Question on Pyrodex in a BP Revolver

[mgmorden]

Quick question guys. A while back I happened to receive a replica Remington 1858 revolver by Pietta as a Christmas gift. It's been 3 or 4 years now - still haven't shot it, and I figured I might have some fun at the range with it .

Anyways, way back when I got the thing, I went to the store and bought a 1lb bottle of BP substitute - Pyrodex. Problem is, in my foolish ignorance, I wasn't thinking that just like smokeless powders, there are varieties of BP suited for different uses - I bought Pyrodex RS rather than Pyrodex P.

That said, I have heard a few times on the internet that you can safely use blackpowders meant for larger guns in smaller guns, but not the reverse (ie, rifle powder in a pistol is ok, but pistol powder in a rifle is not).

Given my experience with smokeless powders in metallic reloading my gut instinct was to ignore that and just go buy some pistol powder, but I figured I'd ask either way.

Is this powder safe to use in the revolver, or should I just store it in the event that I ever get a BP rifle?

Thanks.

 

[NavyLCDR]

It will be perfectly SAFE to use. It may not be as consistent or give you as much velocity and you might get an increased number of failures to ignite (just put another cap on the cylinder and try again), but it won't cause any damage.

Since BP is measured by volume rather than weight, if you use the same volume of RS as is specified for P you are actually going to end up with a lower charge of RS. Not really a problem since you are going to press the ball all the way against the powder anyway. The danger of a low charge of smokeless powder comes from excessive empty space in the cartridge allowing for detonation of the powder vice burning of the powder.

 

[mykeal]

...I have heard a few times on the internet that you can safely use blackpowders meant for larger guns in smaller guns, but not the reverse (ie, rifle powder in a pistol is ok, but pistol powder in a rifle is not).

Like many internet generalizations, that's untrue.

As stated above, using 'rifle' powder in a pistol poses a performance issue but not a safety issue. It's also true that using a 'pistol' powder in a rifle can be a performance issue but it is not a safety issue.

The difference between 'pistol' (3fg or fffg or P) and 'rifle' (2fg or ffg or RS) is granule size. The smaller granule 'pistol' powder will burn faster and reach peak pressure quicker since it has more total surface area exposed to the ignition source (hot gas from a primer or an adjacent granule) than 'rifle' powder. This peak pressure may also be slightly higher, resulting in higher projectile velocity and thus energy. The difference, however, is not large. Many people intentionally use 'pistol' powder in long rifles up to .50 caliber with good results. Above .50 caliber 'rifle' powder has been found to work better.

 

[GeoffC]

Is the FFFFG(4fg) unsafe to use in revolvers?

It's seem like one could get away with using less powder and get a better result, unless it turns them into a hand grenade or is expensive as hell.

I know generally 4fg is used for flint guns and priming percusion guns that really need a cleaning more than a priming.

 

[mykeal]

Goex (Hodgdon) warns against the use of ffffg in quantities large enough to be considered a main charge in any gun. While I know of people who have used up to 25 gr in a bp revolver I would personally not do so.

 

[Snowdog]

I used RS Pyrodex in my Pietta 1858 Remington when I first shot it as it was powder I had on hand for my Hawken.

It worked, but turned out to be much more fouling than the Pyrodex Pistol I purchased a few days later.

 

[ontarget]

I just switched to "P" in my 50 cal rifle with excellent results. I tried it because it was all I had on hand, and to my surprise my groups were tighter. That being the case, Now I only need to stock 1 variety of powder.

 

[45Fan]

I think that its been pretty well covered, RS wont hurt anything but reliabilty in your pistol, and maybe not even that, depending on your pistol. I have used "P" pyrodex for years in my sidelock .50 and .45 cal rifles, mainly for more reliable ignition on those cold mornings that are so common in our late muzzle loader season. I recently converted my 1860 cap and ball to .45 colt with a Howwels conversion cylinder.

 

[Hellgate]

Be sure you pack the ball & powder down firmly into the cylinder for consistent ignition. I used Pyro P once and got delayed ignition when using lube wads under the ball. instead of just a nice BOOM! each shot I got paBOOM! The wad prevented a snug packing of the powder against the flash hole.