Anybody use FFFF for any reason?

[WBR10654]

I ended up with a can of 4F from a buddy of mine and have yet to find a reason to use it.

I did some reading and read that some people, 20 years ago woulf shoot about 10 Grain in some revolvers but everything else I have read says this is No-No.

I would trade powder for it.... 2 or 3 f.

[Muley Gil]

FFFFg is the best choice for priming the pan on a flintlock.

[hobbler]

From what I've read about it the cartridges sold to the militaries would have fine grain powder in them because of needing to add some power to the limited space available behind the conical bullets.
Other than that all I can tell you is that FFFFg can run out of a lot of Italian nipple holes.

[Southron Sr.]

My advice is that whoever gets that FFFFg use it ONLY as a priming powder for your flintlock.

Personal experience, circa 1971.

I was out at my range on the farm in South Georgia shooting a replica Brown Bess made by Pedersoli. I had made up a dozen or so paper cartridges shooting some cast 72 Caliber round lead balls.

The paper cartridges had around 80 or 90 Grains of FFg and I was having a good time blazing away at some water filled milk jugs down range at about 50 yards.

Well, I had used up all of my paper cartridges and there was still one, water filled milk jug down range. It was the "lone survivor."

As I was out of cartridges, I had with me a small powder horn of FFFFg I was using to prime the pan of the lock of the Big Brown Bess.

So, I thought, "What the heck." and used the measure to pour 90 Grains of FFFFg down the bore. That was followed by a .72 caliber round ball being rammed down.

Wanting to hit the water filled milk jug on the next shot, I primed the Brown Bess and then assumed a kneeling position.

I took careful aim at the milk jug.

I carefully "squeezed" the trigger...I AM NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT.

There was a really, really, really LOUD EXPLOSION and the next thing I remember I was lying FLAT ON MY BACK ON THE GROUND AND MY RIGHT SHOULDER WAS IN A LOT OF PAIN.

The Pedersoli Brown Bess was lying on the ground next to me with a slowly rising plume of smoke coming out of the muzzle and touch hole.

As it was a cloudy day with dark clouds above me...my first thought when my senses began to come back to me was that I had been struck by lightning!!!

Then it dawned on me that the cause of my "catastrophe" was loading a FULL CHARGE of FFFFg in that Brown Bess and shooting it.

Amazingly, the barrel of the Pedersoli musket was not split nor even bulged. Bless Pedersoli for using some really good steel in their barrels!!!!

I figured the pressure in that barrel when I touched off that FULL CHARGE of FFFFg was probably in excess of that of a small tactical nuclear explosion.

The next day, my right shoulder was black and blue. The good news was that an X-Ray by my family physician confirmed I DIDN'T HAVE ANY BROKEN BONES in my very sore shoulder.

MORAL OF THIS STORY: FFFFg is wonderful for priming flintlock pans, but don't use it in your load!!!

[ChrisWBR]

I have had personal experience with someone who used FFFFg in their Smoothbore and eroded out the area inside the barrel at the breech. FFFFg is too hot to use as a propellant and should only be used as a priming powder.

[toot]

that is a basic fundamental, 4 f g is used as a priming in flint lock pans and under a nipple in a percussion that was loaded with a ball and no powder to get it out, when not paying attention and talking wile loading.

[jonk]

I have used it in cartridge loads experimentally as a 'duplex'- say 5 gr of 4f then the rest normal 2 or 1.5f. Can't say as I thought it was worth it, but some guys swear by it. In my 45/70 and 11mm mauser. So there's another use for it, if a tad controversial. I also have some older top break revolvers chambered in .32 S&W that I load black powder for. 3f or 4f, doesn't seem to matter... tiny little case will only hold like 8 gr of either. I also played with it in revolvers, a .44 with 10 gr of 4f will shoot ok, but it doesn't do anything 3f won't. Other than those limited uses, yeah... priming powder. That or null b.

[Mike McDaniel]

I have used Swiss 4f for pistol, particularly single-shot pistols...not our horse pistols, but flintlock duellers. It works well, you'll get distinctly faster ignition. Not sure I'd try it in a rifle above .36 caliber. And cut loads 10%.

[Bruce Cobb 1723V]

Good in reloading 22 rimfires too.

[toot]

DUELIST44, AKA, MIKE BELEVIEU, a black powder magazine contributor said it is safe to use in .31. calibers, COLTS & REMY'S with no problem. I have tried it and it works fine.

[hobbler]

My 1849 with the 6" barrel should be home soon.
I'm looking forward to concocting some .32 sized bullets for bunnies so FFFFg might be up against those AMPCO nipples with the little bitty holes!