roundball

Same here...I shoot 40 shot range sessions on Saturday mornings, taking 40 premeasured charges with me in 35mm film canisters, and run through them just about as fast as I can load and shoot.

After setting up coke cans, steel hangers, paper targets or whatever I'm using that day I begin shooting, and after every shot I set the rifle back down so it's leaning against the padded bench with the muzzle leaning back away from me.

I pour the next charge while smoke is still curling up out of the muzzle, and the powder charge dropping into the breech forces the remaining smoke out of the touchhole.
If any ignition was going to occur, it would happen right then.....long before I got around to positioning a patch and ball on the muzzle, then short started them into the muzzle, then seated them down on the powder charge, etc.

Been doing that for about 4000-5000 shots now and it's never happened...and I have to say, I've never meant anyone who's had it happen, I've never had anyone tell me they personally knew somebody who's had it happen, I've never seen any post anywhere in years of ML forums about anyone personally knowing anyone who has had it happen.

And if a powder charge did somehow ignite under those circumstanmces, it would just 'foosh' up out of the barrel and singe a finger tip or something but wouldn't blow fingers off...it would just be a flash of flame.

cayugad

Actually I have seen two breech flashes in my life. The first, my friend and I were shooting. He had just finished shooting and was loading his CVA Mountain Rifle. He filled his measure, poured it down the muzzle and then the flash came. No one was hurt and I think all he lost was a little hair on is hand. The second was at a muzzleloading club speed shoot. They had to get off a certain number of shots in a set length of time. I watched a person flash there....

I wonder if it is more common when shooting large grains of powder such as 2f VS the smaller grains of powder like 3f? I personally have never experienced one, and this is one thing that I do not need to experience as far as I am concerned. I admit I have loaded fast second shots in my life during speed shoots, and never had that problem.....

Tahquamenon

Hey Roundball, is 'foosh' an industry term?

Seriously, i've shot several thousand times as well and an unplanned discharge has not happened to me. I've also loaded very quickly at times and not had any problems.
I've seen a barrel flash from a charge. And it likely would not kill you, but it could do permanent damage. It can happen.
I'd rather not have it happen to me, so I wait a minute or so and while I'm waiting, I swab
the barrel.

sabinajiles

I wonder the same thing, although I think even 2f powders are fine enough, in large bores, to make it rare. The larger bore would allow oxygen from the air to displace the smoke and oxygen depleted air in the barrel quicker than it would in a smaller bore. This should insure complete combustion would happen quickly and before you would pour powder to reload. I also wonder if it was more common in the past, when blackpowder manufacturing standards were not as stringent and the powder may not have been as uniform in grain size and also might have burned much dirtier, leaving more unburned residue in the bore to smolder. I look at the fairly clean condition of a cleaning patch, after it has been run down the bore of my fired rifles, with either Goex or Swiss, and find it hard to believe that any substancial unburned powder, at least enough to sustain a continued burn, could have been left in the bore. Especially with the Swiss, but even Goex Ffg burns pretty cleanly in my.50s, .54s and .58.

SST777

I Think the danger would come in if you use a powder flask. All brass construction holds 5 oz. of powder.