[Bronzeback]

Sitting in my treestand today I thought about taking a small amount of dessicant powder and mixing it with my pan powder. The idea is that the dessicant would absorb the moisture leaving my pan powder nice and fluffy. OK...maybe it wouldn't work that well, but do you think it would help? Believe me when I say that I am not a chemist and am a little leary about trying it. What do you think?

 

[jakerex]

Wet your pan powder a bit, put in the dessicant, and give er a whrill, let us know

 

[brewyak]

Keep us posted. But I think that if It worked than it would have been used for a while.
Just my my 2 cents

 

[Acorn20]

I don't know if they still make it or not, but there used to be a material called Drypan. You mixed it with the priming powder and I even knew of guys that would rub a little in the pan. It seemed to actually coat the individual grains of priming powder so that they wouldn't draw damp. I'm still using some of the priming powder I mixed with Drypan from the mid-eighties. A little bit goes a long way and, I mixed less than the recommended ratio on the container.

 

[Grey Bear Jr]

Dessicant is hygroscopic just like blackpowder. Actually you would be speeding up the moisture arrival at your pan powder. What you really want is something that repels moisture.

Try this trick. Mix beeswax and parafin about 75/25. heat in a pan you don't care about and then let cool. Should be like margerine when cool. After you fill your pan next time smear some of this along the edges of the pan. Be sure you do not get any on the face of the frizzen. It will not affect your lock action and will make the pan practically waterproof. I only use this in the worst of weather but it has never failed me yet.

GBJ

 

[mccoy]

Gotta agree with Grey Bear Jr. on this one. I have used bees wax mixtures in the past as well, and they will work. Something a bit less traditional that works much better for me is dental wax. It's for covering braces that are rubbing your mouth. Sticky, waterproof, and clear, and not hard to clean off when you're done with it.

 

[Ron pa]

Wow, thanks for jarring my memory! I think I have some of the stuff. Think mine is called Powder Dry? Believe it was made by the Blue and Gray Company. Now, if I can only find it....

 

[Woodsnut]

Try this link...
http://www.octobercountry.com/products3.php?productid=110

I haven't tried it myself but have heard from others that it can help.

GBJ's wisdom makes more sense though but I've tried neither at this point.

 

[mauser06]

the only time ive had moisture issues is after a shot has been fired...burnt powder residue draws moisture like no other...even on a mildly humid day, your pan will look wet after its been burnt pretty quick...

today, my buddy couldnt get his gun to fire..i could see the sparks coming off the frizzen pretty good...i had him look in the pan and sure enough, a big ole gooey ball of priming powder! he shot earlier and reprimed..thats when disaster sets in...

my tip, carry patches soaked in rubbing 91% alcohol..clean the frizzen, pan and surrounding areas..make sure you get the bottom of the frizzen, the face of it, and the pan clean...blow on it lightly to get it to dry if its real cold out..alcohol dries with no residue and dries very quickly on its own (i like to blow mine dry when its cold) you could dry it with a clean patch as well...alcohol also removes oils and anything else...

i carry a small pill bottom with alcohol soaked patches and another with dry patches...i clean my lock with them and swab the bore with them when im at the range or need to swab for whatever reason...

alot of guys say i carry too much in my possibles bag...but when their gun isnt going off, or their flint shatters, or they run out of loads, or need a ball pulled etc etc etc, they run to me coz they know i got it lol...

never messed with anything to keep my powder dry other than a leather cows knee...and knock on wood, never had trouble with it...

i believe 2 and 3fg granules are actually somewhat coated from the factory so they dont draw moisture...4f isnt so it will ignite easier i believe...could be wrong but i think i read that somewhere...maybe prime with 3f on wet days....ive primed with it and it works about as well as 4f if you got good spark..

 

[Moss]

I was told to use Crisco and line it on the edges, you know, the lard type.

 

[whitebuck]

Rmc makes two things that work i believe they are the same product can not tell the difference one is call wonder powder the other fletch- dry.

 

[bullfrog]

Had some stuff called raincoat,helped some but caused a lot of hangfires and slow burn in the pan.I just try to keep the regular 4f as dry as I can and keep changing out the pan powder regularly.