Blackpowder load longevity

[Gus Walker]

Thought this interesting , Just read this ,Regarding how long a cap and ball can be left loaded From an article i found in an old arms magazine about Robert E Lee.....
The Confederate general carried an 1851 Colt Navy and the gun almost immediately made the “commentaries” (i.e. print news) after the war as an object of public fascination. According to Flayderman’s Guide To Antique American Firearms, when the gun was shot in 1870 after the General’s death, every chamber fired as was, last loaded during the middle of the War seven years prior.

[Dick Dastardly]

Black powder is very stable.  Given low humidity and moderate storage conditions, "Civil War" guns have been known to fire very well.  Keep your powder dry was the cry.  Water is the enemy of black powder ignition.

DD-MDA

[hellgate]

I'd sure like to know what kind of caps were used back then. I've left my revolvers loaded for several months and have had 1, 2 , or 3 chambers hangfire on not even go off. I was meticulous in loading them with no oil in the chambers (no lube wad), properly seated caps, clear dry nipples & flash holes, etc. I carried them as finishing guns during deer & elk seasons from late September til the end of November when I shot them dry. Maybe a flap holster is the answer.

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[Coffinmaker]

There are several instances where Cannon have been recovered from ancient ship wrecks.  Several cannon were found to be "loaded" and
special care was taken to prepare them for "un-loading."  One really 'brite" explorer type got curious, so the "spike'd" flash hole was carefully cleared and the intrepid recovery team stuck some fuse material into the powder charge and lit it.

There was a certain amount of surprise and consternation when the cannon FIRED.  Put a large hole through the transom of the boat and the cannon itself recoiled thru a bulkhead (wood boat) into the cabin.

Coffinmaker

[olskool]

I shoot flintlocks and have loaded and then fired a year later after deer season. you do not want to be in front of one! they go off every time....

[Noz]

There was a story a few years back about an artifact collector that dug up a civil war cannon ball. He and a few friends were cleaning finds when he took a grinder with a wire wheel on it to clean the cannon ball. Most of them died.

[Dick Dastardly]

Seems some genius at the Penn Iron Works came up with the idea of breaking cannon balls to reclaim the iron.  He arranged them with the fuse hole up and when it got toward winter, he filled the cannon balls with water.  When the temperature dropped well below freezing the expanding ice broke the iron balls.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

DD-MDA

[Noz]

That;s a lot of time and work for 9 pounds of rusty iron.

[Bunk Stagnerg]

I am presently loading out of a case of FFFg DuPont made in 1975. The cardboard case is "weathered" from having a rat build a nest on top of it, but the cans are clean and shiny.
I cannot tell the difference between .45 Colt Short (.45 cowboy Special) rounds loaded with the DuPont, GOEX, KIK, or Graf & Sons powder, so my observation is Gun Powder will last a long time if kept dry.
When I started shooting Frontier Cartridge one of the cans I used up was some Curtis's & Harvey #6 that dated back to the early '50s and it worked just fine.
That is my experience for what it is worth.
Yr' Obt' Svt'
Bunk

[Fox Creek Kid]

I'd sure like to know what kind of caps were used back then. I've left my revolvers loaded for several months and have had 1, 2 , or 3 chambers hangfire on not even go off. I was meticulous in loading them with no oil in the chambers (no lube wad), properly seated caps, clear dry nipples & flash holes, etc. I carried them as finishing guns during deer & elk seasons from late September til the end of November when I shot them dry. Maybe a flap holster is the answer.

For long term you need to "seal" the caps. I have done that during deer season and used melted beeswax over the caps (just a small drop) after they were placed on the nipples to seal out moisture.

[hellgate]

FCK,
Wouldn't candle (pariffin) wax be easier to apply and more easily blow away when fired.?

[Coffinmaker]

I realize this is BLASPHEMY.  I do apologize to any and all I may offend, but ...... wouldn't the easiest solution be use (gasp) suppositories??  New fangled fad .. YES  But, those things are water tight like a Frogg's Butt!!   

Coffinmaker

[Gus Walker]

 

I realize this is BLASPHEMY.  I do apologize to any and all I may offend, but ...... wouldn't the easiest solution be use (gasp) suppositories??  New fangled fad .. YES  But, those things are water tight like a Frogg's Butt!!   

Coffinmaker

LOL....    Now thats funny,,,,,

[Noz]

I realize this is BLASPHEMY.  I do apologize to any and all I may offend, but ...... wouldn't the easiest solution be use (gasp) suppositories??  New fangled fad .. YES  But, those things are water tight like a Frogg's Butt!!   

Coffinmaker

They are used by only those that do not under stand the beauty and the traditional values of the true believer.  Better? Possibly? More lethal? No! You, whether a deer or a human can only get so dead.

[Pettifogger]

I use to work in a gun store than specialized in antiques.  You would be surprised how many Civil War era guns came in loaded.  On many rifles there were multiple charges in the bore.  In almost every case the powder went off while the gun was being cleared.