Pan primer

[pepperbelly]

I shot my flintlock musket today for the first time- actually the first time I fired any flintlock.
I bought a pan primer. It is a small capacity cylinder that has a plunger type feed. I think I did it right- I managed to use it anyway.
I put powder in it, screwed the top/spout on and figured out I had to push the plunger in to throw powder.
I ended up pushing the plunger onto the bottom of the pan, and it threw some powder when I lifted it. It doesn't throw much powder though. Of course I am not sure how much powder I needed, so I just pushed it enough times to make the prime charge look like it would work. It did, but I am not sure I was using to correctly.
Was I?

Jim

 

[Rebel]

If you are using any powder other than 4f it probably isn't dispensing it right. Most of them work well but only with the 4f powder, the bigger powders, even 3f don't feed right.

 

[roundball]

Was I?

Sounds like you were...it's a spring loaded plunger / dispenser...if you unscrew it and look (don't lose the spring!) you'll see that the way it works is this:

You depress the plunger / dispenser tip down onto the pan which raises the hollow plunger up into the body of the primer and powder is allowed to drain into and fill up the hollow plunger;

Then you somewhat slowly begin lifting the body of the primer up from the pan and the spring inside will cause the plunger to extend back to it's normal extended length.

This seals off the top end up in the main body so powder can't continue to flow down into the hollow tube and out into the pan;

And at this time, the powder that was captured inside the hollow tube drains out into the pan.

If you were using 4F you should have gotten consistent volumes dispensed each time...however, you do need to pause a second momentarily after you depress the plunger to give it time to fill fully from the main body...and then you need to be a tad deliberate when raising the primer up off the pan to allow all the powder to drain out of the dispenser.

If you'll go to the link I posted below and scroll down the page just a little, you'll see two brass pan primers...small and large...they'll both dispense 4F but in different amounts due to different size dispenser tubes. But only the larger one will dispense 3F as it has a larger diameter tube. Only 4F seems to work well in the smaller size primer as it has a smaller diameter plunger / dispenser tube.
[url] http://www.possibleshop.com/flintlocksupplies1.htm[/url]

 

[paulvallandigham]

Yes,you were using the priming tool correctly. They are designed to throw only about 1.5 grains of powder per plunge. Depending on the caliber of the gun, and the size of the pan, you can get by with 3 to 5 grains of priming powder. In Musket locks you probably will need 9-12 grains. Maybe less in a good lock. You will learn to push the nose of the plunger on the side of the pan, so that the powder will begin rolling out of the tube as soon as you release it and lift the tool up again to push down on the plunger again.

 

[pepperbelly]

I was using FFFg, which is all I ordered a while back- I have 5 pounds of it, so I will use it for a while.

Yeah rb, of course I bought the little one. It figures.

Jim

 

[Sparks Stone]

I bought one of those primers. Although they are different sizes they both throw 3 grains of 4F powder "approximately." My problem, I think three grains is about twice as much primer as I need for my 12-gauge fowler.

I thought about shortening the end of the tube to see if that would reduce the charge it throws...but I don't want to ruin it.

Sparks

 

[shmrck1]

pepperbelly,
I only have one F/L and all my other rifles
are percussion from .32 to .54. I use 3fff Goex
in them all. I use 3fff as a prime in my .50cal.
F/L. I just grind or mash it up abit and put it
in a small powder horn. I have learned over
many,many firings how much powder to put in the
pan. I don't weigh it or measure it,I just look
at the pan and know that is what is needed.I know
I can't be the only one that does it this way.
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[MSW]

when i first used one of these gadgets, i was surprised at how little powder came out and i, too, thought "this can't be right..." but another fellow at the range encouraged me to give it a try, so i did and, much to my surprise, boom!

so, if you were launching lead, you most probably got it right. the only drawback (p.c. questions aside) of these primers is that they will develop this sort of self- fouling in the works (hydroscopic nature of the propelland... insert technichal stuff here...) and they must be cleaned out every once & a while, and you must pay attention that the tube doesn't jam open and dump your flamable primer all over your whatever.

by the way, the little springs are avaiable at any good hardware store. (not the 'bigbox' places, the good hardware stores, with pressed tin cielings and wide plank floors and a zillion little drawers with dovetail joints and a litle old guy who's got the entire inventory in his head and can remember when they still sold dynamite for farmers who needed to blast their own ledge)

best of luck!

msw

 

[roundball]

I bought one of those primers. Although they are different sizes they both throw 3 grains of 4F powder "approximately." My problem, I think three grains is about twice as much primer as I need for my 12-gauge fowler.

I thought about shortening the end of the tube to see if that would reduce the charge it throws...but I don't want to ruin it.
Sparks

FYI...I did that on a large one with a dremel tool cutter disk.
Using 4F in the small one which only holds about 100grns, throwing 3grns per shot for a 50 shot range session it always ran out and I had to stop and refill it.

Bought the larger one which holds about 175-200grns, and ordered a few extra plunger tubes at the same time knowing I'd have to shorten one to get back to 3grns...did some eyeball estimates and lucked out shortening the installed tube just right the first time...throws exactly what my locks use and I make it through an entire 50 shot range session without having to refill it.

 

[bart_anastasi]

It is not supposed to throw a lot of powder.

This is one of those cases where supposed to does not count.

Your particular rifle might like a even smaller charge then you are throwing there. You will never know unless you try.

Try shooting half the prime charge your tool puts down for a few shots. Then try a bit more.

Then try two and a half. then try two full measures or more.

I think it matters more what your gun wants and not some hard and fast rule. Or as to what works for us.

What works for us may not work for you.