Solution to hang fires?

[Win73]

Twice now my NEF Huntsman .50 caliber has caused me to miss a deer when it hang fired. Two years ago it caused me to miss a nice buck. This past season I missed a doe when it happened.

I am thinking about taking a very small drill bit and drilling out the flash hole a little. Anybody have any opinions on whether this would be a good idea?

[the rifleer]

Is this a flintlock or a percussion? (sorry i am unfamiliar with that model) With my percussion, if i pour the powder in and shake the gun a little and tap the side, then pack the powder tightly there is no hang fire and it shoots instantly.

If its a flintlock, i recommend spending some more time at the range. you are flinching and that's what is causing you to miss. even with a center fire rifle you could still miss if your flinch is bad enough.

edit- I looked it up, the one i found is a percussion. Its just a matter of loading it correctly. spend some quality time at the range with it and work on your flinch.

Are you using those pre-compressed loads? ive never used them, but maybe they are harder to ignite than loose powder.

[Win73]

It is an inline percussion. It uses a 209 primer. My propellant is 777 pellets. And I didn't miss because of a flinch. It was a definite hang fire (a delay between the primer going off and the gun actually firing.) The first time the delay was so long that I had time to raise my head off the stock. I thought it wasn't going to fire at all! And I know that the powder and bullet were both fully seated because I have a mark on my ramrod that tells me if they aren't.

The first time I thought it happened because I didn't pop a cap on it before loading it. But the second time I did.

[the rifleer]

Like i said, i think you need to spend some time at the range and just experiment on what works and what doesn't. I personally wouldn't rely on a mark on my ram rod, just push it down until it wont go down any more and use a firm amount of pressure. Don't force it or whack it with a hammer or anything, but put a good amount of pressure on it. The tighter the charge the better it will burn.

good luck, i hope you get it all straitened out. I'm sure its just a matter of loading it correctly. You might want to try loose powder. i know the pre-measured charges are convenient and handy, but they may not be as reliable. I have never used them, so i don't know.

[Win73]

I personally wouldn't rely on a mark on my ram rod, just push it down until it wont go down any more and use a firm amount of pressure.

I don't rely on the mark. I do push it down until it won't go any further. I just use the mark as a verfication that it is as far as it will go and isn't just hanging up short of fully seated.

I shoot it at the range. I always take it out and make sure the scope is still sighted in before taking it hunting. I have never had a hang fire at the range.

[hickstick_10]

give it a mild (5-10 grains) sprinkle of genuine 4fg blackpowder before you drop your main charge of 777 down the bore.

[darkgael]

Good chance that the problem is the propellant. I have used 777. I no longer do.
Triple seven is substantially harder to ignite than real blackpowder. If all else is OK with your gun, that may be the issue.
That being said, I used 777 mostly in cartridge guns and never had an issue in that application. I've just found that the real stuff works better in my front stuffers.
Pete

[shortwave]

One of the two reason`s I don`t use pellets. They`re designed to burn from the inside out(hence the hole in them) and if one or both is cracked/crushed in loading you`ll either experience a hang or partial ignition fire.

There are a few question`s you may want to ask yourself:
Am I putting to much pressure when seating load, cracking/crushing pellets?How clean is the flash-hole?
How old are the pellets/primers?
Are primers I`m using hot enough?

Finally, do I want to switch to loose powder?

[Pahoo]

With the listed shot-string, Hang-fires are rare. I would go back to the basics and make sure you are clean and dry from any oils or lubes. Even though you are using pellets, the 209 should be able to push through this. At this time I would not drill out your vent for I ffeel you would be treating the symtom and not the cause. I do not know how you store your pellets but might suspect they are contaminated. How many pellets are you loading? If three, drop back to two and load the same way you have been doing. Now see what you get. I no longer shoot pellets but when I did, I never got a hang-fire out of an in-line. Not saying that I have never had a hang-fire and when I do, I usually know why. When we teach, I sometimes induce hang-fires to show the students what they are. As noted, put in some more range time and fairly sure you will come up with the problem. Good luck and hang in their. ...



Be Safe !!!

[arcticap]

I've heard that there's an after market 209 carrierless breech plug being made by Metrics Unlimited that should fit both the H&R Huntsman & NEF Sidekick models.

For more info. call 1-800-638-7986, ask for Nick, or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]
Monday-Friday, open until 5:00 PM, EST.

[michael t]

Use powder not pellets

[thallub]

777 pellets are hard to ignite. Switch to Pyrodex pellets; they ignite much easier. Pyrodex pellets have a small BP igniter on one end. Load them black end down.

[bubba15301]

Use loose powder gun wasnt designed for pellets .