I just had a new experience and wonder if anyone has had it happen to them.   

I am working up a squib load for my 45-100 using a 390 grain bullet and about 18 grains of IMR 4198.  Some of my test shots sounded double--K-DUNG!--as though the ignition was late.  Since my group was muchum biggumus, I decided to dump the remaining five shells in the trees to my left and listen for any differences in sound with the rifle mounted from different positions (from different powder placement--no tuft in these).  Well, when I fired my third shot, the gun didn't fire.  I assumed that I had put in an empty, but when I pulled the shell, the bullet was gone all right, but the powder spilled out all over things.  Between my earplugs and the rain dumping down on me, I hadn't heard the primer pop.  I couldn't see down the barrel, so I pulled my ramrod and stuck it down its throat.  The bullet was lodged about a foot from the back end.  The primer had gone off, but the powder had failed to light, leaving a nervous bullet in the barrel.   

This is the first I have ever had a pan flash in a breach loader.  On a rainy day with my longrifle, I might expect this--but a breach loader?  (By the way, I keep my shells in a leather case, and I don't think there is any way the powder could have gotten wet.)

Have any of you fellows had this happen?  Thoughts?   

(I'm gonna knock out the rest and try a different approach.)    

Interesting, Paul.  4198 is giving me decent accuracy with full loads, and even with the squibs and a tuft it's been doing okay.  I shot a 2 1/2" group at 150 yards the other day (for a squib, that's good for me) using a tuft over the powder but today without it, I couldn't keep it on the paper.  The group must have been 18" tall.   

I don't see how there can be enough fire to push the bullet a foot but not have enough fire to ignite that powder.  Maybe 4198 is hard to touch off.

I've had it happen with SR-4759 in my .40-90 SS.  Some of the powder burns (enough to start the bullet down the barrel) and then the combination of the drop in pressure and the scattering of the powder grains throughout all that volume causes the fire to go out.  Sometimes there is enough residual pressure to pop the case out when the breech is opened.  Some powder is left in the case, some spills into the action and the rest forms a trail of litter down the bottom of the bore.

The cure I've found is Magnum primers, a tuft of Kapok against the powder and the heaviest bullet the twist will tolerate.  The powder is lit off more definitively, stays together so more of it can burn and the pressure is kept up so it keeps burning.  Naturally your current powder charges should be cut down when starting to use this method and the proper loading snuck back up on in the usual manner, checking for excess pressure signs along the way.

Well, Bent Ramrod, I'm glad to hear it's happened to you too.  It makes me feel better knowing that it is not the spirit of my flintlock haunting me for leaving it in the closet.    I just loaded up a few shells with Federal magnum primers (I was using WLR) so I'll see what happens the first decent day I get.

I like your analogy with the fuels, Boats.  And that sounds like a good book to have.  I'll see if I can find it.  It is interesting that it would talk about 4198 being hard to ignite in light charges.  I think, if I keep going with this load, I might try Unique and see how that does.

After switching to Hodgdons Trail Boss for light loads in large cases, I have yet to have a problem.

While hardly a single shot caliber (with the exception of Winchester's test rifle), I have had negative experiences with the .401 WSL and 2400 powder.  It burns quickly and pushes the 250 grain bullet out of the barrel, but the case never ejects from the M-1910 blowback action.  After a couple of shots there is so much unburned powder spilled action that it fails to seat the cartridges properly.

My observation is that some of the 2400 burns very rapidly, but it does not all burn.  The pressure spike is so fast that the action does not open properly.


If I use 4227, the rifle functions as intended.