Black powder/substitutes- school me?

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Cowhide Cliff said:
Pyrodex is just nasty stuff, I don't care for T7 as it's harder to ignite and leaves a nasty hard crusty residue but if I couldn't get real black powder T7 is the best choice I've tried that is available.

Of all the subs I ever tried APP was the best although it may have been a little underpowered but I don't think it's available anymore.
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Still available. I buy it by the case.
 
Michael Tinker Pearce said:
I'm starting to reload black powder into cartridges like .44 Colt and .450 Adams. My favorite LGS carried Pyrodex and Triple 7. Of the two the Pyrodex is much less expensive.

Can someone school me on the differences and relative merits/issues with these two powders?
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Buy a pound of 777, a pound of Pyrodex, a pound of APP, a pound of real BP. Shoot ‘em. Clean your stuff thoroughly after shooting. Make your own decision about what is best for you and your guns.

As you can see, opinions vary.
 
Thank you all for your responses. TheOutlawKid- I'm in Seattle; it's pretty humid here. I'm going to look into Black MZ- I am hearing good things about it.

The reason that I specified the subs that I did is that they are the ones available conveniently and locally. If I want actual Black Powder I have to drive forty minutes each way to the only local store that stocks it. So far if I buy on the internet I need to buy in quantities that are hard for me; it's often all I can do to afford a pound of any powder. Back in the way-backs I used Pyrodex and the results were OK, but I cleaned my guns religiously ASAP after shooting.
 
Luckily, I still have enough DuPont, GOI, Curtiss and Harvey and a few others left so that the subs are merely interesting diversions. Fight it out. It doesn't mean anything in the long run. Get a chrono, develop a load that suits you and let it go. Life is too short to have to be right. I have seen guns ruined with every black and sub out there. Shoot, clean lube, repeat.
Love you all. (Its inventor was killed by pyrodex. )
 
Mr. Michael Tinker...they have a sportsmans warehouse in your area...i just checked online for store locations and there are a few next to you....black mz is sold there for 10 bux a pound over the counter. Black mz is actually formulated to not be so sensitive to moisture, you can read about it online. I use it here and i live in deep south texas by the gulf coast a couple miles from the mexico border and the humidity is thick here...black mz has no issues so long as its kept in its top on when not in use. I make my own black powder but if i buy it then i only buy old eynsford. And as mentioned by some other members...stay away from pyrodex its junk and is the worst in humid weather
 
I have a good friend who has a lot of experience shooting black powder cartridges in cowboy action. He uses Goex black powder which is great but it requires a “black powder compatible” lube on the bullets.

When I wanted to dip my toes into the waters of “Frontier Cartridge” ammo he suggested that I try APP which will work with the harder lube that comes on the commercial cast bullets that I have. It certainly makes plenty of smoke and residue cleans up with water.

I recently scored some Black MZ from a local Sportsmans Warehouse; it’s made by the same company that makes APP. It appears to be 2F grain size. I usually prefer 3F in the APP but I’ve used 2F APP and it was fine.

The residue from APP needs to be cleaned off the dies and powder measure. Otherwise I get rust.
 
Mr. Michael Tinker....what lube are/will you be using?They say you dont need lube with APP or Black MZ but in my experience you do. Not as much as with black powder but it still helps keep the arbor and cylinder slick and fouling soft. Gatofeo #1 lube works amazing on these subs..even works on smokeless. I use a stiffer modified version of gatofeo #1 lube by just adding 50% more beeswax for a 1-1-.75 ratio of sheep tallow, canning parrafin wax, & beeswax, or all equal ratio of 1-1-1. The stiffer wax can be used in all temps too and when i compared some bullets that were lubed with SPG...the SPG lubing shrunk, chipped and dried out but my gatofeo lubed bullets ramained perfectly fine...no shrinking, drying out, or chipping. I still have some bullets lubed with gatofeo lube and they are over 5 years old sitting in a plastic container and look just as "fresh" as if i had just lubed them that day. I think your choice in lube is one of the most important choices you can make in order for your shooting experience to be a lot more enjoyable...their are a lot of types and recipes out there...some better than others, some better suited for a specific gun/powder/bullet...lots of different variables. Ive made so many lube mixes but ive now come to the conclusion that gatofeo #1 is hard to beat...or even match.
 
