fines for pan use

Was wondering if anyone is regularly using the fines from granulation break up of pound cans of courser grained powder for pan use.
I know some folks regularly "sock" their powder before use and was thinking that what is separated would make good pan powder. Mike D.

I would think it would I know a time or two when I ran short of ffffg,I just used the same powder(FFFg)that I use for the main charge,it could work or it might just "fizzle",luckily you are asking some knowledgeable folks here.

I don't do that, but if you were into "screening" your powder, the fines would work as pan powder.

It just dawned on me that I may never need to by another can of 4F for pan powder if socked powder fines serve the same purpose. Actually some of it is probably smaller than 4 F granulation. Mike D.

3fff works just was well in my CVA .50 flinter.

M.D. said:

Was wondering if anyone is regularly using the fines from granulation break up of pound cans of courser grained powder for pan use.
I know some folks regularly "sock" their powder before use and was thinking that what is separated would make good pan powder. Mike D.

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If your powder brand uses graphite as a coating, a large amount of the fines may be graphite. My gut says that with Goex the fines will be graphite in part. Your idea is worth testing though.
Regards,
Pletch

I had the Idea of screening awhile back screend some 3f goex and didnt get enough to bother.

3F is working in my Queen Ann pistols' pan just fine and dandy.

Me too, 3F main charge and in the pan; works for me.

Long range shooters screen or sock for consistency that results in low standard deviation numbers that are important for the vertical cone of dispersion at 800-900 and 1,000 yards.
The sieved fines accumulate after awhile and me thinks they just might make good pan powder.
I will sieve some of all the different brands and granulations I have, take a gander at it and give each a try. Mike D.

It will be interesting to see your results but seems like an awful lot of trouble when a one pound can of 4F will last an average shooter a number of years.

I have a gold sieve that should be about the right screen size and if it will hold 3F and let every thing else through it should be quick and easy to separate the fines which makes for better accuracy anyway being we generally use volumetric measuring for our powder charges with muzzle loaders. Mike D.

I did a quick search online for gold sieves and found that they come in several mesh sizes. what mesh size would you recommend for sieving 3f powder?

I use FFFG in all my rifles as a priming powder and it works fine for me.

Another thing you can do if you want to use just one powder is use a pestle and mortar ( wood only ) to grind down some of your FFFG to a finer power.

It's a little bit of work but it eliminates buying FFFFG. :2

I don't do it but can't think of a reason not to. Avoids waste with your procedure.

I don't have a recommendation yet Bill until I give it a try. I will in the next few days and give a run down on how it works with what I have.
If I can get it to work I will post some pictures of the sieving and the fines it produces as well. Mike D.

Bill, this is my little comparative sieve test tonight. I sieved for one minute for each pound of 3F Goex, 1.5 Swiss, 2F Goex and lastly 2F Goex Express. The sieve was a CF-30 mesh stainless steel screen.
I have no idea of what the mesh is for the various granulation size.
I was amazed at how much 3F went through and how little of the other did.
3F
This is the granulation size difference of what went through and what didn't of the 3F.

1.5 Swiss

2F Goex

2F Goex Express

The fines from the 3F totaled about 3.5 ounces but this could have been because of improper mesh size of my sieve.
I'd say sieving 3F Goex will make all the pan powder one could ever use along with cleaning up 3F consistency in volumetric loading.
All were new unopened cans of powder. Mike D.

Excellent! Thanks for posting. :thumbsup:

I've never screened the coarser powders for priming use, but I've used FFFg Goex as priming powder many times, and prefer it to FFFFg when it's damp or snowy. I don't really notice a difference in discharge timing and a few grains is all I need for any flinter I've ever used.

Once upon a time when poor inventory management left me with only some 2Fg Goex, I followed the advice of an old shooter named Horsetooth, whose dentition was somewhat striking.

He advised placing a sheet of typing paper on a smooth table, spreading the 2Fg on it a teaspoon at a time, covering with another sheet of paper, and rolling a wine bottle back and forth to "crack" the powder granules. Horsetooth said this would open up the inside of the granules. With enough rolling the resultant powder did flow through the valve on the little flask, and worked great.

I only did this once, as I had some concerns about safety. Comments from others on this?

White Fox