Hangfires

[bluelake]

Yesterday, I was interviewed by Korea's KBS TV show, History Special (역사스페셜). They are doing an episode on the Korean "Righteous Army" leader, Yu Paeng-no (柳彭老). As I am probably the only person in Korea who actually shoots matchlocks, KBS was referred to me. They wanted me to demonstrate and explain about both the Japanese teppo and also the Korean bow (They got a 2-for1 deal, as I shoot both). I had them bring black powder from the Korea Military Academy, which was left over from last November when I showed Korean military officers how to shoot a matchlock; we met at Korea's 3rd Military Academy's shooting range located nearby my city.

 

The biggest problem I've been having with my matchlock is hangfires. At first, I believed the problem was because the gunsmith who crafted my reproduction (it was a custom order) put the serpentine too far forward in the primer pan; thus, the matchcord would not ignite the primer quickly and I ended up with several-second hangfires (a couple were ten seconds long). Because of that, I had some help and adjusted the serpentine a couple millimeters back, so that the matchcord would land towards the other side of the primer pan. However, yesterday, I still ended up with several hangfires (a couple shot quick enough). One of the hangfires bit me; when it had delayed too long (I thought), I was going to close the pan and remove the matchcord. However, just as I was doing so, it ignited and I received a peppering of bp grains in my right index finger; today, I had a doctor pull them out--not fun... Oh, well! (I hope the show's producer cuts segments such as that).

 

Any ideas or suggestions on getting rid of hangfires?

 

A side note on our targets. The first target was kendo "do" chest armor. Using 50gr and a .45 cal. roundball, I hit it dead-center at about 50m. The roundball went clean through and continued on merrily down the range.

 

 

The second target was a group of wooden layers. The first shot went through 14/18 layers.

 

 

 

For the second shot, I used an original Korean Joseon dynasty roundball, which was fired against American forces 141 years ago in June 1871. So, it made its second flight. It only penetrated ten layers of wood, but it was easy to see why; the lead had oxidized/degraded over the last 1-1/2 centuries, so its mass was not the same as the modern roundball. Still, it was a special shot, as the first shots of the battle between the US and Korea began 141 years ago yesterday.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Thomas

[Bugyotsuji]

Hi Thomas, glad to see that you are active, but sorry to hear about the painful procedure.

 

When I first joined the matchlock group I was always happy to be taken for a slap-up Yaki-niku meal afterwards. What slightly bemused me was the conversation. How many misfires had there been? Who was fool enough to admit they had a misfire and get hit by the resulting hoots of scornful laughter? It dawned on me that it was shameful to get it wrong, and shame can be a powerful tool towards getting it right next time.

 

Off-hand I can think off these words with Hatsu in them. Happou 発砲 fire, Fuhatsu 不発 misfire, Guuhatsu 偶発 accidental fire, and Chihatsu 遅発　hangfire. Apart from guuhatsu, where your cord for some reason touches the priming powder before you are ready to fire, the rest are all either problems of how you loaded and primed the gun, or in the positioning of the match in the serpentine.

 

How many times have I heard the members talking about this latter? Position of cord. Angle of pinch and length of tip protruding below the serpentine. Timing. Each gun is different, so using a borrowed gun means you may not get it right first, second or even third time. (BTW Do you always use exactly the same matchcord?) Having your own gun makes things much easier as you get used to its habits and the relative distance between the bottom of the serpentine and the center/centre of the pan & powder.

 

I fire three guns at every display, and each one has a different peculiarity. Unless I concentrate hard I can get it wrong. When the leader shouts (Hinawa tsuke! = set your matches) you bring up the cord to your lips and give one blow on it (not two) to knock off the ash and see exactly how long the burning tip is for accurate placement into the serpentine. You now have a window of several seconds to fire. You may find that pushing the cord into the serpentine not straight, but diagonally back across/into the bottom edge corner of the serpentine wings (with a slight backwards angle) may be best. As it burns, it shortens across the mouth of the serpentine and continues to stay within the target burn area. I often burn my finger at this point.

 

To do a complete display of perhaps seven shots without one misfire (a short hangfire is OK) is cause for self-congratulations. If the crowd laughs at us, the commentator sometimes announces over the speaker system that these are genuine old matchlocks and things can go wrong, ie humid weather affects the powder, the wind can blow some of the primer out of the pan, etc.

 

Practice, quality of cord and correct placement are key to getting off good clean shots.

 

There are other tips, like first pouring some priming powder into both a) the touch hole and b) down the muzzle, before loading the barrel with coarse powder, thus preventing coarse powder from getting to the touch hole channel with maybe gaps between the coarse powder chunks.

[george trotter]

I have been shooting cap & ball revolvers for many years but am not experienced with matchlocks, although some here shoot them.

If I may make a suggestion, could it be that the powder, sitting at the academy, was allowed to become a little damp?

If the match is correct, the pan is correct, the touch hole is clear, then really, all that is left is the condition/quality of the powder.

Regards,

[Bugyotsuji]

Illustration of the above for positioning of cord tip.

A) No

B) Yes

 

If you have problems with position A), then try cord angle and pinch permutations round to position B).

[bluelake]

Hi Thomas, glad to see that you are active, but sorry to hear about the painful procedure.

 

When I first joined the matchlock group I was always happy to be taken for a slap-up Yaki-niku meal afterwards. What slightly bemused me was the conversation. How many misfires had there been? Who was fool enough to admit they had a misfire and get hit by the resulting hoots of scornful laughter? It dawned on me that it was shameful to get it wrong, and shame can be a powerful tool towards getting it right next time.

