Pyrodex Corrosive?

Pyrodex and Black Powder are corrosive in different ways. I was always told blackpowder residue is hygroscopic, it absorbs moisture from the air and holds it against the metal to cause corrosion, whilst Pyrodex creates corrosive salts when fired much like corrosive military surplus ammunition. The corrosive salts are more corrosive than just moisture, and they are not consumed in the corrosion process, meaning small amounts can do a lot of damage. Both powders are just fine to use if the shooter cleans their firearm a reasonable time after shooting it.

If you do not clean properly and thoroughly after using Pyrodex, the damage will be worse than neglect after using black powder.

If you clean as properly and thoroughly as you should do after using black power (or shooting military ammo with corrosive primers for that matter), then you have usually cleaned properly for Pyrodex.

The advantage of Pyrodex is that it is subject to the shipping restrictions on smokeless powder while black powder is treated as an explosive. The trade off is the higher corrosiveness.

Just clean well within 7 or 8 hours after shooting and you won't notice a difference.

Actually...,
Pyrodex is a form of black powder...,
It contains Potassium Nitrate, Sulfur, and charcoal....
The Potassium Nitrate is halved, and the missing half is Potassium Perchlorate...,
The sulfur is also reduced. It is the reduced sulfur that causes it to be less that a good choice for a flintlock.

This basis in black powder is also why it is as corrosive as black powder.

Pyrodex was never meant to be "cleaner", nor was it meant to be "less corrosive". Pyrodex was formulated to avoid the storage requirements for storing large amounts of black powder at a retail store, while at the same time delivering results when used as a propellant sufficiently similar that it could be interchanged with black powder.

That is all.

LD

I would think the Potassium Perchlorate to "burn" to Potassium Chloride like the Potassium Chlorate in "corrosive" primers. Which is going to be a lot harder on steel than the Potassium Carbonate that is the main fate of the Potassium Nitrate that is the only oxidizer in real black.

When Al Miller got some of the first Pyrodex and wrote it up in Handloader Magazine, he said that the residue "set up like concrete" if left to stand, even though he was in Arizona, therefore likely below the Critical Relative Humidity. He did not report corrosion and said that same day cleaning like black went normally.

IME: Pyrodex is no more corrosive than black powder. Clean your gun properly and you won't have any problem with either.

Pyrodex leaves less residue in the bore than black powder.

Well you all can have my share of Pyrodex 'til your hearts content
I have zero problems with Real Black Powder, and as long as you get around to rinsing it out all is well.

Also remember they have pulled barrels of Black Powder up from shipwrecks after 100 years, dried it out and had ignition.
I've heard eye witness accounts of Pyrodex tearing up over a sad story and going pfffft...

I’ve not seen any difference in the corrosive attributes of pyrodex compared with black. In really cold weather I’ve noticed it can be difficult to ignite. Or was back in the 80’s when I was using cci 11’s.

Malachi Leviticus Blue said:

I've heard eye witness accounts of Pyrodex tearing up over a sad story and going pfffft...

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Ha ha ha!!

I received a bit of older Pyrodex RS with a rifle I picked up recently. I'll let you know if either or both of us cries on Range Day.

I use pyrodex in my inline. And goex B.P in my flinter. Clean booth after shooting. So far all is good. And if im going to have some range fun. I clean the bore every 5 shots. Just a simple clean with some damp patches.

I only use Goex or Swiss ( insert other real Black Powers ) or Triple 7 (777) powder .

I do not care for Hate would be a better word Pyrodex . Would only use it If it was the last powder on earth

The ONLY way I'd use Pyrodex was if it was the only and last powder on earth. The salts from the residue are far more corrosive than that from real black. If you want to use it and keep your gun in decent condition, clean very soon after firing and clean again and again.

Malachi Leviticus Blue: Post #7 "I've heard eye witness accounts of Pyrodex tearing up over a sad story and going pfffft..."

And I have heard complaints that Pyrodex is the most insensitive BP substitute ever. Only magnum caps in ML or magnum primers in cartridges can faze it.

I started using Pydrodex decades ago because I could not find real black powder in local stores.

Personally I haven't had any problems with Pyrodex, I clean my stuff the same day as I shoot. Never had problems with it not going bang when the trigger was pulled.

If they say half the oxizer in Pyrodex is potasssium perchlorate, I would suspect Pyrdodex residue would contain more chloride salt than would be left by the classic priming mixture (Shaw's Detonating Composition: 3 parts potassium chlorate, 2 parts mercury fulminate, 1 part powdered glass).
Modern percussion caps are more likely to use mixtures without chlorates or mercury. Modern caps or primers and true BP should leave no chloride salts in the barrel.
Still the recommended cleaning procedures and timing I see used in ML and BP cartridge match shooting for black powder residue should also deal with any corrosive residue left by Pyrodex.

