Pretty basic question 'bout powders.

[Saddlebag Preacher]

I'ved used 3F in my .50 hawken when I was out of 2F, and haved used 2F in my Remmie .44 when out of 3F. Won't hurt and still have fun. 4F is usually for priming flintlock pans, but I have used it in .31 cal Remmies and Colts.

 

[BADUNAME30]

Thanx Mykeal, 'preciate it.

 

[bigmouth]

No rocket material here. Searching for ingredients on French side today. Don't guess shotgun powder would work in the pan?

 

[KeithL]

Smokeless should NOT be used in a BP firearm. I suppose that a few grains as a primer will not cause the the problems it would loaded in a barrel. I don't want to try it. I am also not sure that you could set off a priming pan of smokeless with a spark reliably. (The type of powder probably makes a big difference here).

Sulfur is added to BP to make it easier to ignite. Perhaps adding sulfur to the Pyrodex might work.

Good luck be safe.

 

[Foto Joe]

If you were to light a few grains of smokeless in an uncontained environment like a saucer you would see that it's pretty tame stuff, at most it will fizzle a bit. If you were to do the same with Pyrodex or Black Powder you'd find that it will NOT fizzle. The speed at which (any) smokeless burns is dependent upon the atmospheric pressure at which it burns, Black Powder or even Pyrodex will burn at the same rate no matter the pressure. You'd have a pretty rough time using smokeless as a priming powder I'm afraid.

 

[bigmouth]

I've been shooting blk pdr for over 50 yrs so your warning is certainly wasted on me but maybe not on others. Thought I made it very clear that I am just looking for something for the F/L priming pan & your idea of mixing sulfur may work. Hopefully I don't have to resort to that experiment but will remember it. Incoming reveals that I have to have the right type of sulfur.
I got in touch with a friend who has a plant nursery about getting the proper ingredients and he has a blk pdr Colt he doesn't shot & said if he can find the pdr, I can trade my merde for his. Of course I don't know if he has true blk pdr until he finds it. Also, walking in my house, an old powder flask in a shadow-box of mine caught my attention. Took it out and sure enough, it had enough pdr for a good 20 pans. I work with the musee's in 2 countries & thinking about ck'ing those flasks(1 I even donated).
Thanks for the sulfur input as I may have to try that.

 

[bigmouth]

I might be able to maybe double my supply if I mix it with blk pdr. That is something to try. I may have the problem solved but the key word is "may". I have 20 ft of green fire-cracker fuse I can always

 

[KeithL]

Bigmouth, I didn't mean to insult your intelligence. I just wanted it to be clear that smokeless and muzzle-loaders is a bad idea. In an open pan it likely it isn't dangerous, but when I start seeing the two mixed in a discussion on an internet forum I get concerned about what ideas some fool will get and try.

I've lit both uncontained BP and smokeless of before. I was underwhelmed with the result, down right disappointed with the BP when it just flared and sputtered.

There is another thread discussing the old roll caps. I wonder if ripping those open - if they are available where you live - and using them for priming powder might work.

 

[col.lemat]

By now you could have bought the three chemicals needed and have made your own black powder. I started on Friday and just finished makeing a pound at a cost of less than $6.00

 

[Nit Wit]

4 f should NEVER be used other than pan priming or a little in the nipple on a misfire.
A bunch of us use 3f for 36 cal up to 75 cal smoothbores main charges and priming.
Nit Wit

 

[craiso]

I got my boys a brace of Colt repo brassers in .44 for Christmas this year. I would like to experiment with some Pyrodex RS since I can get it readily at Walmart right now. Would a load of 30 grains of RS be too much? I know that 25 grains of Pyrodex P should be the max for a brass frame .

 

[arcticap]

There's not really a set moderate powder charge by which exceeding it is known to absolutely cause a brass frame harm.
Pyrodex RS is probably at least 10% weaker than Pyrodex P due to being slower burning, and possibly even relatively weaker than that when fired from a revolver rather than from a rifle.
IMO that means that when loaded in a revolver, 30 grains of RS is about equal to 25 - 27 grains of Pryodex P which should be acceptably mild enough loads.
Using the loading lever to load the chambers with oversize balls might put more stress on the arbor and frame than necessary.
I suggest to use the ball size that's the easiest to ram and not to ram or compress them any more than necessary when seating them on top of the powder charge. That may slightly lower the velocity and save some wear & tear on the arbor and brass frame from ramming. And the resulting lower velocity due to compressing the powder less is known to hold true with nearly every powder.

 

[targetshooter22]

If you want to be a traditionalist, I think, and maybe a Civil War re-enactor could correct this, that the "standard" load was 20 grains of FFFg under a ~150-160 grain round ball with a grease (e.g. bore butter today) cover over the cylinder.

 

[arcticap]

Civil War paper cartridge service loads were about 28 grains but the quality of the powder varied. Topping off the chambers with grease wasn't a military requirement.

 

[targetshooter22]

Thanks! I know the 20 grains works well, but wondered what the standard was of the day.

 

[craiso]

Thanks arcticap. I will be swinging by Walmart for some RS asap .

 

[mykeal]

As arcticap said, there is no specific 'moderate' load. However, I don't agree that 30 grains of RS qualifies for that description. A few shots of 30 grains probably won't result in any noticeable damage, but a steady diet of that amount is another story, in my opinion.

I'd stay below 25 grains of either P or RS if it were my gun.

 

[Foto Joe]

I think that you'll find that using more than 20 grains of powder in these guns won't result in much more bang or boom for your buck shall we say. In fact that particular load might make it pretty difficult to just hit what you're aiming at, more isn't always better in Black Powder revolver shooting either in performance or the best interest of the gun.

I shoot a LOT of rounds out of brass and I've found that my favorite load is only 16gr of 3f. Going higher than that definitely doesn't make my gun any more accurate, all it does is make me lower on powder.

 

[FreddyKruger]

Last weekend i thought i would try some FFg instead of my usual FFFg thru my Ruger Old Army. I think im going to stick with it! i had better accuracy and less recoil using the same volume.