Pyrodex Question

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tpelle

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I've been shooting Pyrodex in my percussion revolvers - would like to use BP but can't find it locally and prefer not to pay the Haz Mat charge when shipping.

Anyway I will be passing a Bass Pro this weekend, and according to their web site they have Pyrodex in stock.

My question is that they show several grades: Rs Rifle/Shotgun, Pistol, FF, and FFF.

For a .44 cal revolver, should I get the FF or the FFF? Also, what is this grade they call Pistol?
 
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Something's wrong with their ad/web site.

Pyrodex only comes in P and RS. There is no ff, fff, Rs, Rifle/Shotgun or Pistol.

P stand for pistol and is equivalent to fff in grain size and energy released (per volume).

RS stands for rifle & shotgun (or maybe smoothbore) and is equivalent to ff in grain size and energy released (per volume).

Use P (fff) in your pistol, although RS (ff) is safe and will work just fine.
 
I've been shooting Pyrodex in my percussion revolvers - would like to use BP but can't find it locally and prefer not to pay the Haz Mat charge when shipping.

Anyway I will be passing a Bass Pro this weekend, and according to their web site they have Pyrodex in stock.

My question is that they show several grades: Rs Rifle/Shotgun, Pistol, FF, and FFF.

For a .44 cal revolver, should I get the FF or the FFF? Also, what is this grade they call Pistol?
In my opinion... Pyrodex P or similar product, is much more useful in small calibers and short barrels in my opinion and with the increased number of surfaces to ignite, easier to light off... though in a revolver it's inline and fairly routine I'd be thinking.. regardless of which you used...

MY VOTE = 3f or Pyrodex P... Or... any other 3F equivalent.

Much Aloha... :cool:
 
Just bought a new pound of Pyrodex P today after picking up my spare Remmy cylinders at the PO. :D We had to drive 40 miles to the nearest LGS to get it as we live in the boonies now. Anyway, ON the can it says "Pyrodex P" "FFFG Equivalent". That just so you don't get cornfused, I reckon.

I also like 777 for some applications, but for general fun I prefer Pyrodex and I prefer it in my Remmy because it's the most accurate.
 
BP

Around here Bass Pro carries GOEX 3FFF. About $25 a lb.
 
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Also note that if they have it, you'll have to ask. It's normally not obvious that they have it at all. You would think they'd at least hang up a little sign next to the Pyrodex that says "Ask at the counter for Goex" but they typically don't.
 
Just bought a new pound of Pyrodex P today after picking up my spare Remmy cylinders at the PO. :D We had to drive 40 miles to the nearest LGS to get it as we live in the boonies now. Anyway, ON the can it says "Pyrodex P" "FFFG Equivalent". That just so you don't get cornfused, I reckon.

I also like 777 for some applications, but for general fun I prefer Pyrodex and I prefer it in my Remmy because it's the most accurate.
I prefer Pyrodex P as well for most all my shooting.... but you have to have care in cleaning... pretty corrosive stuff if you let it... and its like black and very hydroscopic in humid places.... like here on the lily pad... :)

Aloha... :cool:
 
I just picked up a pound of Goex fffg at the Bass Pro shop in Denver last week. Had to ask at the counter and then watched the guy open a "bomb vault" to retrieve it for me. I handed it to my wife and told her not to drop it:D. I've only shot Pyrodex so I'm anxious to try the real black.
 
We're planning to stop at Bass Pro today. I'll ask if they have Goex. If so, I'll buy two cans. All I've ever used was Pyrodex and have been curious as to what real BP is all about.
 
We're planning to stop at Bass Pro today. I'll ask if they have Goex. If so, I'll buy two cans. All I've ever used was Pyrodex and have been curious as to what real BP is all about.
Black Powder is much more fun to shoot in a sidelock or flintlock. Black Powder is comprised of charcoal and sulfer along with potassium nitrate... and all of these contribute to a considerable unburned residue and are highly hydroscopic... of which pyrodex is too.... when shot.

