A common mistake with charging pans is to overfill or plug up the vent..

I was taught, ( and aslo following published advice from the time..) is to put the powder at the opposite side of the pan from the vent. The aim is to get the flash to go through the vent, not lay a powder trail! It is probably more important in small locks, but it is plugging the vent with powder that caused slow lock time and hang fires. Fine powder does make a difference sa it flahes quicker..

A good test is to fire the gun upside down... a really good lock will work in any direction!

Originally Posted by HE117

A common mistake with charging pans is to overfill or plug up the vent..

I was taught, ( and aslo following published advice from the time..) is to put the powder at the opposite side of the pan from the vent. The aim is to get the flash to go through the vent, not lay a powder trail! It is probably more important in small locks, but it is plugging the vent with powder that caused slow lock time and hang fires. Fine powder does make a difference sa it flahes quicker..

A good test is to fire the gun upside down... a really good lock will work in any direction!

Retro-Gangsta!

Sorry, couldn't resist that. :D Suffice it to say, I take your word and will refrain from provoking the locals by trying it out.
This business of flash holes is more complicated than I thought, I read somewhere about controversy about the exact location of the flash hole, ie at the bottom of the pan or approx in the middle. UP till now I merely dumped the powder in the pan, and when it flashes there is invariably a bang shortly afterwards, of course getting it to flash in the first place seems to be a black art.

Tried placing the powder opposite the hole (following the published guides), sure, it gives me a flash every time and 75% no boom. Laying a very thin powder trail gives me a far more consistent ignition. A good lock will indeed fire when on one side or upside down, which just goes to show that primer placement is not that big a deal since twisting your lock one way or another will throw your carefully placed primer around the pan.

A question for the BP revolver shooters. Does any one have any good tips on lube for the bullets. I have seen people use all kinds of things, I even saw in a German magazine an article in which some one used skin cream!

Keeps the steel soft and supple I suppose. :D

I have a .44 Remington NMA - if I use conical bullets (from Lee) I usually pan lube them in SPG and load them directly with no further prep. The cannelure and the long bearing surface are sufficient to prevent flashover..

If I load bare ball, I lube with TC Bore Butter or Wonderlube on top of the ball. I never use wads in my revolver..

You can use anything from lard to pile cream to stop flashover - properly formulated BP lubes however will keep the fouling down, be easier to clean and not smell like the toilets in a gay bar (allegedly...)

Originally Posted by Drlligaf

I even saw in a German magazine an article in which some one used skin cream!

Keeps the steel soft and supple I suppose. :D

I know a few Aussies that advocated the use of udder cream. I tried it once in my Adams and it did indeed keep the fouling incredibly soft. Also dipped the paper patched bullet of each martini round in a series before firing, again had a very easy clean-up after the series. Seems to work.

For cleaning up I use a water:ballistol solution 7:3 ratio, sometimes refered to as "moose milk". I works very well, smells nice and no brushing needed.

[quote="Croque_Monsieur"]

Originally Posted by Drlligaf

I even saw in a German magazine an article in which some one used skin cream!

Keeps the steel soft and supple I suppose. :D

I know a few Aussies that advocated the use of udder cream. I tried it once in my Adams and it did indeed keep the fouling incredibly soft. Also dipped the paper patched bullet of each martini round in a series before firing, again had a very easy clean-up after the series. Seems to work.

For cleaning up I use a water:ballistol solution 7:3 ratio, sometimes refered to as "moose milk". I works very well, smells nice and no brushing needed.[/quote]

I use that mix in 4:1 ratio as a patch lube. Ballistol was the original do it all oil, cleaning, protecting for barrels and stocks, it was even used as an antiseptic. Antiseptic as in against bugs, not our transatlantic friends. :D

Originally Posted by HE117

I have a .44 Remington NMA - if I use conical bullets (from Lee) I usually pan lube them in SPG

Originally Posted by HE117

and load them directly with no further prep. The cannelure and the long bearing surface are sufficient to prevent flashover..

If I load bare ball, I lube with TC Bore Butter or Wonderlube on top of the ball. I never use wads in my revolver..

You can use anything from lard to pile cream to stop flashover - properly formulated BP lubes however will keep the fouling down, be easier to clean and not smell like the toilets in a gay bar (allegedly...)

Which make of NMA do you have? There are considerable differences between the various manufacturers models. Which conical bullet is that? I nearly bought a Lee conical mould, but thought better of it due to lack of loading data. Last but not least what is SPG?

TVM.

My NMA is stamped "Westerner's Arms" and is an early Uberti..

The Lee NMA .44 mould bullet 90382 MOLD_D_C_450-200-1R seems to work well if you cast it in pure lead and use a high casting temperature...

This SPG ... http://www.blackpowderspg.com/history_body.html

not this SPG ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarong_party_girl :D