(I clean with in 8 hours of shooting, do a follow up clean and inspect 3 days later, and a clean and inspect 7 days after that before storage.)

I’ve found some rust (after cleaning with hot water/moose milk, wiping everything dry, and lubing with ballistol) on the pistol I shot with pyrodex, and none on the pistol I shot with black. You could argue that "I didn't clean properly," which is obviously true by definition, since I got rust. However, my "normal blackpowder cleaning" has been sufficient when using black, and is not sufficient when using Pyrodex. So IME Pyrodex could be said to be more corrosive, or at least leaves more persistent corrosive salts on my guns. Plus it stinks to high heaven. I hate the stuff.

At the time, the legend was that Pyrodex was formulated to foul enough to meet NMLRA requirements for a fake powder.

dave951 said:

If you want to use it and keep your gun in decent condition, clean very soon after firing and clean again and again.

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LOL

i've used at least 100 pounds of Pyrodex. Cleaned the rifle one time soon as possible after use. Never ever had any corrosion.

Carl N. Brown said:

...(I clean with in 8 hours of shooting, do a follow up clean and inspect 3 days later, and a clean and inspect 7 days after that before storage.)

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I would hope that three cleanings would be good for even the most corrosive powder hell can offer.

I am not a convinced that failing to clean a black powder firearm promptly after one is finished shooting would be a good idea.

The guy who i bought my black powder revolver from said he'd only used pyrodex. The bore is shiny ,think I've dealt more damage in my year of ownership than he did. I only use pyrodex because I got it on the quicks and on the low, but corrosion? Haven't had any, that's coming from a guy who uses WD-40 to clean his guns, and basic machine oil for lube.

I'm hoping everyone else buys only Pyrodex and snubs every and all real Black Powder.
I'll take the second rate, old fashioned black powder on charity and be as happy as can be.

Malachi Leviticus Blue said:

I'm hoping everyone else buys only Pyrodex and snubs every and all real Black Powder.
I'll take the second rate, old fashioned black powder on charity and be as happy as can be.

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Problem is that if everyone uses the subs, manufacturers may decide to quit making black entirely... I know, I know, it’s easy to make at home but I have too much to do and too little time to do it as it is.

All black powder and all subs are hygroscopic. There are no exceptions. There is no magic substitute for black powder that doesn't cause corrosion. They all do. Clean them all the same and there will be no corrosion. This is not opinion. This is fact. Do a search and there are several threads in which the hygroscopic properties of each and every sub are demonstrated by scholarly scientific analysis.

Black Powder sounds like more fun. It's easier to ignite (something to keep in mind when handling,) makes lots of smoke, the smell is funky but interesting. Black powder from what I know does not compress as much as the other subs. It seems to get rock hard when compressed to a certain point (correct me if I am wrong) It is the original formula and whet antique design black powder guns were/are designed (optimized for) to use. The hazmat regulations can be a hinderance to getting it.

Pyrodex smells like a toxic chemical when ignited making the smoke it generates is fearful and unpleasant to be near. I really don't like breathing in the smoke this stuff makes. It's fairly reliable but less forgiving of priming deficiencies than black powder. You can compress Pyrodex quite a bit before it gets rock hard allowing you to cram larger projectiles on larger charges. It is more potent than your run of the mill mild black powder like goex but not more hot than stuff like swiss black powder. It seems to be fairly consistent as well. It is very similar to black powder in it's formulation, easy to get, and not very expensive (depending on where, when etc.. you get it.)

It seems to me a lot of folks that balk at not being able to get black powder are over reacting and may find that premium powders such as swiss in truth cost less due to the ability to use less powder for the same results if they can do their homework and arrange group buys to cover hazmat fees. Many of these people live within driving distance of places that sell these premium black powders. Getting black powder on the spur of moment can be a problem if the places that sell it are not nearby but it is certainly not unobtainable. Someone like me who truly would have real difficulties obtaining black powder not the least of which is not being able to order or possess it in my area have difficulty understanding the fuss made by people who would have no problem ordering or storing this stuff in their residence. Penny wise, pound foolish ??? That being said in some places, states, cities etc... real black powder is not easy to get. Anti gun areas will gladly use it's hazmat classification to hinder sales and availability leaving substitutes as the only options if substitutes are even allowed.

Making black powder at home may be easy but making good quality black powder let alone premium grade from what I have been reading is not easy at all. In fact I think it's very difficult and dangerous for beginners and anyone not well versed and practiced in making it.

Sometimes (maybe more times) buying high quality stuff (in other areas of life as well) from the town factory is the best logical decision.

Wow long rant back on topic Pyrodex is a fairly reliable product that generally works and form what I know is not excessively corrosive as long as proper cleaning habits for black powder firearms are practiced.