holes in patch

[Elkeater]

I made another simple rear sight so was sighting in my old NE 54 at 50y. First 5 shots a good group, most touching. Then 3 shots spread out. Patches from this load have always looked good. But I picked up a patch that had 2 holes were ball bares on the bore. I had spilled some 3f powder and reckoned that loose granules was the culprit.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Need more info to help. Pics are important.

 

[BrownBear]

I had spilled some 3f powder and reckoned that loose granules was the culprit.

A bud had a similar issue with holes, and in fact we're pretty sure we traced it to stray powder because they were happening on the back radius where it met the ball. In his case we're pretty sure it happened any time he failed to raise the hammer and remove the old cap before a reload. I "twigged" to it when watching him reload and heard kind of a squeaky whoosh as he seated the ball, determined to be caused by air compressing up and past the ball rather than passing out the flame channel. It's our guess that some of his powder was coming up with the air.

Good guess or bad, his holes quit when he got religious about raising the hammer and clearing the old cap.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, raising the hammer and removing the fired cap before loading the next shot is one of the most important things a person shooting a cap lock can do. Especially on the guns that have a chambered breech and a long flame channel between the nipple and the breech.

With the cap removed and the hammer at half cock, not only does the air below the ball blow out thru the nipple when the ball is rammed but the air blows the loose powder thru the flame channel to right under the nipple.
With the new powder right under the nipple, ignition is almost instantaneous when the cap fires on the next shot.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I agree with Zonie.

 

[Rodd Boyer]

What about on a flinter???? I've had enough powder get pushed into the pan that it didn't need a priming charge.... if the frizzen is down, it gets trapped in the pan. I've started to plug the vent hole with a feather to keep the powder 'inside' the firearm....

 

[Grenadier1758]

Self priming is one indicator that the touch hole has been drilled too large in an effort to improve ignition. It may be time for a new touch hole liner. The benefit (?) of the large touch hole can be offset by the variances of internal pressure causing a loss of accuracy.

By the way using a pick to keep the touch hole open is a good idea.

 

[WRustyLane]

What about on a flinter???? I've had enough powder get pushed into the pan that it didn't need a priming charge.... if the frizzen is down, it gets trapped in the pan. I've started to plug the vent hole with a feather to keep the powder 'inside' the firearm....

I do the same thing when I load--stick a feather in the touch hole.

 

[Howie1968]

I always use a wonder wad over powder and beneath patch and roundball sice ive done this no holes or blowouts

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I always use a wonder wad over powder and beneath patch and roundball sice ive done this no holes or blowouts

I do the same, but have taken it a bit beyond. I shoot heavy charges in my .54 Hawken and I was having problems with blown patches early on. My solution was to ram down a 12 gage felt wad on top of the powder using the bare end of the ramrod. This accomplishes two things. It protects the patch from blow-by and since the wad fits tightly it scrubs the bore clean with every reload. I can shoot all day without having to swab.

 

[Zonie]

What about on a flinter???? I've had enough powder get pushed into the pan that it didn't need a priming charge.... if the frizzen is down, it gets trapped in the pan. I've started to plug the vent hole with a feather to keep the powder 'inside' the firearm....

First I'll say that IMO, your vent hole is too large.

For my answer about plugging the vent hole, I think it depends totally on the design of your gun.

If you have one of the new factory made guns with a long hole between the powder chamber in the barrel and the vent hole I recommend that you do not plug the vent hole. You want the loose powder to blow back thru that long flame channel all the way to the vent hole so it is as close to the pans flash as it can be.

If you have one of the flintlocks with the vent hole going directly thru the barrel wall into the bore, plugging the vent with a vent pick or feather seems to create a small cavity in the rammed powder charge that some have found, speeds up the ignition of the main powder charge.
Ramming the ball without plugging the vent hole on these direct vent thru the wall designs will pack the powder right against the vent without this cavity but "picking the vent" just prior to priming the pan will also form this cavity. Again, many have found that doing this improves the speed and reliability of the gun.

 

[Elkeater]

Thanks guys, all very informative.

 

[Griz44Mag]

Picking the vent on my Brown Bess results in near perfect ignition of the mail charge.
Does not make any sense to me why, but it works!

 

[Grenadier1758]

Oh yes, picking the vent of a Brown Bess resulting in near instant ignition makes great sense. Our Besses have larger than normal touch holes and huge pans for the priming charge. With a half full to three quarters full pan we get a huge ball of fire and a lot of heat for the main charge to use in firing. We do use larger grain size powder that may be a bit dirtier than fine rifle powder. There's a reason why the infantry man carried a whisk and pick on his cartridge pouch. An open flash channel is part of the procedure for reliability.