Patting the Side?

[Smokey Plainsman]

Does anyone out there pat the side of their rifle after pouring in a charge, to settle the powder? I’ve seen people do this. Some feel as if it can help even put the charge for best consistency and will knock down any grains that got stuck to the side of the barrel.

Thoughts?

[Jim Evans]

Patting the barrel was to get the charge into the vent, not out of the barrel, the patched ball will push the powder down the barrel.

[Fyrstyk]

I do it as part of my loading process, especially with guns that have a patent breech.  The patting of the off side of the lock after pouring in the powder helps to break up powder kernel 'bridging" and helps to move powder into the flash channel on guns with the patent breech.

[rich pierce]

I pat the side then thump the butt.

[Bob McBride]

When I dump a little too much powder in the pan of a rifle with a low touchhole I like to quickly turn the gun lock side down before firing to put a little extra gap between the touchhole and the primer.

[MuskratMike]

Other than for the reason Bob McBride mentioned, (which I learned from his tv show) I don't tip and tap.
Powder, patch, ball rammed home.  Pick every fourth shot or so, prime pan half full and shoot. If you have a quality rifle with a well tuned lock and properly place vent hole that's all you need my friend. Don't waste time reinventing the wheel just shoot!

[JPK]

Another interest of mine is black powder cartridge shooting. In that a drop tube is used to fill cases. The fall of the powder down a 2 to 3 foot tube fills the case to a lower level then pouring the powder directly in the case. This would be the equivalent of pouring down a muzzle loader barrel I should think. If a filled case is bumped around the powder is fluffed up rather then settled. I don’t pat or tap my muzzle loader for this reason.

[Semisane]

I'm a butt thumper. Drop the charge, lightly thump the butt against the ground or top of my boot, then load the ball.

[Daryl]

I never have patted, thumped or shook the rifle after dumping in the powder
 I've never found that to be necessary with my ML'S.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Very cool guys, never thought of a lot of what you all are saying. Seems it might be unnecessary.

[Skychief]

I'm no tapper.  Just pour, ram, prime, and shoot.

[Dave Marsh]

I'm with you Skychief..

Dave

[wolf]

my 62 jaeger likes a small amount of 2f in the pan, I usually make sure it is away from the vent hole. it goes off like lightning when that is done. if I fill the pan it gets a slow fuse effect. my 40 mountain. rifle has to have a pan full of 3f to go off instantly, anything less and it is slow,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[OldMtnMan]

I'm a bumper. Once with barrel straight and once or twice leaning the barrel to get the powder into the breech channel.

Maybe it's not needed but it can't hurt and only takes a couple of seconds to do.

[jeronimo41]

I've always done it.  But then again I load thru an inserted tube into the barrel and then tap to settle it all, then retract the tube.

[Daryl]

Yes, I always bump the side of my barrel with the pad of my hand. Helps get some of the charge into the inside cone of my vent liner. Jerry

Interesting Jerry.
Every time I load the gun (rifle or pelter) by dumping in the powder then the patched ball or shot load, by the time the load is deated on the powder, the internal cone is filled with powder as powder granules are visible at the vent.
This is die to the forced air rushing out the vent or nipple of those rifles as the "load" is seated.
I've never had a misfire with a caplock except for the time I didn't fire a cap before loading a clean bl.
If you have to fo this, then by all means do it. I've just never found a reason  for doing g it.

[coupe]

Ya do what ya gotta do! I have a traditions caplock 50 you must tap on the side to get the charge in the breech or a miss fire happens quite often, now the CVA with the same stile breech plug, and the 54 with the snail never need it and fire every time. Just the nature of the beast I guess.

[MuskratMike]

Or the quality of the guns design. Many lower end rifles just don't have the architecture of finer built guns. I AM NOT picking on anyone who can only afford an entry level gun, we all probably started with on I know I did. Tapping is just not necessary unless your rifles design requires it.

[OldMtnMan]

It's part of the ritual. Just like swabbing. No matter what gun I have.

[smylee grouch]

There seems to be a lot of people who have trouble getting powder into the anti chamber of their patent breeches and then having mis fires. There are a few things that have helped some over come this such as a SLIGHT Cone in the face of the plug and also some will tell you to pour your powder down the barrel slower as apposed to just a dumping it down action.

[Daryl]

Yes could be due to learned habits with poor breach design or due to wiping the bore between shots pushing fouling down into the breach and partially blocking the anti-chamber.

[OldMtnMan]

Just habit. I know after I bump I load the ball/bullet. I never knew if I needed to do it. I thought it was a good idea, so I kept on doing it. I'm never in so much of a rush that I don't have time to swab and bump.

It's like combing hair that isn't there anymore.

[Mike from OK]

Sometimes I do... Sometimes I don't.

I didn't at all yesterday. Next time I might do it every time.

I like to keep me on my toes.

Mike

[Bob McBride]

Easy fellers. We’ll have Dennis on us like a ton of bricks...

I like the discussion, even if I know I won’t change the way I do a thing, based on the conversation, but, I have changed the way I do many a thing based on dialog. That being said, I agree with OldMtnMan in that I don’t have a drive to reinvent the wheel at every turn as some do. Different personalities niche on different aspects of things and I’m good with that. As Hank Jr, says, “We say Grace, and we say Ma’am, if you ain't into that we don’t give a @!*%.”

[Craig Wilcox]

Heck, Pete, I still like ya!
I have no opinion on pat vs not pat.  Sometimes I will tip the rifle to the left is all.