan, coarser in the charge.

[polishshooter]

Generally speaking, with blackpowder rifles, under .50 cal use 3F, over .50 cal use 2F, for .50 cal use whichever you happen to have....

I also know a lot of guys who claim they mortar and pestle 3F BP down to 4F for priming, but I've also heard that not only is that dangerous, 3F will work in the pan in a pinch even on smaller flintlocks...I don't know because my last pound of 4F I bought just for priming 10 years ago is still about half full! And that INCLUDES how much of the stuff I've blown out of the pan depriming after dark....


SOMEBODY has to come out with a "substitute" that works for firelocks soon, they just haven't yet.

I MAY try experimenting with the duplex loads next year though, just to "stretch" the blackpowder I have, "just in case" the old saying that what happens in California today will be everywhere in 10 years is actually true, and we can't stop that crap somehow....