Just a cautionary tale: A powderhorn is a grenade.
I was at a shooting event and 5 minutes after this feller had taken his last shot, 50 yards from the shooting range, his powderhorn exploded, sending shrapnel going everywhere. Somewhere a small spark had landed somewhere on his german silver mechanical measuring spout on the tip of his horn. Somewhere in the join was a hair thin gap that over the years had likely collected fine dust from the black powder, making like a fuse.
In camp that night, we all gathered around to try to pick apart what had happened. Eventually, it turned to stories of powderhorns people had seen blow up. The one story that we heard from multiple sources and happening in one place after another.....well, that was the tale of the person leaving the plug hanging from a thong, leaving the horn open to a flame source. Everyone in camp cut the cord that night. With no cord, the plug remains in your hand or in your mouth and an impediment you cannot ignore. It just seems to make folks return the plug to where it belongs.
