Properties of 4F powder; use for percussion cap filler/

[cpileri]

If you were the kind of guy making your own percussion caps, and was looking for something other than toy caps or match heads to fill them with, could you use FFFF black powder?

Does it have the impact sensitivity, flash (brisance), and produce enough flame to ignite a 2F or maybe 3F powder charge; when used in something the size of a percussion cap?

Anyone tried it?

Thanks!

C-

[Nobade]

Won't work. Put a little on an anvil and hit it with a hammer. It just gets flat but doesn't ignite. Now Armstrong's mixture, that's another animal. Be REALLY REALLY careful with primary explosives. 

Me, I just buy caps. They work great and I don't have to make them. Bought in bulk from Powder Valley they're not terribly expensive. Much less than getting my finger sewn back on after my batch of explosive mixture went off........

[keith44]

Never tried it, but if you used maybe 1 or 2 grains of 4F with a toy cap you might get the power you're looking for.  Me I'm a converted flinter.  They really are pretty dependable, even if they are finiky.  The only caps I use are on my Pedersoli Kodiak.