brass loading funnel

[Nemovir]

I was watching youtube videos and found that some Europeans use a long brass funnel to drop powder into the barrel itself. I can see using a short one to help, but what are benefits of this?

 

[Tumblernotch]

A long drop tube being smaller than the bore diameter tends to compress the powder a little bit. Many black powder cartridge shooters use them when loading cartridges as well as bench and chunkgun shooters. They're not normally used for regular target shooting or hunting though I've seen a few shooters use them in matches. I use one with my chunkgun partly so that the powder doesn't come in contact with a damp barrel. Although I wipe with a dry patch after using a damp one, there is still some dampness in there. Powder can stick to the barrel and get crushed by the ball and patch as they are rammed home. Also, the powder is kept in a smaller, denser column and the weight of it slightly compresses it when it reaches the breech. This gives you a more consistent load. As soon as the ball touches the powder, I stop pushing. I also use it in my Whitworth which has a patent breech. It gets more powder in the breech than if it just swirled around on its way down. The tubes are cut so as to be just short of where the top of the powder charges are.

 

[necchi]

Yup like Kana said,
In short, it settles and directs the charge to an exact position in the bore.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, using the long funnel is supposed to keep the powder from sticking to the walls of the bore while it's being poured.

Because of the long drop, even without the funnel the powder will compact itself fairly well and unless the shooter is loading into a barrel that was just wiped with a wet and dry cleaning patch there isn't much to be gained by using these long funnels.

 

[Rat Trapper]

IMO, using the long funnel is supposed to keep the powder from sticking to the walls of the bore while it's being poured.

Because of the long drop, even without the funnel the powder will compact itself fairly well and unless the shooter is loading into a barrel that was just wiped with a wet and dry cleaning patch there isn't much to be gained by using these long funnels.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Bevel Brothers covered this one pretty well in muzzle blasts magazine a couple years ago. They came up with same answer Zonie.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Tell that to bench gun and chunkgun shooters who use them. The smaller bore diameter keeps the powder directed in a straight column rather than swirling around. I can tell the difference in my .50. This wouldn't make much difference in a small bore but it certainly does in a larger one. And even if you wipe with a dry patch, you don't remove all the moisture. Been there, done that. Lowell and Joel don't know it all.

 

[Billnpatti]

Lowell and Joel may not know it all but they know a LOT and when there is a difference of opinion, my money is on them.

 

[Rifleman1776]

A long drop tube being smaller than the bore diameter tends to compress the powder a little bit. Many black powder cartridge shooters use them when loading cartridges as well as bench and chunkgun shooters. They're not normally used for regular target shooting or hunting though I've seen a few shooters use them in matches. I use one with my chunkgun partly so that the powder doesn't come in contact with a damp barrel. Although I wipe with a dry patch after using a damp one, there is still some dampness in there. Powder can stick to the barrel and get crushed by the ball and patch as they are rammed home. Also, the powder is kept in a smaller, denser column and the weight of it slightly compresses it when it reaches the breech. This gives you a more consistent load. As soon as the ball touches the powder, I stop pushing. I also use it in my Whitworth which has a patent breech. It gets more powder in the breech than if it just swirled around on its way down. The tubes are cut so as to be just short of where the top of the powder charges are.

Bench and slug shooters tend to be very ritulastic in their loading techniques. Using scales, pre-measured loads, drop tubes, Wee-Gee boards and secret mantras is all part of the game as far as many of these guys are concerned. I don't know if the drop tubes really help accuracy. I'm not going to be the one to tell them it doesn't help. :shocked2:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Many traditional shooters and most target shooters use some method to help "settle" the powder.

Ever see a shooter pour the powder and then tap the gun on the side near the lock with the palm of his hand? I usually do it three times. Just that side ways jostling helps the powder settle into the breech and work it's way into the flash channel or touch hole. Sort of a similar effect in a far less scientific looking manner. My buddy has one of those small vibrating case cleaners. After dropping the powder into the cartridge case, he holds the case to the vibrating case cleaner and you can see the powder level go down at least an 1/8 inch.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Lowell and Joel may not know it all but they know a LOT and when there is a difference of opinion, my money is on them.

Well, if that makes you feel good, by all means bet the farm. You certainly have that right. I'm just basing the facts on my own experience and quite a few others who have used drop tubes for much longer than me.

 

[Tumblernotch]

A long drop tube being smaller than the bore diameter tends to compress the powder a little bit. Many black powder cartridge shooters use them when loading cartridges as well as bench and chunkgun shooters. They're not normally used for regular target shooting or hunting though I've seen a few shooters use them in matches. I use one with my chunkgun partly so that the powder doesn't come in contact with a damp barrel. Although I wipe with a dry patch after using a damp one, there is still some dampness in there. Powder can stick to the barrel and get crushed by the ball and patch as they are rammed home. Also, the powder is kept in a smaller, denser column and the weight of it slightly compresses it when it reaches the breech. This gives you a more consistent load. As soon as the ball touches the powder, I stop pushing. I also use it in my Whitworth which has a patent breech. It gets more powder in the breech than if it just swirled around on its way down. The tubes are cut so as to be just short of where the top of the powder charges are.

Bench and slug shooters tend to be very ritulastic in their loading techniques. Using scales, pre-measured loads, drop tubes, Wee-Gee boards and secret mantras is all part of the game as far as many of these guys are concerned. I don't know if the drop tubes really help accuracy. I'm not going to be the one to tell them it doesn't help. :shocked2:

An old feller I used to shoot with from time to time name of Bill Boyd (deceased) had a thing that if he dropped a ball any distance while loading (even on a soft surface) would set it aside and not use it. There are a lot of strange rituals out there. Some actually make some sense when you think about it, but most I'd say are superstitious. Never saw a Ouiga (sp) board yet.

As for directly affecting accuracy I can't say a drop tube does. But it plays a pretty big part in load consistency from what I've seen and that does directly affect accuracy, especially when attempting to get as close to a one whole group as possible.

Most target shooters using offhand rifles on the bench or offhand are happy to get the ball in the 9 or 10 rings. It doesn't matter where within the ring, it scores the same. If you're shooting a bench gun and you want to win in one of the big matches, every shot has to be an X. If you're shooting chunk, you shoot your practice shots hoping for one ragged hole to put your X in. Then you have 10 chances to hit that X. Every shot is scored by measuring from that X to the center of your hole. There are already a bunch of variables present, especially when shooting prone (usually in lousy conditions). So you take out as many as you can in your loading procedure and one way is to get your powder stacked the same every time. It may not make a huge difference in the scheme of things, but I can tell. It showed last Spring when I forgot to take it to a shoot. I'm not very ritualistic and certainly not superstitious when shooting but things do need to be done in the proper order and consistently to be comfortable and accurate.
:thumbsup:

 

[nilo52]

Shooting is an art. All artists are different, but good ones will get the job done !

nilo52

 

[meanmike8665]

Thank You. Well said.
Michael

 

[ohio ramrod]

This is a game where confidence is important. If using a drop tube gives you more confidence use it. "Two hundred (or more ) bench shooters cann't be wrong". :idunno: :idunno:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I went to take a look around at the slug gun match at Blue Ridge Rifles in Shartlesville. PA last Fall. I didn't spend more than 20 minutes there. I did see alot of effort made to do everything consistent for each shot. But I saw no drop tubes in use there. Maybe with slugs, it is different. Maybe the guys that use them showed up later.