Hangfire/no fire help

[Muley Hunter]

The early Renegades didn't have Renegade or all the warnings on the barrel.

I'm picky about having a miss fire or hang fire in a hunting situation. So, to be extra safe I use nothing but real BP and musket caps. I've never had a failure when hunting. Even in wet weather.

Pyrodex and #11 percussion caps will work but everything needs to be perfect. Too risky for me.

 

[Saxtonyoung]

Many of the early Thompson Center barrels didn't have the model on them. I've owned Renegade, Hawken, Cherokee and Seneca barrels with only Thompson Center stamped on them. The only way to keep track is length of barrel and width across the flats. 2 winters ago I bought a 50 Caliber Renegade on Gun broker which should of had a 26" Barrel 1" across the flats. When it arrives i noticed the barrel fit sloppy in the stock, a quick measurement showed me that the barrel was 28" long and 15/16" across the flats making it a Hawken Barrel .

 

[Idaholewis]

I'm picky about having a miss fire or hang fire in a hunting situation. So, to be extra safe I use nothing but real BP and musket caps. I've never had a failure when hunting. Even in wet weather.

Pyrodex and #11 percussion caps will work but everything needs to be perfect. Too risky for me.

I agree Pete :yeah: I have had HORRIBLE luck with Pyrodex P, My first bad experience with it was a Hangfire on a Whitetail Buck with Idahoron’s Hotrod Hawken Rifle, Looking back i am 99.9% Sure that it was due to excessive oil in the Fire Channel, Before leaving on the hunt, We Swabbed the Bore good, And popped a couple of Caps off, then Loaded. Had i of known then what i know now We SHOULD have pulled the nipple and Blasted compressed air through the Nipple Hole Clearing the Fire Channel, And Patented Breech, Clear/Clean the Nipple, THEN Dry patched the Bore, and Lastly Popped the Caps Through, But we didn’t, and i simply didn’t know any better back then. I pulled up on the Deer “POP”............Boom! Hangfire

I ended up buying a Can of Pyrodex P to Shoot my PP bullets with, Pyrodex P leaves a Much Softer Gooey type Fouling therefore making it easier to Reload a Fouled Bore, Especially a Paper Patched Bullet, Real Black (Swiss) Leaves a Much Rougher Fouling that Can very easily Destroy the Paper Jacket. I just couldn’t get Pyrodex P to ignite Reliably, and that was with Worn Nipples in the .032-.034 Range. The only consistency i got with Pyrodex P was Hangfires. I sprinkled the Can along my Driveway and Lit it, Even that Hung Fired :lol:

 

[MSalyards]

Lewis. I used Pyrodex select with no problems at all . But I did swap out the nipple for a musket nipple. Only because my club fingers could handle the larger caps easier . That Hawkins was and still is my first and only side lock. Now thanks to you guys on here I need another safe and I'm getting muzzle loader poor! And I'm looking at those Rice barrels too! :d'oh!:

 

[Idaholewis]

Lewis. I used Pyrodex select with no problems at all . But I did swap out the nipple for a musket nipple. Only because my club fingers could handle the larger caps easier . That Hawkins was and still is my first and only side lock. Now thanks to you guys on here I need another safe and I'm getting muzzle loader poor! And I'm looking at those Rice barrels too! :d'oh!:

This Muzzleloading stuff is addicting!! I am VERY Pleased with this new Rice .45 Cal Barrel!

I know guy’s that use and swear by Pyrodex, But i sure didn’t have good luck with it, My Dad tried it 1 year Elk hunting, it was really cold weather, it was Spike bull only then, He found a Spike Bull (needle in a Haystack) Pulled up and took the Shot, The Rifle Hung Fired.

It all boils down to what each of trust, For me it’s Real Blackpowder :yeah:

 

[dhnut1973]

The early Renegades didn't have Renegade or all the warnings on the barrel.

I'm picky about having a miss fire or hang fire in a hunting situation. So, to be extra safe I use nothing but real BP and musket caps. I've never had a failure when hunting. Even in wet weather.

Pyrodex and #11 percussion caps will work but everything needs to be perfect. Too risky for me.

I have one can of real BP, but I save it for my flintlock. When I bought this can at the closest BPS to me, which is 2 hours away, they said they were dropping real BP. That was like 2 years ago and I haven’t been back to confirm.
In the past I’ve had good results with Pyro RS at the range up until 5 or 6 shots then hangfires would begin. Thanks to this thread I’ve adopted swabbing and busting caps between shots and these problems have gone away.
I have thought about trying musket caps, but it’s kinda like BP, I’m not aware of any place to get them locally. It’s been years since I’ve used a sidelock for hunting, but I hope to change that this season.
I guess I’ll try to find a local ML club to see about buying some BP in a group purchase to lower the cost. How and where do you guys store real BP?


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[Muley Hunter]

The same deal here. No gun shop will handle real BP anymore. Too many restrictions and laws on storing it. I buy online and it comes out about $23lb when adding in shipping and Hazmat. That's just buying 5lbs at a time. The more you buy the better the price because the Hazmat and shipping get spread out more.

I used to buy Swiss by the case and that gave me free shipping and Hazmat. It was also $15lb. The price of Swiss now is ridiculous. Too many guys claiming how good it is and they just kept jacking up the price. Same thing with BH 209. My local shop gets $43lb for BH. I give him an ear full everytime I buy it. I should say used to buy it. I'll probably go with Pyrodex for next year for the Wolf. It works fine in an inline with 209 primers.

 

[Idaholewis]

I am VERY FORTUNATE to have Buffalo Arms 30-40 minutes from me, I can get a few different Brands, and all Grades of Real Black. BACO does NOT carry any of the Substitute Powders. After shooting real Black, and then having the problems i did with Pyrodex, it would be REALLY TOUGH on me to ever Trust the Substitute powders on a Hunt. If i lived in area that didn’t carry Real Blackpowder I would anny up and Order a Case of it Before i trusted any of the Substitute Powders on a Hunt. Nothing beats Real Blackpowder for IMMEDIATE ignition