powders plugged up

[Lady of the Woods]

recently, since summer started, I've had several times when my powder just simply won't pour out of the horn. I took a cut off wire hanger tonight and twisted it around in there and it doesn't seem to have an obstruction... is it the humidity do ya think or is there something else goin on with my powder horn? Any thoughts?
Thanks for your input.
Zan

[Indiana]

Is your horn sealed on the inside?  Maybe some moisture has gotten inside your horn??

[Chairslayer]

Try emptting out your horn and then blow into it. See if you're getting any air flow thru the horn. Make sure your plug fits snug too. Horns should be air tight.

[Indiana]

If you can blow through it, just melt some beeswax and pour through the hole.  Then just slosh it around and pour the rest that hasn't cooled yet out.

[Pitchy]

Yep that happened to my horn, mine had so many leeks that when i nlew in it a tune came out.  :lol:
Sealed it up and no more problems, thanks goes to those here.  

[Lady of the Woods]

AHHH HA!
I know that my horn WAS watertight/leak proof back in the fall as we had to dunk our horns for 10 seconds as part of the competition at ThunderCreek's Fall Rendezvous.

However, based upon what Wyosmith wrote:

Wax can work, but it gets soft if the horn gets too warm in the sun

I think it may have gotten overheated in the sun at Wolf Creek Rendezvou or at Friendship and the wax has melted. I will try your glue suggestion Steve, thanks!

Zan

[Gambia]

Ifn your gonna go that far, why not just drill out the wooden pins, pull the plug and clean it out, then use the glue or apply some epoxy and repin the cap. That is where I would start, But thats just me.....and I am by no means an authority on anything

[Lady of the Woods]

Well, I emptied my horn and blew in it tonight.  My cheeks looked like a chipmonk but no air escaped through the horn.

Chairslayer mentioned "If you fill the horn too full, and then stuff the plug in, you can actually compact the powder enough that it won't flow."

So, that may be the issue. Perhaps in my overzealousness, I over filled it.

 I didn't fill it quite so full when I returned the powder to the horn, we'll see if it gets "plugged" again.

Thanks for the advice in any case it's all good to know!
Zan

[Jesse Mains]

Hey Zan,

Could be moisture/humidity. Had it happen to the horn I carry a few times. I carry several feet of good sized copper wire in a small coil usually (ie stripped outta Nomex electric wire) for repairs etc...., and usually carry a loop about ten inches long for a squirrel stringer I can hang on my knife. But as often as not it ends up getting straightened out to clean out a cane pipestem or bust up a "chunk" blocking the throat of my horn.

Handy thing to have in the bottom of a shooting bag! And better than a stick, which might break and leave a rattling chunk in your horn....., oops was that out loud? Oops.

YMHOBriar,

Jesse Mains

[mike rumping]

like Jesse said, carry a long piece copper or brass wire.  But then I
 got to wonderin if you might have filled it too full,  that happened to
me once many years ago when we went on a 3 day squirrrel hunt.
Fortunately somebody had a long hank of wire for a snare wire.
Mike

[Minnesota Mike]

Question on this topic - I know that to help keep moisture out of salt, you can put in rice grains or a saltine cracker - for lettuce/salad a paper towel will help.

Is there anything you could use or that was used to absorb moisture before the powder does or to help extract moisture from the powder once its in there?

r/
MM

[Gambia]

Question on this topic - I know that to help keep moisture out of salt, you can put in rice grains or a saltine cracker - for lettuce/salad a paper towel will help.

Is there anything you could use or that was used to absorb moisture before the powder does or to help extract moisture from the powder once its in there?

r/
MM

Yes sir, take a look at this link, it will make powder fire even in water scroll down about half way on the page and look for dry pan;
http://www.fortchambers.com/Products/Ac ... ories.html

Here is another link for the same stuff; well, I see that this link didn't take me to the page, so, in the search on this link, type "dry pan" and it will come up.
http://rmcsports.com/catalog.htm

This says for 4F G but I don't see why it wouldn't work in a horn also. The owner of Fort Chambers told me a story of how they used to keep some powder in a can of water on the counter so they could show how it worked, at the end of the day, he took it back and dumped it in the bathroom fixture, he went on closing the store and just before he left he flicked his cigarette in the pot and the powder blew up. He said he had smoke all through the place.

[BEAVERMAN]

Another question, folks out here on the wet side of the country that store powder in their horn betwixed shoots seem to have the same problem, I empty the left over powder back into the tin at the end of the shoot, put the spout plug back in and hang it uup at home , refill at the next rondy or shoot, no problems, just an FYI for ya!