Are you sure it's real black powder? If it's a sub powder a flinter won't ignite the pan very good.

 

I used goex ffg for the charge and ffffg for the priming. Its worked in three past just fine but didn't this year. The powder is about eight years old.

 

It's cold out and sometimes heating up your flinter in a vehicle or in the house can create some moisture (sweat) in the barrel. Your main charge may just be a bit damp.

I know this sounds silly...make sure you loaded powder first. Anyone that shoots flinter long enough "dry loads" one eventually ( in my case 3 times at one range session).

Okay, you have powder. remove your touch hole liner and work a small amount of 4f, 3f whatever powder you use in the pan. Do not pack the flash channel full, just get some fresh powder in it. After this give it a try.

If you are using a "sub" (synthetic powder, 777, Pyro etc.) this method will still work for you.

BP is very stable and I have never heard of it going bad. There is talk here on the site that subs have a short shelf life. I have shot 777 in the flinter for about 12 years and I have not experienced this either with powder up to 3 yrs old.

Good luck and I hope ya git'r runnin!!

 

If it does it would have to be very old or had gotten wet or damp at one time. I'm no expert on it, but my 4 f powder I bought back in 1995... Wrote date on the can when I bought it.... Still works fine. Just kept it in the gun safe. If you think the powder might be bad I'd sprinkle a very small amount on the ground and try lighting it.

 

Blackpowder kept in a sealed container doesn't go bad.I still have my origional can of FFFFg from 30+yrs ago.
Possibly crud pushed into the breech area.Once you get the charge out,give it a good pumping of soapy water.Then use a 30cal brush to clean out the breach area.pump again and dry.
This summer I bought a Fowler that had troubles.I dropped my alluminum rod down and got a thud instead of a ring.Years ago someone cleaned it and an old cleaning patch was in the bottom.

 

Ok. Its not the powder. I'll try something else.

 

Did ya load without powder? Had to ask

 

Your charge can draw moisture if the gun was left outside in a vehicle. Depending on how damp it got will determine how long until its dry enough to go off. Put your gun in a warm dry safe room for 24 hours, ream touch hole good with a pick. Loosen the charge so its coming out the touch hole. Give it a try, it should go boom.
Powder kept dry never goes bad. I have had a few occasions to shoot powder that is well over 100 years old, still works.

 

As Jester noted, taking a gun from the warmth of a home or cabin outside can create a few problems. If you loaded the gun inside, the warm barrel can condensate as he noted and run down the barrel and be absorbed by the powder. Loading your gun outside after you walk from a warm house or cabin can do the same thing.

I usually wipe out my barrel and load my gun on the porch. I'll either leave it on the back porch or put it in the truck for the next day. I've never had a problem with condensation.

Also, I'm still shooting 2X and 3X Goex powder that I purchased in bulk back in the late '70s when it was $3.10 a pound...that's right $3.10. As long as you keep it sealed and dry, it will last a long time.

 

If you left your can of powder in the truck and it was a metal can then the freezing and thawing probably caused some moisture condensation in the can. Same with the gun if it was loaded. The powder will be fine if you take it in the house or a warm place and take the lid off so it can dry out.

Black powder doesn't go bad even after it's wet. Just get it dry and it will be fine.

 

I understand taking a cold gun into a warm house will cause condensation. But I am not seeing where taking a warm gun outside in the cold will cause it. Doesn't cooling a metal causes any moisture to evaporate.

Was always told when you take it outside, put it in the back of the truck or trunk, not in the cab where it gets warm again, causing the condensation.

Also, my glasses will fog when I walk inside. They don't when I go out in the cold!

 

sounds like a "dry" load.

 

I'm not a scientist but I do believe black powder will indeed go bad.I'm an insurance agent.Several years ago,I had a house burn down.The fire started in the bottom drawer of a gun cabinet in an upstairs bedroom.There were no wires or anything that could have ignited the fire.The fire marshall's determination was that an old can of 4f spomtaneously combusted.He stated that since the bedromm was upstairs the change of tenerature that warm day caused it to ignite.According to him,black powder will start to break down if not stored properly.I have no idea but this was a rental property and we subrogated against the renter's own insurance.We ended up recovering the mosney we spent on the claim when it went to court based on the fact that it wasn't stored in a cool dry place.

