Anyone have this happen?

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Was doing a little backyard shooting with PPatch the other day. Shooting my new .36, trying to work up a good load. I was getting close with 30 grains of 3f so I cut it down to 20 gr which was a little better, but after a couple of shots, I loaded and got a pan flash. I reprimed and same thing. I tried to trickle some primer to clear the ball and no luck. We pulled the breach plug and pushed the ball out. I seamed there was no powder but the patch was dirty. I figured this to be from the powder I trickled into the touch hole.

Reloaded this time I was sure there was powder. Another Flash. This time the trickle cleared the bore. I reloaded and changed the load to 25 grains. and used a greased wad over the powder with a spit patch for the ball and had no more problem with any shots after that.

It was mid 90 degrees and very humid. I think what was happening was because of the combination of the humidity and that I was using a spit patch directly touching the powder, I was wetting the powder with the 20 grain charge enough that it wouldn't ignite. After going up to 25 grains of powder and a greased wad to separate the powder from the spit patch I had no problem. Does this seem correct? Anyone have this problem with small charges?

Never had this happen before but never tried a charge so small before. If I was hunting I would be using a greased patch not spit patch.

[Daryl]

Interesting - as you were explaining the circumstances, I thought initially along the line of a patent-type breech with the powder charge being behind the vent - but guess you got it figured out.   

[hanshi]

That's the reason I use patches in all my guns.  The prb can easily wet the powder if any kind of wet lube is used; this includes Hoppes which is my usual lube.

[Hungry Horse]

 This can also occur if you are shooting a small caliber flinter (usually .32 or less) with light charges, and a very tight patched ball. This usually happens in older guns that have some degree of touch hole erosion, and bore roughness. Shooting with 3F that has been grinding around in a big old powder horn, for a year or two, adds to the possibility, since your 3F has probably ground itself into 4F.

                   Hungry Horse

[PPatch]

Mike;

In my opinion you analysed the problem correctly - wet powder. I checked out that ball and patch after we removed it and the patch was sopping wet and had damp powder clinging to it.

That patch and ball combination is very tight btw, the .36 a fun rifle to shoot and economical to boot.

dp

[Dphariss]

If the powder was THAT wet it would have been a gob of goo in the breech, not "dirty".
If even 1/2 the powder had ignited the ball would gave come out,
I wet patched my 54 at a hot dry Rendezvous once and then walked to the next target and loaded figuring that as hot as the barrel was it would be dry. Dumped in 90 gr of Swiss and then seated the ball, black  semi-liquid fouling squirted out into the pan. Dang. So I primes it, aims and trips the trigger. Poof ssssssssftbang, even got the target, much to my surprise. There is no room to trickle powder into the vent if there is already powder in the barrel.

Dan

[PPatch]

Interesting Dan - come to think on it that "powder" I mentioned did look more like goo, felt like it too with a few grains mixed in, and it was wet. I noted the goo like texture but it did not register as anything extraordinary - probably because I am not experienced enough at black powder and didn't think anything about it. Also when Mike fired after trickling in the 4FFFF a distinct hissing resulted and no BANG. I glanced over and and saw thin smoke spewing out the vent for about a second.

The day after Mike when home I picked up a bunch of the patches in the yard, most were burnt to $#*! (blow by), some looked like you could reuse them. He had been shooting upwards of 40gr when he first began so those burnt patches were likely from that time.

dp