 

Off-hand I can think off these words with Hatsu in them. Happou 発砲 fire, Fuhatsu 不発 misfire, Guuhatsu 偶発 accidental fire, and Chihatsu 遅発　hangfire. Apart from guuhatsu, where your cord for some reason touches the priming powder before you are ready to fire, the rest are all either problems of how you loaded and primed the gun, or in the positioning of the match in the serpentine.

 

How many times have I heard the members talking about this latter? Position of cord. Angle of pinch and length of tip protruding below the serpentine. Timing. Each gun is different, so using a borrowed gun means you may not get it right first, second or even third time. (BTW Do you always use exactly the same matchcord?) Having your own gun makes things much easier as you get used to its habits and the relative distance between the bottom of the serpentine and the center/centre of the pan & powder.

 

I fire three guns at every display, and each one has a different peculiarity. Unless I concentrate hard I can get it wrong. When the leader shouts (Hinawa tsuke! = set your matches) you bring up the cord to your lips and give one blow on it (not two) to knock off the ash and see exactly how long the burning tip is for accurate placement into the serpentine. You now have a window of several seconds to fire. You may find that pushing the cord into the serpentine not straight, but diagonally back across/into the bottom edge corner of the serpentine wings (with a slight backwards angle) may be best. As it burns, it shortens across the mouth of the serpentine and continues to stay within the target burn area. I often burn my finger at this point.

 

To do a complete display of perhaps seven shots without one misfire (a short hangfire is OK) is cause for self-congratulations. If the crowd laughs at us, the commentator sometimes announces over the speaker system that these are genuine old matchlocks and things can go wrong, ie humid weather affects the powder, the wind can blow some of the primer out of the pan, etc.

 

Practice, quality of cord and correct placement are key to getting off good clean shots.

 

There are other tips, like first pouring some priming powder into both a) the touch hole and b) down the muzzle, before loading the barrel with coarse powder, thus preventing coarse powder from getting to the touch hole channel with maybe gaps between the coarse powder chunks.

 

 

Thanks, Piers! This info (and your pics below) are very helpful. I think it must be a matter of the matchcord placement; I will try the adjustment you showed in the 2nd pic the next time I get a chance.

 

I make my own matchcord, so the results can somewhat vary, due to human error; I wish I had a supply of good commercially made cord (it might also make a difference).

 

Again, thanks!

 

 

Thomas

[bluelake]

I have been shooting cap & ball revolvers for many years but am not experienced with matchlocks, although some here shoot them.

If I may make a suggestion, could it be that the powder, sitting at the academy, was allowed to become a little damp?

If the match is correct, the pan is correct, the touch hole is clear, then really, all that is left is the condition/quality of the powder.

Regards,

 

Hi George,

 

Although it's possible the powder could have had moisture in it, I don't think so, as it actually fired well and I never had a misfire (only hangfires). Still, it is a possibility. I appreciate your input.

 

 

Thomas

[Henry Wilson]

That has been a very interesting read so far. Thank you both and keep chatting

[estcrh]

Thomas, thanks for the information and pictures, (just in case you were wondering if anyone was watching).

[Bugyotsuji]

Agreed, and a magnificent hit on that Kendo breatplate at 50 meters!

[bluelake]

Thanks, guys--it's appreciated. I only hope, when they finish the editing and post-production for the TV show, they leave my gaffs on the cutting room floor (Well, the show is supposed to be a serious history show and not a comedy ). I had the hangfire that peppered my finger, along with a few others; also, when I was shooting my bow, my first shot was with a tong-a/pyeonjeon (bamboo overdraw and half-size arrow)--however, I neglected to check the wrist strap and my overdraw went flying along with the arrow... Still, I did shoot a regular bamboo arrow (with a war point) about 200m. Now, if they concentrate on the kendo armor and the good arrow shot, I'll be happy :D

[watsonmil]

Dear Thomas,

I once learned the most dangerous time for a screw up is when you have the Press, or a Television Crew on a job site. In 1986 here on the Prairies of southern Manitoba we were in the midst of a severe drought. Cattle were going without water, and every Backhoe and Dragline in the province was booked solid. I being a professional Blaster ( explosives ) built 31 dugouts in 6 weeks each 70 feet long, 30 feet wide and 8 feet deep. In total I built about 75 dugouts ( water resvoirs ) that summer. By building them where there had been existing springs, ... I had excellent success in hitting water. The CBC ( National Canadian Television ) begged me to do a piece on this unusual way of building water resvoirs, ... and given the chance for free advertising I agreed. You guessed it, ... The demonstration dugout was in semi-sandy soil, .... and although not a complete flop ( sand does not blast well at all ), .... the resulting dugout was far from my usual 70 x 30 x 8 foot dugout. Fortunately for me, ... the Television Director realizing the blast looked perfect, edited out the result and showed instead one of my more successful dugouts as the result of my work. A most kind and understanding man. As he said, ... I have heard nothing but praise of your work, and how your expertise has saved many hundreds of cattle not to mention farmers from losing their herds. There is no way I could justify showing anything but your usual excellent results. Just in case someone wants to know, ... a dugout that size requires 1000 pounds of explosives detonated instantly. It is very impressive.

... Ron Watson

[bluelake]

Interesting story, Ron! Thanks for sharing it

[bluelake]

The show was on last night. It wasn't too bad (although they did include a 10 sec. hangfire ) and my part wasn't very long. They did not show the kendo armor getting hit, but they did show a shot going through several layers of boards.

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks for the follow-up. It sounds as though they are happy for it to be something from the remote past which has no relevance today.