Had to weigh in on this one, having shot black powder, T7, Pyrodex, and Black MZ I definitely prefer BlackMZ. It's not as energetic as the others but it leaves very little residue behind. I have yet to shoot it my 45/70 but the cartridges are ready and waiting and I will give a range report when it happens. I don't have all the fancy chronograph equipment so will just have to wing it. I do like it in my percussion revolvers and rifles. Clean up is a breeze, I always clean the same day. It takes half the time than with the other 3 I mentioned. Peace.
 
TheOutlawKid said:
Mr. Michael Tinker....what lube are/will you be using?They say you dont need lube with APP or Black MZ but in my experience you do. Not as much as with black powder but it still helps keep the arbor and cylinder slick and fouling soft. Gatofeo #1 lube works amazing on these subs..even works on smokeless. I use a stiffer modified version of gatofeo #1 lube by just adding 50% more beeswax for a 1-1-.75 ratio of sheep tallow, canning parrafin wax, & beeswax, or all equal ratio of 1-1-1. The stiffer wax can be used in all temps too and when i compared some bullets that were lubed with SPG...the SPG lubing shrunk, chipped and dried out but my gatofeo lubed bullets ramained perfectly fine...no shrinking, drying out, or chipping. I still have some bullets lubed with gatofeo lube and they are over 5 years old sitting in a plastic container and look just as "fresh" as if i had just lubed them that day. I think your choice in lube is one of the most important choices you can make in order for your shooting experience to be a lot more enjoyable...their are a lot of types and recipes out there...some better than others, some better suited for a specific gun/powder/bullet...lots of different variables. Ive made so many lube mixes but ive now come to the conclusion that gatofeo #1 is hard to beat...or even match.
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In the way-backs for my percussion revolvers I used a mix of paraffin and beeswax with pyrodex(this was a relatively new product then.) Gave a good seal and held up to high temperatures well. For cartridges I've been using a lubed felt wad under the bullet. Someone gave me a flask of FFFg black powder, type unknown, and I've been loading that. I haven't fired a ton of these cartridges but I've had no problems with clean-up
 
Mr. Michael, what type of lubed felt wads...homemade with homemade lube or store brand? You also mentioned a mix of parrafin and beeswax..was it just those two waxes without a fat/oil added? Thats interesting because i have a friend who swears by using straight beeswax, but only the really soft kind that comes in "beads", for some reason its softer than the hard brick of wax. You'd think it would all be the same but i guess its not. Anyways...my friend uses just a thin disc of pure beeswax as his lube and he swears by it. I do know in the civil war it was like an 8 to 1 ratio of beeswax to tallow, maybe 6 to 1...but it makes for a very stiff lube that seems like its mainly wax too. What type of bullet are you using for your cartridges?
 
I've loaded Pyrodex in .45 Colt and it worked fine, but I normally shoot Unique or 2400 or Li'l Gun in that Ruger. Just for plinking, Unique works for me. I just did the Pyrodex thing because I have it for my cap and ball guns and just was wondering. :D I see no need for 777 in my Blackhawk when I can whip a 300 grain bullet out of that 4 5/8" barrel at velocities that make my BP guns cry. :D I only use that load for hog hunting, back up if I have to blood trail in the woods.

Anyway, I see absolutely nothing wrong with Pyrodex. It shoots well in my caplocks and has the smell and experience of the real stuff. It gives me that "BOOOM" I like where 777 sounds more like smokeless when it fires. The BP purists will tell you it's BP or nothing. Well, for me, that'd be nothing. I will NOT bulk order the stuff and ordering small amounts, the hazmat fees are prohibitive. I can get Pyrodex pound at a time for reasonable. I can't even find BP. I heard one shop in San Antonio (150 mile drive) has BP. I can't find ANY in Houston. I'd like to have a pound or two of 2F because it ignites so well in a caplock. That's the problem with Pyrodex, but that's NOT a problem in cartridge guns or even straight ignition such as a cap and ball revolver. I do use hot caps, though. One can occasionally get hang fires with weak caps. That never happens with a clean chamber and Black.
 
Michael Tinker Pearce said:
Thank you all for your responses. TheOutlawKid- I'm in Seattle; it's pretty humid here. I'm going to look into Black MZ- I am hearing good things about it.

