purchased a pound of 1f goex today for my navy arms 10 gauge sxs

[midland man]

so guys I been using pyrodex rs in this 10 gauge sxs in which has been doing fine but I wanna try this real black powder in 1f to see if I get better patterns? so what ya'll think?

 

[D. Buck Stopshere]

Generally speaking, the larger the bore size, the larger the grandual size (or kernel size - aka single piece of powder). I suggest comparing loads of 2FG GOEX vs 1FG GOEX black powders. Remember too, that the coarser the black powder, the more fouling it produces than the finer grade of black powder. Typically, 2FG will burn faster than 1FG, thus creating pressure faster (and reducing fouling) , just like 3FG vs 2FG.

I am only comparing real black powder grades instead of black powder and black powder substitute. Because the finer grade powder produces pressure faster, the less one needs in the load. If using 125 grains of 1FG, probably 110 grains of 2FG will deliver the same "horsepower".

There are plenty of sources online for 10 gauge muzzleloading loads. In the 2016 Dixie Gun Works catalog, the recommended load for their Pedersoli 10 gauge double is 85 grains (3 drams) of 2FG with 1-1/4 oz of shot and the appropriate wads in between. But factories habitually err on the conservative side to stay away from future lawsuits. I have seen older publications books from the '70's and '80's recommending 2FG loads at 4 drams (27.5 gr X 4 dr = 110 gr measured) & 4-1/2 drams (124 gr [rounded off]).That was probably before the lawsuits started showing up in the court system.

In my custom-made 12 gauge flint double that I had, I got better patterns by decreasing the powder load about a 1/4 dram (about 7 grains). So, instead of 3 drams of 2FG, I used 2-3/4 drams.

If you mosey over to the Muzzleloading Forum at: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/307597/post/new/#NEW
"Feltwad" (in England) discusses the 10 gauge duck gun and shows folks his collection of about a dozen originals. You will get a lot of assistance on that forum if you post your inquiry there, to augment the advice of the folks here .

If the above link and reference to another website violates the "house rules", administrator can slap my hand and delete the above paragraph.
Its hard to remember "house rules" on a dozen different sites.

Hope this helps.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Shotgunning is a subsection of Black Powder shooting, to be sure. In fact, I can't find the reference alas, but in Old German, there is a different word for shotgunner other than Jaeger which is more of a big game hunter. It illustrates there was a known difference, even back in the 17th century...,

The above formulas are good for shotguns. BUT you will need to go to the range and actually test your gun. One of the quirks of our pastime is that even if two guns come right off the assembly line (or barrels if you have a custom gun), right next to each other, they will likely shoot well with different combinations of powder, wad and shot.

LD

 

[paul harm]

1F will be dirty. I've used 2 and 3F in my 10ga shell guns. As D.Buck says, using a finer grade means using less powder. In 12ga I've used 70grs of 3F and 1oz of shot, 10ga - 80grs and 1 1/8oz of shot. My shot weights are down because I don't like recoil and I only shoot clay birds. My 1882 Remington 10ga hammergun will " smoke " clay birds out to 50yds with Mod chokes and the 80grs 3F and 1oz of shot. You'll get a cleaner burn with 3F and use a lot less powder - saves money. I personal consider 1F a cannon powder, not a shotgun powder. It'll work, but you'll need more of it to produce the same results. You'll find better patterns with less velocity and less shot. When you go down in powder you have less pressure pushing on the shot so there's less deformation of the shot. Same for less shot - the shot column is shorter so there's less pressure on the shot at the bottom of the column so less shot gets deformed. Back when they shot live birds any gauge was allowed with a 1 1/4oz limit on the shot. This was before chokes were invented. The second barrel was loaded with less powder and shot to make the pattern tighter. Go forward to today. A couple of years ago FITASC shooters could use a 1 1/4oz load. The governing body changed it to a 1oz load. Everyone had a heart attack - they thought scores would plummet. The scores went up. A lot less recoil and patterns were just as good. The reason I'm saying all this is because patterning your gun is fine, but to do it right you're going to have and shoot 2 or 3 times with each load to be fair. And, just how many different loads do you want to test ? If you're going to stick to just one shot charge, say 1 1/4oz in the 10, then try say 80, 85,90, 95, 100, and 110grs of 1F. Now switch to 2F and try the 80, 85, 90, and maybe 95grs. Now 3F and try 80, 85, and maybe 90grs. Also shot size can make a difference - I have a 28ga gun that won't pattern 8 1/2's, but 8's or 9's pattern just fine. And wad height could also make a difference. You may be in for a long day unless you get a pattern you like and say good enough. Good luck, I've been down that long road. It can be fun, but there's no end to it.

 

[midland man]

hey guys and paul I discovered that from another posts I made that since tryin the goex 1f now I don't need new nipples as now with real black powder the ignition issues I was having with pyrodex was the powder and since changing to real black now it fires extremely well and also to add I was getting very good patterns with 100grs of 1f and 2ozs of shot for a excellent turkey load! plus have tried some light loads for my favorite thing to hunt which is squirrel hunting so I love this shotgun and plan on chasing the game soon!

 

[Patocazador]

1FG is fine for a 10 ga. I get the best patterns at 30 yds with 1FG in my 12 ga. SxS. With 2F I have a thinner center pattern from either the pressure wad and/or lubed wad. That thin center pattern doesn't exist when using 1 F.
However, that's in my gun, all black powder shotguns seem to have their own peculiarities.