 

That makes me a little nervous. I wonder how long it takes? I have some ffff that is getting fairly old.

 

That makes me a little nervous. I wonder how long it takes? I have some ffff that is getting fairly old.

What I've been told...

Place a small amount on a solid surface. With your thumbnail turned downwards. Apply pressure to a BP particle. If it snaps in two with a clean break, the powder is OK. If it crushes into dust, it has become unstable. Unstable meaning that if loaded, it will break down into a finer screen rating.

Exposure to oxygen will upset that stability. If a container has a hole...or the lid is loose, over enough time it can lose it's properties. How long it takes, I don't know.

If properly stored in an air tight container, I wouldn't worry about age alone.

 

That makes me a little nervous. I wonder how long it takes? I have some ffff that is getting fairly old.

I have no idea.According to the Fire Marshall,this wasn't the first time he saw it happen.However,like Curly mentioned,if stored properly,you probably don't have anything to worry about.

 

A gun cabinet in a second floor of a house was considered not to be a cool/dry environment? Are you kidding me? Do they heat their house to 100+?

 

It was an old farm house and a hot late spring day.I'm not kidding you and I also have no knowledge of the facts behind how or why BP can break down and become volatile.All I know is,we paid out over 100k and recovered 100k from the tenants renters insurance when it went to subrogation.You don't recover that kind of money if youdon't have the facts to back up your position.Both the fire marshall and our own cause and origin investigator came to the same conclusion.Finding the exact origin of the fire is pretty easy and it definately started in that gun cabinet drawer.There was nothing else in that drawer to start a fire and no way to generate a spark.When the fire started,the tenants were both at work.

 

I understand taking a cold gun into a warm house will cause condensation. But I am not seeing where taking a warm gun outside in the cold will cause it. Doesn't cooling a metal causes any moisture to evaporate.

Was always told when you take it outside, put it in the back of the truck or trunk, not in the cab where it gets warm again, causing the condensation.

Also, my glasses will fog when I walk inside. They don't when I go out in the cold!

You are correct.

 

cool ,dry storage, I'm shootin +40 yr old bp and it still flashes in the pan and ignites my barrel charge

 

It was an old farm house and a hot late spring day.I'm not kidding you and I also have no knowledge of the facts behind how or why BP can break down and become volatile.All I know is,we paid out over 100k and recovered 100k from the tenants renters insurance when it went to subrogation.You don't recover that kind of money if youdon't have the facts to back up your position.Both the fire marshall and our own cause and origin investigator came to the same conclusion.Finding the exact origin of the fire is pretty easy and it definately started in that gun cabinet drawer.There was nothing else in that drawer to start a fire and no way to generate a spark.When the fire started,the tenants were both at work.

From what I have been reading..... just passing along the info.

Gun powder when exposed to extreme heat will deteriorate. In the process of breaking down, it creates an acidity. This reaction creates heat, and from that spontaneous combustion can result. It's not just with BP, but with any modern smokeless powders as well.

All one has to do to avoid the possibility is to store it properly. No need to fear it...just respect it. From other message boards, I have heard many times that the safest place to store BP in he home is in a freezer. ???? Makes sense in that if a fire from a different source takes root, the freezer will take a bit of heat before affecting the contents. I would suppose too that the spontaneous combustion of a TV dinner is a ways down the list of possible sources of ignition. Although I'll bet if it did, the BP would take the rap from the investigators.

 

A tip for a "sweating" gun, before I bring a gun on a cold day in the house, I put it in the car and start it and let it run with the heat on. It warms gradually. This can be for any gun. When I bring my rifle in the house (not just a muzzy) it will sweat terrible and cause rust. If I put it in the car with the heat on and let it run for 20 to 30 minutes, it will be relativity warm and will not sweat.

 

I have done that for years--prevents moisture from forming in the inards