Hi 999
You are in for a bit of fun. The above advice is all first class as long as your gun is a 12 bore - different rules apply if you have something different - seek advice if it is.
If you are new to the game there are a few safety rules you need to bear in mind.
Firstly ALWAYS wear safety glasses.
Check the gun is not already loaded - just compare the depth of the barrel inside and out using the ram rod – a double load can be a memorable experience!!! And it is not unknown for a muzzle loader to be left loaded – certainly not recomended.
Second you will need to 'cap off' before you load the gun ie fire a percussion cap on an empty gun to remove oil etc.
Always remember that once you have fired the gun there could be smouldering embers down the barrel. The powder flask you have has a flash protection gate to hopefully stop it tuning into a hand grenade if this occurs, but always pour the powder in with the gun tilted away from you. The technique with the flask is to place your finger over the spout of the upturned flask, operate the gate with the thumb and give it a little shake, let go of the thumb press and turn the flask up the right way. The measure nozzle should then be full and the flash protector closed. It is now safe to pour it in the barrel.
If you have a double barrelled gun always load one barrel at a time and cover the other with your thumb – again to prevent double load.
You will attract attention and people will want to chat while you are loading – concentrate!!! – it is so easy to get distracted. Never take a chance – if you loose track unload the gun and start again.
If you are going to fire the gun straight away then I just use the oily felt wad but if you are going to be delayed such as on a game day always use an over powder wad to stop the oil soaking into the powder.
So great - you are ready to go – boom – smoke – broken clay and then you get a misfire!!!
Bit of a problem – you can’t just wait 30 seconds and take out the dud cartridge. Black powder can be prone to ‘hang fires’ where there is a delay before it fires so be very aware of this.
First thing to do is keep it pointing at the sky.
Try a couple more caps after checking the nipple is clear – you can get a purpose made ‘pricker’ for this or a paperclip will do. If still no joy then the flash is not reaching the powder for some reason. It is usually a bit of oil or wet got in the nipple and the flash is only making contact with wet powder – assuming you remembered to put the powder in the first place!!
I am not sure if this is standard practice in the event of a miss fire but after a suitable length of time I unscrew the nipple and from a small flask, with fine powder in, I pour a small quantity into the nipple chamber. This will reinforce the flash and the gun will almost always go off – but be careful!! After a couple of goes with this you will usually find there is enough pop to push the wad and shot out of the barrel and you can start again, making sure there is no residual powder left in the barrel.
You will probably find that under the cap of your ram rod there is a worm screw – this is for unloading a miss fired gun as a last resort. I have to say I have never been comfortable poking around down the barrel of a loaded gun, I value my fingers too much so I have always managed to avoid this.
I am sure you will get more advice from others more experienced in miss fire incidents!!!!!
One last word – clean your gun well but make sure you get it dry after pouring the water down to dissolve the residues. Dampness left in the barrel or nipple chamber will destroy your gun in a very short time – again I am sure others will give their thoughts on the best way to clean black powder guns.
Best of luck and have some fun!! I just hope you wont need the 999.
John