Powder accuracy

[scrat]

Ok the official call it like it is and argue your case on powder.
here is what i have

Pyrodex 50-50 pellets
777
Goex

Using my CVA buckhorn 50 cal. Bench rested at 100 yards shooting steel. Bullets being used Powerbelt.

Using the pryodex pellets in grains of 100 or 150. Each and every shot would hit steel. Smoke is the lightest compared to 777 or goex. If you miss you will see it hit the dirt. If you do miss it was you were not holding steady or flinched or something.


Using 777. on average 1 out of 5 shots would hit steel at 100 yards. Thats bench rested too. Sites were right on target. After several rounds i switched to different kinds of bullets but had the same results.


Goex. a little smokey compared to Pyrodex. Accuracy was right on the money again. If i miss its because of me not the rifle. Using different bullets gives me the same results.

So comparing apples to apples. Goex is cheaper than pyodex so i guess i will be sticking with Goex. During the summer i am going to try this again to see if heat and humidity have any effect.

Now 777 in my revolvers has seemed to be ok. Accuracy was par. However im staying away from it on my long arm.

 

[sundance44s]

Try come Goex in your Revolvers ...You might get rid of the subs and only shoot the real powder from then on ..I did ...Goex will spoil ya , and clean up is just as easy , if not easyer .

 

[Phantom Captain]

I only use Goex,

No subs for me thanks. In both pistols and rifles I only use the REAL stuff. Born and raised on the Holy Black and that's the way it's gonna stay.

 

[scrat]

thats all i have been using in my revolvers is now Goex. Even though i have a 1/2 lbs of 777 3f and 1/2 lbs in 2f. I am using the Goex for now. I think i will use the 2f for shot shells. Maybe even the same for the 3f. Just to try and get rid of the 777.

 

[mykeal]

Question: did you shoot the same load by volume of 777, Pyrodex pellets and Goex?

 

[scrat]

For volume Yes. Officially i tried each with 100 grains. Which is 2 pyrodex pellets. The 777 and Goex i used standard black powder measure. using 100 grains.

 

[mykeal]

777 is 10 to 15% hotter than real black and Pyrodex (according to Hodgdon and my own experience). Using the same volume of 777 and Goex does provide information on the performance of the same volume of powder, but it's not a test of equivalent loads. To compare equivalent loads of 777 and Goex you needed to load 85 grains of 777.

However, to really test the accuracy of different powders you need to develop the most accurate load for each powder and compare those results. It's pretty well accepted that black powder guns perform differently with different powders and projectiles. Each gun needs to be tested to find the best combination of powder and projectile using different powders and types of bullets, and it won't be the same from gun to gun. In a given gun 90 grains of Goex may be better than 90 grains of 777, but 75 grains of 777 might be better than 90 grains of Goex.

Thanks for the information, but you have a lot more testing to do.

 

[Misfire99]

I have seen a number of tests like this posted on different forums. One thing that is always lacking, maybe because nobody ever does it in real life, is to measure how compacted the charge is. I know that when I am shooting I use the highly calibrated instrument known as my wrist to measure the compaction of the charge. I think to get a good reading one should use a scale to measure how much weight has been applied to the charge. Then we have eliminated a variable that could, and probably does, effect the outcome of the tests. I think this is especially true with trip7. Everything I have seen in my own shooting tells me it's compression sensitive. A loose charge will not shoot well. But I have no idea what the proper compression would be. It's probably different for all the types of propellant. This sounds like a great test. Testing the compression necessary for each type of powder for it to have an optimum result.

 

[mykeal]

You are correct about powder compression and it's effect on accuracy. 777 is especially sensitive to it, according to Hodgdon. Measuring it would be difficult; accomplishing a certain value in the field would be impossible. The best we can hope for is to be consistent and compress the same amount each time we load.