Dear Faraday
With the smallest portion of gum possible to hold them together.
I have fired from 2 to 300 of these without missing fire.
The following is Inactions, but I do not think it so certain
The less gum the better
Certainty of fire - depends mostly upon the following points
“keeping the patches in a close stopperd phial - except those that are in use.
“if they are ever exposed to much damp dry them in a moderate warmth.
“good workmanship in the lock if the 2 surfaces do not come into perfect contact fire is uncertain
“as the reaction of the charge soon beats a hole in the cock the certainty of fire is then over therefore I recommend Focks3 plan of shifting primer kegs - which are primed before the sportsmen goes out & changed every fire - as nothing reduces the effect so uncertain as putting a fresh patch into a foul or used primer.
Above all things take care to load the cock down upon the nipple this is a rule to be rigidly observed in all percussion guns otherwise the ramming down of the wadding forces the powder out of the touch hole & the cross chamber being empty the gun misses fire - in Forsyths4 & other magazine locks a neglect of this precaution fills the primary countersink with common powder - of course a failure is the consequence
Yours truly | Thos Bagnold
Gun-powder for these guns should be of the best materials but rather coarser grain - say the 2d or 3d sort.
Address: Mr. Faraday | RI.
Watermark: 1818
Please cite as “Faraday4619u,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on