FFg in a small bore ?

[nessy357]

Anyone ever try FFg in a small bore ?
I have a .32 and a .45 that maybe the report and the recoil might be better for younger grandkids ?
I've reduced the charge for my grand-daughter (5yrs) down to 10 grs of FFFg in her .32 CVA . and the "crack" bothers her more than the kick.
Wondering if anyone had tried FFg in the smaller bores?
Cheers nessy.

[jbullard1]

I havent tried it in a 32 but have shot some in a 45 with decent results

[Riley/MN]

Yeah, I shoot ffg in my .45, too. No .32 at my house though...

[Gordon H.Kemp]

I use 2ff in my .45 and have good performance.I don't own or have the use of a .32 so can't comment on it. Are you using ear protection for the youngster? Thn muff type seem to do a better job than the plugs.

[nessy357]

Thanks, on the replys , the young'uns wear the earmuffs, maybe they don't seal as good as an adult ?

Cheers Bob.

[Ironwood]

Nessy,  you might want to try some soft ear plugs along with the ear muffs.  I have a .32.  If I get a chance this week I'll run up to the rifle range and try some ffg.   It's a flinter and I usually use fffg for the main charge and the pan.  I would say if ffg works good in a flinter it should work just fine in a percussion.  Will let you know.

[nessy357]

Thanks ,  good idea, never thought of that, I'll look for some softer ear plugs to double up.

Cheers Bob.

[Chairslayer]

If they're using muffs and glasses they won't get a good seal. My grandsons use plugs. If the muffs aren't sized for kids they won't seal well either.

Dan, who has to take a hearing conservation class every year for work.

[Roaddog]

I have used ff in my 32 and that was on paper. It was ok but I wasn't trying to poke a squirrel in the eye either. As far as the crack or recoil went there wasn't much different.

[Three Hawks]

Thanks ,  good idea, never thought of that, I'll look for some softer ear plugs to double up.

Cheers Bob.

Kids have small ear canals and need close supervision or even an adult to insert ear plugs, especially if using foam puffs.

I disremember the brand name but there's a brand that look like little yellow christmas trees.  Those are much better for the sprog contingent.

I can't tell you the number of times I've seen both adults and kids with ear puffs propped crossways in the horns of their ears.  I gave up trying to show 'em how to do it properly.  Any more I just tell 'em how rilly, rilly kewl it is to be deaf and they're on the right track.  It's really too bad for the kids, but that's what happens when you pick morons for parents.  

Wait, I'm so so sorry, "morons" isn't sufficiently sensitive, I meant "Intellectually Challenged." Or perhaps "IQ deficient".  

There, now the idiots won't know I'm talking about them.

Three Hawks

[Trois Castors]

I've used 2f in .44 .........it worked,

[Three Hawks]

Over the years I've learned to regard the maxims of 2F, 3F and 4F and the uses thereof to be taken only as benchmarks of opportunity.

Black powder guns seem to be individualistic in their powder preferences and think rules exist to be broken.  

My much loved and often used T-C .50 Hawken has a decided preference for 3F powder, my good rondy buddy's Lyman .50 cal. percussion GPR does markedly better with 2F.  My .50 smoothy likes 3f, so I'm lucky not needing multiple grades of powder on hand.

When I shot my T-C Hawken as a flinter, it fired much more reliably when primed with a few flakes of 3F than 4F so there's another case of an individual rifle standing firm in  the face of common wisdom.

The lesson I take from this is that each rifle needs to be tested until one finds what works best for that rifle, be it powder, patches, lubes or muttered supplications to whichever spirit we hope blesses our efforts.  

Three Hawks

[nessy357]

Thanks again, I took my daughter-in-law out to the range today,to try out her new rifle 50cal CVA. She couldn't really tell the difference between FFg andFFFg. The rifle shot real well with the FFg (3" vert. string @n 50 yds) so that's what we'll go with.
One thing I am going to do is put on a set of California matched sights, and get rid of the one on there.
Cheers nessy.

[Three Hawks]

Thanks again, I took my daughter-in-law out to the range today,to try out her new rifle 50cal CVA. She couldn't really tell the difference between FFg andFFFg. The rifle shot real well with the FFg (3" vert. string @n 50 yds) so that's what we'll go with.
One thing I am going to do is put on a set of California matched sights, and get rid of the one on there.
Cheers nessy.

Which model CVA?  Not one of those horrid inline abominations I hope.  

Check out the article on priming horns in By Peter Alexander in the current issue of Muzzleloader Magazine.  Some interesting history on Black Powder in there.   3F and 4F apparently weren't available until about 1930,  so 2F would have had to be the powder of choice even in .28 cal squirrel rifles.

Mr. A. asserts that since the fine grained powders didn't exist, there would be no use for priming horns and most if not all antique small horns were actually day horns, used for short hunts and day trips.  His argument is very compelling.  

I have two small horns that I won and don't use.  I think I will cut one down to about a 4 ounce capacity to use with my new .32 Crockett squirrel gun.  1/4 of a pound still gives me 70 25 gr. charges for that rifle.  That's enough for almost any day shoot, even a rondy.   Like he says, why carry a whole pound of powder when a fraction is plenty.  I have enough weight hanging on my shoulder as it is.

I'll set up a  day horn and a small shooting bag to use with both  my .32 Crockett now and my .40 cal. Seneca when it's ready to shoot.

Three Hawks

[Captchee]

i read that Three hawks and about fell out of my chair
 i think what happened  was Peter  was miss  proofed  by the editor
 Now im going from memory but  If I recall correctly  , even thought  the 1930 date seems kinda late .
   Anyway the point is ,  I think peter was trying to say there was no 3F because there was no grading system  calling different sizes . 1 F , 2F. 3F

 See today we use a screen system to size . However historically , that   wasn’t the case .  In their process powder were produced  all the way up to what we would call today 10F  or photography powder . This very very fine grade was  used a lot  in the late 19th century  in flash trays .

 So how did they get  different sized  powder .
 Whelp  as I understand it  by sedimentation  caused by vibration .
 I think it was Pope who  profiled this in a  chapter  of one of his table top books  which included  period diary accounts and such  to support his  findings .

 Basically  when the powder back then was ground , it wasn’t then screened as we do today . So
what would happen was that once  the powder was barreled up , it was loaded into wagons  for delivery . Prior to leaving the powder kegs were  marked on all the tops ..
 As the wagons bumped and jumped down the road , the vibration transferred into the keg/ barrels  thus making the bigger grains come to the top . Separating the  powder into cannon , musket and rifle powders
 The kegs would then be  opened accordingly  as to  intended use .
 So  in reality  the rifle powder was a mix of everything  from very fine   to course powder .

 I also believe peter was  trying to  get across that there is basically 0  documentation for a priming horn  in and of itself  when used in context for a rifleman .
 As such when  a rifleman  loaded a pan from the main horn .  What was in the pan , wouldn’t have been  all the size of 2F or 3F  but a mix of fin and course powder

 Later in the   late 18th century and early  19th century , powder was  put in smaller kegs  as well a lead canisters  but  for easy of transportation and distribution.

 now we can suport this becouse every now and then old cashes of  suplies are found here in the west , dating to the early western fur trade . the powders in those cashes   from those i have talked to who have found them , say the powder is a mix of  what apears to be 4-2 F

 So were there smaller  sizes of powder,,,,,, yep  .
 But was it call 3 or 4 F  nope