With an inline like a pistol, you won't notice any real ignition benefits I wouldn't think that you could tell offhand, but pyrodex P is generally much more energetic than black powder is, so don't be disappointed if your chronograph seems lethargic with black. It also takes up more space than does Pyrodex for the same energy/power/ GENERALLY.

It is a dirty business, black powder is..... and that is why I loves it... I come home looking like a chimney sweep... Black and Pyrodex are different substances all together, but Pyrodex is more like Black than most all the others in my opinion... dirty, corrosive, and smokey with that Lynyrd Skynyrd "smell"...

By the way.. GOEX is much less hydroscopic nowdays than before. Another thing to be aware of is that there was an explosion on a Battleship a few years ago when the magazine went off.. you might remember from the news... well this was black powder... and since GOEX was the ones tellin me bout it.. I'm assuming they supplied that ship with their charges... anyway.. the point of this... this was 30 or 40 year old powder that went off... being stored in a water environment and humidity... airconditioned I'm sure... but still.. storage life of black is in my opinion.... FOREVER.... !!

Black is different but black is much more fun.

Aloha.. :cool:
 
A little constructive criticism: the word is hygroscopic. And it would be more accurate to say 'mildly', not 'highly'.

Not trying to bust your chops or anything, just trying to be a little helpful. Apologies if I offended anyone.
 
A little constructive criticism: the word is hygroscopic. And it would be more accurate to say 'mildly', not 'highly'.

Not trying to bust your chops or anything, just trying to be a little helpful. Apologies if I offended anyone.
Not at all... I disagree of course... an open can of black is mildly hygroscopic which I'm pretty sure is what I meant when I sayed... "By the way.. GOEX is much less hydroscopic nowdays than before" and maybe not clearly stated, but that was meant to refer to unburned, but light it off and leave in your barrel I completely disagree... and as for pyrodex, it aint no better... :) Now some of this might be relative to the humidity.... bein here on a lily pad and all....

As for my spelling, my mamma was an english teacher... whatdya expect... :)

Much Aloha.... :cool:
 
I've shot both black and Pyrodex in some experimental .357Mag cases from my cowboy single action revolvers. I found the honest to gosh black stuff to have more of a softer "THUMP" and the Pyrodex to have more of a "CRACK" to the recoil.

So I prefer to use the real thing just for the historical connection. It also further separates my smokeless shooting experience from my black powder shooting.

Both black and Pyrodex form highly hygroscopic salts when burned as part of the fouling. That is the reason why it's important to clean them pretty quickly.

The actual black powder doesn't really seem to soak up moisture in the air and clump up as long as "usual" care is taken to avoid things like opening a container when it's still cool in warmer and more humid surroundings. Such things will encourage condensation to form in the container more than anything else.

At least that's what it seems like to me. When I think of materials that are actually hyroscopic at equal temperatures I think of things like how table salt and sugar absorbs some moisture and become clumpy. Black powder doesn't seem to do that. At least not at the humidity levels I get around here.
 
Switch to 777. Triple seven shoots great and cleans up easy with no corrosion issues.
 
Well, we stopped at Bass Pro today. Gun department was fairly busy, but mostly with folks asking about ammo that the store didn't have. Seems to be a lot of that going around lately.

They had a lot of long guns in their racks, but I saw a lot of shotguns. This store is in Ohio and the only thing they are allowed to use to hunt deer are shotguns, so didn't see much that looked like rifles, and absolutely no evil black rifles.

I asked a clerk about Goex, but he wasn't familiar with that brand at all. When I explained that it was black powder, he directed me to some shelves on the display floor (I thought that they would have had it stored in a cabinet somewhere), where there were two bottles of Pyrodex P, and two bottles of 777 FFg. I was tempted to buy the 777, as I figured it would work in my 44s, but as I have this idea that I may want to pick up a baby Dragoon or pocket model, I just grabbed both cans of Pyrodex

My daughter had given me a $25 gift card that her husband had won sometime back and had no prospect of using. She asked me what I was buying, and I told her I wasn't sure, but now I was buying $25 more of it!
 
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