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How do you prime your pan?

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I just prime the pan with my powder flask.

Even though it has a built in powder measure tube, it isn't hard to push the gate and get a little powder in the tube and then dump some of it into the pan. After doing this, I just point the tip of the flask up towards the sky and push the gate lever to open the gate. When I do this, any extra powder left in the measuring tube falls back into the flask.

I do have one of those little "pan primers" but I rarely use it. First of all, they don't work well unless they are filled with 4F powder.

Priming with my 3Fg powder from the flask works just as well as 4F in my opinion so not using the primer means just one less thing to futz with.
 
I have a push button brass primer thing with a pick and brush on a rawhide loop around my neck. I use 4f Swiss. I fill the pan about 1/3-1-2 full, give the gun a little shake, close the frizzen and fire. Zero issues.
 
I see the Traditions and Treso pan primers in various configurations. What do you use to prime the pan with 4f powder?
I have a small priming horn. I simply pour just enough into the pan to get the job done. As soon as my supply of 4fg runs out, I'm swearing off the stuff. Powder from my main horn will get the job done well enough.
 
I have a Pedersoli flint Kentucky pistol. The gap between the pan and the base of the frizzen is fairly small. I have yet to find a way to prime as well as I want to. All of my other flintlocks prime easily enough by horn, flask, or plunger device, but this Pedersoli is going to lead me to experiment and buy another gizmo of some sort.
 
I make all my pan troughs as big as I can, so I can dump in a bunch of powder and not worry about it. Little grinding thingies or one of the fine spiral fluted cutters in a Dremel tool will open one up nicely.
 
Seems to me that one should not prime until ready to shoot now days that our lives don't usually depend on a quick first shot. I know movement while hunting is usually not a good thing but neither is a flash in the pan. In my mind this is where the small priming flask born on a cord around the neck minimizes movement and is a quick and handy , fresh priming charge.
 
4f hanging for me, quick and easy FBB722EC-F324-4753-AA1B-5CFF42031A1D.jpeg
 
I tend to just dump in the prime, close the frizzen and shoot. I do have a little brass primer on a thong tied to my bag and use 4F 99% of the time. Other than that I have a very small priming horn full of 4F.
 
I’ve tried using a plunger type priming tube, my large powder horn, and a small priming horn.

The large horn is difficult to use for priming all but the large musket locks. I usually get too much powder in the pan and sometimes get it all over the lock. It’s also potentially more dangerous than a small horn in the event of an accident.

The plunger type primers are great when they work, but it seems to me, that they often don’t dispense the same amount of prime, or they get clogged.



I use 4f in a small horn that I keep in my pocket. Hunting or woods walks, it’s easy to use the small horn to get just the right amount of prime without spilling powder all over the pan. I can always use the big horn if I’m in a hurry or lose the small horn. (Which I did last spring while turkey hunting, but found it this fall while turkey hunting)
 

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