Mixing powders ?????

[dphobby]

Anybody mix different grades of powder? FF & FFF of the same brand???

Just wondering if there were any advantages or disadvantages, I have some pyro RS and some pyro P that I was going to try mixing but thought I should get some input first..
Thanx !!

[cayugad]

Manufacturers will tell you not to mix powders... The reason is the inconsistency that the mix will produce might never be repeated. Also you could change the overall strenth of the powder that if used wrong could make for a somewhat dangerous load.

Personally I think you're better off shooting each brand as an individual powder. I am sure you could mix them and it would shoot off just fine. Its just that, lets say for instance you get an accurate load... can you repeat and mix the powder the same again? Is one powder with finer grain working its way to the bottom of the container as it moves about? All of this leads to inconsistency and that leads to poor accuracy.

The only time I mix powders is when I duplex a load with say.. Goex black powder and then a substitute powder so I get better ignition.

[dphobby]

Dave,, I guess in the back of my little brain I knew it wasn't recommended to mix them, but thanks for remimnding me why not..

[Gotbuck]

Don't mix em. I know from personal experience, I was at the range and loaded my last loose 70 grains of Pyrodex and usually go to 100, well I had brought a new power (777) and figured 30 grains shouldn't hurt so I topped it off. All of this was done in my first week of muzzleloading many years ago when my head was only on women and being invincible. Well I loaded the cap and got all seated and pulled the trigger and pow and pow. There were two explosions and from what I could tell, the initial cap firing did ingnite the Pyro and then the 777 which burns hotter than Pyrodex. I had to rethink what in the hell happened and examined the Pyrodex container which had a little moisture in it. I guess there was a delay in the initial explosion and when it did ignite, the 777 was also ignited almost at the same time as the Pyrodex as there was two pows. Looking back it was stupid, but the bullet mysteriously hit the bull at 100 yds. Just one heck of problem. As Cayugad said there is no way to get consistent results and the other hazard is, some of the new powders have such high pressures that mixing will result in dangers that you can only imagine. Just don't do it.

[arcticap]

I think it's okay to mix itif it's done carefully &systematically, just like when handloading/reloading any other kind of ammunition.
If an "X" volume of grains of one powder is dropped, and then a "Y" amount of another powder is dropped, there really shouldn't be a problem as long as they areaccepted powders and the guidelines regarding volume equivalents are adhered too.
I've never heard of any incompatibility amoung different powders, and certainly in this case there shouldn't be any,especiallyif onlyusing 2 differentgranulations ofPyrodex.
Experimentation has helped to develop wildcat cartridgesthat havebecome acceptedfor commercial production, anda new desirable load just might be developed for an individual rifle that surpasses anyother loads that havebeen previously tried.
It always good to be cautious butthere'sno needto be afraid toexperiment within reasonable limits of acceptability.