Broken clay pipe as a powder measure

[Z. Buck]

 This is a shot of the book The Gamekeeper at Home by Richard Jefferies ca.1880 referring to older gentlemen who were raised on flintlocks. Never heard of anyone doing this before, seems interesting to me, anyone ever heard of this before in a primary source?

[James Rogers]

Yes,
Multiple 18th century English texts mention this method. There is also a painting by Ralph Earle called the Reclining Hunter depicting the use of a pipe bowl as a measure.

[trentOH]

It's only when you mistakenly use your powder measure as a pipe that things get interesting.....

[navygunner]

That would get your attention, now wouldn't it? $#*! on the beard too.

[Mick C]

What a great idea.  Thanks for sharing.   

[Daryl]

If one wishes to duplicate or emulate this seemingly English or perhaps originally Dutch method of measuring powder for your firelock, fine.

If you wish to have more accurate stricken measures, you will reduce the diameter of the hole in the powder measure to no more than about 3/8", as in a ctg. brass or brass tube, or commercial measure no larger than that.  This size makes duplicating accurate measures of powder, much easier. The smaller the diameter of the measure, the closer will be subsequent charges.
I've found pouring from a horn with a 1/4" hole, into a measure no more than .375", and as small as 1/4", that my thrown charges rarely vary more than 1/2gr. weight.  Consistency is important in all of this.
The larger the diameter of the hole in the measure, the greater the opportunity for not filling it exactly the same, each time.  For smaller bore guns, this can be very important for consistency. The larger bores usually give more leeway on this. I use a 1/2" diameter measure for the .69 - it seems not to care a whole lot, unlike the .32, .40 and .45. Lucky for them, the measure is usually smaller to make it easier to pour into a smaller bore.

[Dphariss]

I doubt it was used as a MEASURE as we would use it but rather as a transfer device to put powder in the bore of a SHOTGUN after its measured with a flask. For an American rifle the diameter would be too large to pour easily and the charge too heavy for a typical LR.
I kept trying to find a way to make this a valid way to measure powder and could not and had given up until I decided this might be a valid reason to use a pipe bowl. Which initially I considered to be as silly as  pouring powder over the ball in their hand as a useful way to load a rifle. Which is a waste of time compared to using a measure made anything from tin plated iron to cane.

Dan

[Hungry Horse]

 The early frontiersmen were consummate re-cyclers. Which means it was almost painful for them the discard anything that was remotely usable. Using a discarded clay pipe for a powder measure, that had its stem shortened by breakage, would have been likely. That being said, was it a good idea? Probably not. A fragile powder measure at a time when speed of loading could mean the difference between living, or going under, might not be the smartest thing you could use. More durable alternatives like antler, bone, metal, or cane, would seem more prudent.

            Hungry Horse