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Your Basic Rookie Mistake

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JiminTexas

40 Cal.
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
Messages
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I'm new at this front loading business and I order a powder horn. I'll need a powder horn right? O.K. I go through the web sites and find one that advertises an "economy model". Hey! Now that's just my cup of tea. I'm not only compulsive, but I'm cheap too. This will fit me to a "Tee". It come in and I look it over and, Dang!, it's nice! I love it! Now all that I have to do is fill it with powder and start shooting, right? WRONG! I go down and get a pound of Goex FFFg and pour it into the horn. It has one of those fancy shmancy push button feeds that you can put different size measureing tubes on. Hey that's REALL NEAT!!! I fill it up. I turn it over and put my finger over the end of the measure and push the button. I shake it a little to be sure that the powder flows in and I turn it up, take my finger off of the end an look inside. NOTHING! Not a single grain of powder! I unscrew measuring tube and look it over really good and guess what. There is something blocking the exit hole. No big deal. I'll just dig it out. I get it out and try again. Nothing. I look and sure enough there is another piece of something blocking the hole. After several tries I finally figure out that this horn was put together without the scrapings and drillings from the manufacture of it having been cleaned out of it. Now the horn is sealed. It is glued, nailed, sealed and you couldn't get into it with a cutting torch. two hours latter I finally get all of the crud out of it, but what about the nearly one pound of Goex that is now full of little pieces of horn scrapings? I can't even immagine what kind of fouling that will leave in my barrel. Another hour of sifting the powder through a tea strainer one teaspoonfull at a time and I manage to recover nearly all of the Goex. Nope, it don't pay to go the cheap route in this sport.
 
I had the same problem except I looked into my horn BEFORE I filled it with powder. I still had a hard time cleaning it out.

HD
 
I feel for you!
1 question though...you DO have a measure seperate from the horn dont you???

just checkin',
Bret
 
If you did right screening it to remove the larger pieces of scraps, the smaller pieces, well, just shoot, even if it might smell a bit like burnt hair. :(
 
white buffalo said:
ooh i bet that horn will stink when it burns :hmm: :v .............bob
WELL, he may be upset, but i doubt he'll burn the horn after he cleaned it out! :rotf: RC
 
brett, the measure screws onto the end of the spout so that all you have to do is put your finger over the end of the spout, push the spout button and release it. You now have the correct measure of powder in the spout. You can get diferent spouts for different powder charges. It's just like the spouts on powder flasks only it is mounted on a horn.
 
What Brett is telling you is to never pour from the horn directly into the barrel. Use a separate measure for that. Cuts down on the size of the potential explosion if a spark is still alive in the breech.
 
"Nope, it don't pay to go the cheap route in this sport."

My ol daddy always told me, "buy the best you can afford, otherwise you will just end up buying again."
 
Goldhunter said:
Your face will thank you.
and the guy on yer left and the guy on yer right..and anywhere close to you....they'll appreciate it a whole bunch! be safe,black powder HURTS! :shocked2: RC
 
ANd, The RANGE OFFICER will actually let you shoot on the range again! Always load the powder charge from your horn, or can, or flask, into a smaller, powder measure. Then. close the main powder source, and put it down away from the muzzle of your gun. THEN, and ONLY Then, pour the measured powder charge down the barrel, keeping the muzzle pointing away from anything and anybody you don't want to destroy! If there is a spark down in the barrel that lights that smaller charge, you won't be setting off that horn full of powder, which you should always think of as nothing but a small bomb. Even a priming horn is a " Grenade ".

I do not recommend that people buy or use a horn with the measure attached. Its just too dangerous. Don't want to believe me? After using it during a day of shooting, take that cut off gate out of the measure, and inspect the back side of it. They are usually black with residue, that BURNS very easily. That means that if a spark sets of that powder charge in the barrel, even if the measure attached to the horn is empty, as long as the flame coming out of the muzzle can run up that tube and get to that gate, the heat can set off the residue on the other side of the gate, and ignite the powder inside the flask or horn. It doesn't happen very often, mostly because most people shooting black powder are very aware of the danger, and won't tolerate someone using the things anywhere near them. But, it happens often enough to be a real danger.

If you ever shoot at a range where a range officer does not stop you, or someone else from using a measure attached to a horn or flask to load a gun, go to the people in charge and raise hell. That guy has no business being a range officer! He's not doing his job. And, he should know better.
 
To bad about the trouble you had.I bought one of those powder horns like that also. And the guys told me the same thing. I still have it and use it but, I POUR it into a seperate measure. And it works ok for that. I like it because, after filling the measure, press the button, anything left can be put back into the horn with no waste. :thumbsup: good luck
 
LOL! I had that very thing happen to me a few months back with a cheapy horn I ordered. After managing to get the powder out and a heckuva time getting out the scrapings, I had a pile of powder full of shavings. Take a piece of window screen and run your powder through it. Worked for me. BTW, while you have the horn empty, put some fine lead shot, or fine gravel inside it and shake it a few times to cut out any pieces that you might have missed. I didn't do that at the time and I had the occasional curl work it's way out. After I used the horn of powder up, I shook a little shot in it and a few more pieces came out. I haven't had a problem since.
 
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