Powder Question
 

How many of you guys use 2f in the barrel and 4f in the pan. I am shooting a 50 cal with a 185 grain bullet and using the above listed combo for powder. Is anyone out there using a different combination?

Thanks

KC

That'll work just fine. Don't overfiil the pan above the touch hole. You'll get faster ignition with powder just below the hole. My friend uses 3f all around. Saves carrying 2 grades of powder and it works good.

gearheart

Dang! it took me along time to believe that one... Iwas a rockhead - more is always better....

I use Goex FFF in both my .40 and .54 flinters...

If the gun was made properly then the touch hole is high...The bottom of the hole should be above the pan so it's covered by the base of the frizzen when closed so powder can't plug the hole...

I use the same in my flintlocks.

And like they said, a good sharp flint and don't over load the pan. In fact when your on the range, test this. Load just a small amount of powder in the pan and it might surprise you how fast it will go off. Over loading can cause a fuse effect. Most of my rifles like the powder on the outside of the pan, then close the frizzen, and then tilt it so a little powder trickles towards the vent hole.

A .54 Great Plains is my only flinter (so far :rolleye0011: ). I use 3F in the pan and for the charge. When I first got the flinter all I had on hand was 2F GOEX, so I used that in the pan - it worked just fine.

PAHunter,
Many years ago, when I began hunting Pa's flintlock season, I used what was then considered the standard 50 cal load--90 gr.Goex 2f with 4f in the pan. Later I began experimenting and settled on 75gr. 3f, which gave me about the same velocity in my old TC Hawken. I still use 4f in the pan in dry weather, but change to 3f (which is less hygroscopic) in the pan in wet weather. The 4f seems to fire a bit faster, but that could be my imagination. Both my old Hawken (which wears a Lyman frizzen), and my Lyman Deerstalker fire very fast with either.

PA that will work for you just fine. Good luck out there after Christmas.

Flowered blasting powder is the fastest prime there is it does not have any graphite on it that the spark has to burn through to ignite. When I was building FL's I taught people that the best way to prime was to fill the outside edge of the pan and taper it down to nothing under the touch hole. I still hold by that.