Dry ball

Eutycus said:

Why do you suppose that on these "rare occassions" it seems like you're never alone? Its like there is always an onlooker or two around.

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I have a couple old kick-start motorcycles, and for the same reason it holds true that: "the number of kicks required to start a motorcycle, is directly proportionate to the number of people watching, times three". When no one is watching, they usually start on the first kick. I swear this is true.

hi I'm Adui, and Im a member of the dry ball club...

I am unfortunately a firm believer in the thought that there are two types of Muzzle loader enthusiasts. Those that have dry balled, and those that will...

Glad you got it cleared without too much further embarrassment..

I dont believe the procedure of putting a few grains of powder under the nipple is a widely discussed thing. I don't recall seeing it on any forum until very recently. Yet theres a handful of us who have tried it, on our own it seems. Or maybe it has been brought up in the past and as usual I've forgotten it ? Or maybe I just missed it? Anyway it does work just dont over do it on the few grains.

When I first got into MZL it was one of the first things I ran across, here on this forum.
I have had several opportunities to conduct that exercise. It's fast, efficient and easy to do.
Don't dryball is the first step, but IF you do, don't panic. It is not a serious thing, just a bit embarrassing.
I have since worked out a tool placement routine to help assure I don't do that (again).

When you do dry ball, it helps to maintain a sense of humor about it.

I think I average 2 a year. Just can't wait till it happens to me with my Charleville.
I do have a TC flint pan charger with 4F in it.

i'd shot BP for 44 years before my 1st dryball, and as luck would have it I simultaneously dryballed a .50 cal. rifle AND pistol...
luckily both were Pedersoli flint so all it took was winding out the vent liners, priming inside, replacing liners, and viola !!

talking while loading caused this episode, just like it caused me to DOUBLE LOAD one when I was +/- 12 yrs old........blew the nipple out of that rifle and ripped the front half OFF the hammer.

Eutycus said:

I don't believe the procedure of putting a few grains of powder under the nipple is a widely discussed thing. I don't recall seeing it on any forum until very recently. Yet there's a handful of us who have tried it, on our own it seems. Or maybe it has been brought up in the past and as usual I've forgotten it ? Or maybe I just missed it? Anyway it does work just don't over do it on the few grains.

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I disagree on one point: You will be VERY hard pressed to over charge a weapon pushing powder through the nipple hole. Therefore, the only care I suggest is that one pushes the absolute most powder they can into the hole.. but then in my case it was always the same 3f powder I used for the main charge...

Otherwise the pointing out of this method was spot on! I'm very surprised its not more widely known and or used!

In most of the books on muzzle loading that I purchased so long before the internet was a dream of several universities, the practice of pulling the nipple to put a few grains of powder to shoot our a dry ball was a common procedure. Dixie had it in their catalog. It is a frequent response in forums when the question is asked about removing a dry ball.

I seem to recall several recent threads on this forum recommending the removal of the nipple and adding some powder as the first procedure to remove a gun loaded without powder. Its likely to one of the sticky notes at the top of the topics.

Yes it is in the Member Resources, How To Articles, in the Home, Forums page. Something Stuck in Your Barrel

It must have been one of those tidbits in the Dixie Catalog. I knew I saw it somewhere. I still contend I never saw it here on this forum. I havent been around here that long. And even though I'm retired I dont have the time to read all of the posts.

I'm not going to look them up but I can say that over the years I've told people how to use powder under the nipple to get a dry ball out of their gun hundreds of times here on the forum. In addition to telling them how to do it I've also included the warning to always point the gun at a safe target downrange before actually firing the newly installed powder under the nipple.

On more than one occasion when repeated popping of a percussion cap didn't result in the gun firing, I figured I must have dry balled it so I removed the nipple and worked some powder down into the flash channel. After reinstalling the nipple I pointed the gun downrange and fired the cap.
Rather than the little "pop" that usually happens the gun fired with a mighty roar!
It seems I didn't dry ball it. The powder was just not igniting with just a percussion cap.