Went to the range today with a friend who purchased a new inline, we worked on getting it sighted in and had great success with that. Afterwards we went to the pistol area to shoot my Traditions Trapper. After several shots I put a cap on a fired… no smoke! I put on another cap and… no smoke! I retraced my steps and realized I had neglected to add powder prior to loading the patch and ball.
I grabbed my possibles pouch and dug out the nipple wrench, removed the nipple and trickled as much powder as I could fit in the drum then reinstalled the nipple. Put on another cap and pulled trigger. “Pop” went the gun and problem solved, took about two minutes! I believe this is the third or fourth time I’ve loaded a ball without powder over the last forty years. If you haven’t done it yet hang on, it’s not if but when. I’ve said numerous times, the most important item in the shooting bag is the nipple wrench! No worrying with pulling a ball out of the barrel, no looking for a grease fitting, or trying to use air to blow it out. I know all of those will work based on postings on this site and others but, I stand by the ease of trickling powder in and “popping“ the ball out of the barrel. Plus, we were able to continue at the range!
My friend got to see the process in person about an hour after I had explained how important it is to develop a repeatable loading system so you don’t load with out powder. He just smiled when I told him what I done, I was able to smile when the solution worked as planned! He learned what not to do and… what to do, when you do what you’re not supposed to.
I grabbed my possibles pouch and dug out the nipple wrench, removed the nipple and trickled as much powder as I could fit in the drum then reinstalled the nipple. Put on another cap and pulled trigger. “Pop” went the gun and problem solved, took about two minutes! I believe this is the third or fourth time I’ve loaded a ball without powder over the last forty years. If you haven’t done it yet hang on, it’s not if but when. I’ve said numerous times, the most important item in the shooting bag is the nipple wrench! No worrying with pulling a ball out of the barrel, no looking for a grease fitting, or trying to use air to blow it out. I know all of those will work based on postings on this site and others but, I stand by the ease of trickling powder in and “popping“ the ball out of the barrel. Plus, we were able to continue at the range!
My friend got to see the process in person about an hour after I had explained how important it is to develop a repeatable loading system so you don’t load with out powder. He just smiled when I told him what I done, I was able to smile when the solution worked as planned! He learned what not to do and… what to do, when you do what you’re not supposed to.
