Blackpowder versus Pyrodex

[brentn]

I was pressed for time one day and asked my dad to pick up some FFFG black powder from the sporting goods store.
He came home with a tub of pyrodex marked "ffg equivelant"

Not knowing anything about BP at the time, I started to use it. The fowling isn't all that bad really, but I had been reading that the regular black powder is more powerfull buy also more dirty. The grains of powder in my pyrodex tub are quite large and seem more for something like a rifle...

Is there a difference in power versus the two? how about fowling?
Are there any pro's or con's in using pyrodex?

thanks guys, this is new to me.

 

[Gewehr98]

Pyrodex is actually more corrosive than Holy Black.

However, the restrictions on shipping and storage of real black powder make it uneconomical for most gun stores and Wal-Marts to stock it. Hence the introduction of Pyrodex, which was specifically designed to be harder to ignite, thereby avoiding the hassle associated with BP.

Having said that, if you're good about cleaning your BP firearms, Pyrodex won't give you any extra problems. If you run a flintlock, then you'll still want some real FFFg or FFFFg BP to prime the pan, but the main charge can still be Pyrodex. For a caplock, Pyrodex will light off just fine.

I tried Pyrodex, and went back to the real Holy Black, myself. I like the consistency of the original article, and to me, cleanup is easier. However, it's getting more difficult these days to get it, and you either have to drive to a stocking dealer, or order it online and pay the HazMat fee. Contrast that with Pyrodex, which appears to be darned near everywhere.

(Sitting on about 20 lbs. of Goex FFg and Cartridge right now, pending my next road trip...)

 

[arcticap]

Pyrodex P fffg burns cleaner than the ffg, and some say with less fouling than real BP, and Pyrodex P usually produces more velocity than BP when properly compressed too.
Using BP solvents helps to clean Pyrodex.

 

[mec]

the ffg is for rifles but will work in your revolvers. Pyrodex fffg is a bit hotter than goex black powder and is about like swiss fffg. It is harder to ignite. Most of the time, this makes no difference and you will get very fine accuracy but some revolvers produce regular hang fires with it and this messes up the accuracy big time.

this one thrives on pyrodex p but my 58 remington hangfires no matter what I do.

 

[brentn]

interesting.. Seems to me that the remington may have a longer nipple length-charge distance, making it harder to ignite the pyrodex. Have you tried a more efficient nipple? they make some more modern improved ones at gunaccessories.
On top of that maybe you need to use a hotter cap?

I had NO IDEA that pyrodex FFFG is hotter and more powerful than blackpowder FFFG...
Well I may just try both and see.

Is pyrodex more corrosive than black, or are they both the same?

 

[mec]

It remains a mystery. Magnum caps were made for just this sort of thing but they are not available through my sources at this time. People say that Pyrodex is more corrosive but I clean the same way with both Pyrodex and black and the results are the same. Older data I've seen suggest that Pyrodex may have been closer to goex in the past but the stuff I've used in the last several years has all provided higher velocity.

 

[mykeal]

mec -

I started out using real bp produced by a small shop in Arkansas (now out of business after blowing up once or twice...) about 30 years ago. The gun dealer I frequented at the time suggested trying a new bp substitute called Pyrodex. I don't recall exactly when that was, but it was maybe in the late 70's/early 80's. Anyway, I bought a pound and tried it out. I have no data since a chronograph was a fancy watch back then, but I recall that it seemed to perform as well as real bp. I know that I did not like the smell, however. I also stared having corrosion problems that I had not seen with real bp; I had not changed my cleaning regimen (hot soapy water, hand drying with towels and a hair dryer the same day as shooting). I believe I was not getting all the Pyrodex fouling out of the corners and hard to reach places. Anyway, I essentially ruined one gun before I gave up on Pyrodex and went back to real bp exclusively.

I was not alone in my experience; the dealer that sold me the Pyrodex stopped stocking it after several complaints from others. He later (couple of years later, maybe) started selling it again, saying they had changed it and the corrosion problem was fixed. It was considerably cheaper than real bp in his shop. However, I didn't want to take another chance with it and have not used it since. I understand that there is now a large body of evidence that the problem I experienced has not resurfaced, but I am now using 777 the majority of the time and am quite satisfied with it (except, of course, the smell...).

My issue with the original Pyrodex offering is all anecdotal, and may well have been my fault, but I don't think so. I believe the original Pyrodex was highly corrosive, significantly more so than real bp, and that it was changed at some point to correct that. I have no proof of that, it's just what I believe based on my memory of 30 years ago. Worth about as much as it costs.

 

[mec]

Bates bought a can of pyrodex when it first came out. Like you, he didn't like the smell and left the remainder of the can in the garage where it stayed for the next 30 whatever years in temperatures ranging from -5 to 115 degrees.

We shot some of it a while back and found that overall spreads were the same as new pyrodex but velocities were lower. This, of course doesn't tell how the stuff worked when new but it is interesting that it was as consistent as the new stuff. We shot it in my 61 navy and I cleaned it in the same way I clean black powder - basically hot soapy water (glycerine/oilsoap/alcohol) with near boiling water rinse and and large ammounts of oil as the heated pieces begin to dry. No problems with rust or corrosion. I do find that rust appears immediately if I try to slow dry the parts in an oven regardless of powder type. Also, I use large ammounts of petroleum based oil after cleaning.

 

[taralon]

I use pyrodex almost exclusively. I have a can of Goex that I tried for a couple guns but no matter what I did I couldn't get the groups, nor the velocity that I wanted with Goex. Additionaly here in CO where its hot and dry, Pyrodex seemed to produce less, softer fouling than Goex did.

Additionally I think that the corrosion problem is very climate dependent. I just got my Cattleman out after six months for some range time, only to find that I had not cleaned it from my last range trip. 150 rounds of Pyrodex was shot through it, and though caked in a hard, brittle shell of residue there wasn't a spot of rust to be seen. Then again 18% humidity around here is considered 'muggy'.

 

[Gunfixr]

Personally, I don't like Pyrodex. It is actually more corrosive than real BP, and produced more fouling. Also, after a couple of years, it lost its OOMPH. It just wouldn't burn right. I got rid of it and haven't bought anymore.