The reason that I specified the subs that I did is that they are the ones available conveniently and locally. If I want actual Black Powder I have to drive forty minutes each way to the only local store that stocks it. So far if I buy on the internet I need to buy in quantities that are hard for me; it's often all I can do to afford a pound of any powder. Back in the way-backs I used Pyrodex and the results were OK, but I cleaned my guns religiously ASAP after shooting.
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That's good even with BP which is highly corrosive. I used to shoot BP until about the late 70s when it became unavailable at gun shops and Pyrodex came out. I shoot mostly pyrodex in my cap and ball guns and they're all corrosion free. I clean 'em just like I did BP, soapy water. I then dry 'em well and spray 'em down with WD 40 to displace any water I didn't get to. It's NOT that big a deal IMHO, but I get to 'em soon as I'm through shooting, don't let 'em sit a few days, not even with BP. :D

When I shot the stuff in .45 Colt, I soaked the brass in soapy water and cleaned 'em pretty quickly with wet pins which REALLY shines up brass like new. :D I have a tumbler and pins for this.
 
MCgunner, i know of a tool that will help you shoot ur side locks with finicky powders. Its made by Treso and its a nipple primer. U fill it with 4f or 3f powder and its spring loaded so it can be done one handed. U just press it against the nipple and it trickles a charge of powder inside the nipple. Makes for a guaranteed ignition. Ill post a couple pics of it.
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TheOutlawKid said:
Mr. Michael, what type of lubed felt wads...homemade with homemade lube or store brand? You also mentioned a mix of parrafin and beeswax..was it just those two waxes without a fat/oil added? Thats interesting because i have a friend who swears by using straight beeswax, but only the really soft kind that comes in "beads", for some reason its softer than the hard brick of wax. You'd think it would all be the same but i guess its not. Anyways...my friend uses just a thin disc of pure beeswax as his lube and he swears by it. I do know in the civil war it was like an 8 to 1 ratio of beeswax to tallow, maybe 6 to 1...but it makes for a very stiff lube that seems like its mainly wax too. What type of bullet are you using for your cartridges?
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They're the type that came with the case when I bought a used gun. :)

Hunting coyotes in Kansas (a long time ago) I used to seal every chamber-and the area surrounding the nipple- on my revolver with straight paraffin. For the nipples I'd basically put a pin in the nipple, and fill all around the nipple with wax. I'd push the caps into the wax to seat them and it would even fire after I slipped and landed on my gun side in an ice-cold creek... thank God I had a change of clothes...
 
TheOutlawKid said:
MCgunner, i know of a tool that will help you shoot ur side locks with finicky powders. Its made by Treso and its a nipple primer. U fill it with 4f or 3f powder and its spring loaded so it can be done one handed. U just press it against the nipple and it trickles a charge of powder inside the nipple. Makes for a guaranteed ignition. Ill post a couple pics of it.c8n6nroble
View attachment 839109 View attachment 839111 View attachment 839112
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Thanks. I cured the problem with a little gizmo that adapts the gun to shoot small rifle magnum primers. I took it out of one of my guns when I bought an adapter for THAT gun to shoot 209 primers. :D Hell, THAT one even ignites BH209 in my Hawken!!

I was priming the nipple, though, but it wasn't too consistent. That tool would prime the nipple a LOT more consistently I'll bet than just dribbling what I could from my powder flask. :D If I ever thought I'd hunt New Mexico again, I'd buy that! NM requires cap or flint for "primitive weapons" season.
 
Ive heard of civil war soldiers and people around that time frame who used wax to help seal their nipples too. Seems like a great method to keep it guaranteed water tight. I use remington caps paired with slixshot nipples and they seal water tight...ive gone in water with my gun and it shot just fine.
 
Lol mr.michael...yeah at first you kinda smirk and laugh a bit when you read these phrases, but once you spend enough time on the black powder forum you get used to people talking about shooting their wads and lubing their balls etc. And then someone will ask you what ur reading so intently and you catch yourself telling someone "oh this one guy has a great method for keeping caps tightly snug on his nipples so they dont come off when he fires off his loads! His technique is new to me...man i wonder what kind of lube hes using...bet its homemade...wonder if he lubes under or over his balls?"
 
TheOutlawKid said:
Lol mr.michael...yeah at first you kinda smirk and laugh a bit when you read these phrases, but once you spend enough time on the black powder forum you get used to people talking about shooting their wads and lubing their balls etc. And then someone will ask you what ur reading so intently and you catch yourself telling someone "oh this one guy has a great method for keeping caps tightly snug on his nipples so they dont come off when he fires off his loads! His technique is new to me...man i wonder what kind of lube hes using...bet its homemade...wonder if he lubes under or over his balls?"
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I had a gentleman's ears perk up at a match the other day when he overheard me talking about using Swedish strippers for my 1903 LOL
 
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