Ref. Powder Horns....Big Smoke, can ya hear me?

[Uncle Russ]

John (Big Smoke) you have more experience with powder horns than anyone I know, or have known in the past.
Somewhere along the line we all try our hand at building a nice Powder Horn, some even try their hand at scratching something on that same horn....and it's all done in great fun.
Then we have guys like yourself that have taken horn building to a whole new level.

I do know you have likely made, and sold, more Powder Horns than most of us will ever see in a life time. Likely more than the average Bear can even imagine......
What I don't know is your experience of owning and using that same "favorite horn" that you made, and that brings my question.

Assuming a Horn is well built, and is about as air, and moisture tight as can be expected from a Powder Horn....How long do you think the powder in that horn will be useable, under normal use?

Just how moisture proof is the average horn?
Would you consider 6 / 8 months a long time, or short time to store powder in the Horn, with just occasional usage?
I understand all the variables regarding Humidity, exposure to rain / snow, and leaving the plug out for extended periods.... 

Uncle Russ...


 

[Bigsmoke]

Hey Russ,

I do know you have likely made, and sold, more Powder Horns than most of us will ever see in a life time.

Yeah, probably.  By rough count and estimation, I would guess the total would be about 30,000, probably a bit more.  Darn, I was a busy little beaver there for a while.  The idea of going out into the shop and knocking out a dozen horns a day, day after day, just leaves me feeling pretty tired right now.  And that's just the thought of it.  The doing of it? It ain't gonna happen any more.

Assuming a Horn is well built, and is about as air, and moisture tight as can be expected from a Powder Horn....How long do you think the powder in that horn will be usable, under normal use? 

Geez, I don't know, Russ.  Usually when I am done shooting at the end of the day, when I get back to the house, I refill my pouch with more round ball and patches, to replace the ones I used.  I refill my capper.  And then I refill my horn.  Then everything goes into my big "stuff box" in a cupboard in the garage.  No special handling after that, and it is not a hermetically sealed cupboard, either.  In my case, the next time I am going to use my rifle is about a year or two years later.  I've never had a problem with powder deteriorating on me.  Likewise, when I was in Idaho, I stored my powder (and powder horn) in the garage year around.  Never a problem, but the time between uses was much shorter.

Another time a group of us went for a "stroll" in the mountains.  It was later referred to as the Independence Creek Death March !!  On the way in, a person did not notice that he had dropped his powder horn while crossing a creek that the trail went through.  When we got to our rendezvous spot and started unloading, he noticed that the powder horn that I had painstakingly made for him was gone.  So, we started hoofing it back, looking for the horn.  Sure enough, we found it submerged in about 6 or 8" of running water.  Pulled it out of the creek, pulled the stopper and pure, dry powder poured out of the spout.  The horn was probably submerged about 3 hours or more.

My feeling is powder should last in a well built horn just as long as it would in the original container it came in.

Thank back in history.  Lewis and Clark were out on their voyage for over a year or more.  No problems that I can recall hearing about.
The fur trappers in the Rocky Mountains were out for however long.  Their powder lasted from rendezvous to rendezvous.
Etc.
I believe that a good horn is a very viable way to store powder for extended periods of time.

John