I am new to the BP thing. I have a Lyman Deer Stalker in 50 and was wondering if Sub powders can be used? Which ones are best?

Hi Ezra
I general conclusion for flinters is use the real black powder.Everyone that I know including myself that has tried the subs has switched back to black as it is not worth the aggrevation trying to light the fire. Subs have a higher flash point. Some precharge the charge with a little black to light it up, use mighty"s well use the good stuff. Well that is my take ,others may vary. Best Boon

Not sure about what you'd use in the flashpan.But in the barrel,yes just use some caution,pryodex an thriple 7 produces more pressure than ol' black.I've read that Thompson Center makes a flinter set up to use 150 grain charge.

If it isn't one of the TC's with the new breech stay away from the stuff,,use real black and you will be happy.. Every one I know who has tried it ,including myself ends up using a couple of grains of black underneath the pryo load to get it to ignite,just not worth it.

I have it from some knowledgeable "rock-lock jocks" that Black Mag3 and Pinnacle can be used in a flintlock without having to use a small "booster" charge of real BP (like 10 grains or so) dumped down the barrel before pouring in the substitute, and then only having to use real BP as the pan priming.

I have tried both GOEX ClearShot and Pyrodex RS in my flintlocks, but with a BP "booster" put in the barrel first, and of course, BP in the pan also.

I use a priming horn of about 200 grains capacity with a plunger that dispenses about 2.5 gains at each push. I used this to dump about 10 grains of FFFFg into the bore, load the substitute and bullet, then one push of the dispenser valve in the pan, close frizzen, etc.

If you are already using a pan priming device, using it to squirt the booster charge into your barrel is no big deal. It adds no extra work at all to the loading process.

A faster alternative is to use paper cartridges with one end folded, and load that folded end with 10 grains of BP, then pour in the main charge of the substitute powder on top of the black powder. Next insert the patched ball or bullet and twist this end closed. When loading, open the folded end, pour in the powder, which will go down the barrel BP booster charge first, then load and ram the PRB or bullet. You now are loaded with a layered charge: BP booster charge first, substitute powder main charge next, then patched ball or bullet on top. Now prime your pan & close the frizzen.......

If you try Black Mag3 or Pinnacle in your flintlock, please let us know how they worked for you!

I always use BP throughout, but one tip has always made a big difference for me - a smaller bp priming charge, usually about 1/3 of a full pan or slightly less, gives noticeably faster ignition than a pan full... The burn time between the surface of the priming charge and the flash hole is shorter, and ignition is almost instantaneous. HTH

quote:

Originally posted by Old Dave:
I always use BP throughout, but one tip has always made a big difference for me - a smaller bp priming charge, usually about 1/3 of a full pan or slightly less, gives noticeably faster ignition than a pan full... The burn time between the surface of the priming charge and the flash hole is shorter, and ignition is almost instantaneous. HTH

Yes. The priming charge ideally lies a little BELOW the level of the touch-hole, so that upon ignition of the pan charge, the initial flash lights the main charge-there is NO burning through to get to the touch-hole. If there is, a delay in main charge ignition results.

A properly located touch-hole combined with a well tuned lock, good sharp flint and a priming charge of the correct depth makes a flintlock fire the main charge in as little as 1/1000 of a second! My .73 cal. Jaeger fires like that! Right now, when I touch the front trigger.....