Landngroove

Is Goex Clearshot still available? I have not seen it on sale anywhere recently. I have inquired about it and, was told there was a problem manufacturing it. Maybe this new Goex Pinnacle Powder is a replacement for it. Pinnacle Powder hasn't arrived around here yet, but I would be curious to see if it works in a flintlock.

cayugad

The ClearShot I remember was not the greatest of powders. I used it a couple times. A friend had bought some. It was under powered and I was not real impressed with it. The new powder out that is getting some good reviews is Black Mag3. I have not had a chance to get any in my area and refuse to pay the haz mat fee to ship it to my home. I heard it shoots great, has plenty of power, cleans easy, does not fowl to bad, and has a low ignition point. But like I said, I have not shot any of it.

There was also a powder called Clean Shot which is now American Pioneer Powder Co. I have used that with excellent results.

I read a forum post on the Pinnacle Powder. Seems someone else was interested in it. I will personally shoot plain old Goex Black Powder. It might stink and is fowling and messy, but it always goes off.

Slamfire

Goex claims the ignition temp of Pinnacle is in the neighborhood of 650 degrees Farenheit, but you can crush it by hand to smaller size for use in the flash pan.

MLKeith

[quote]ORIGINAL: cayugad

The new powder out that is getting some good reviews is Black Mag3. I have not had a chance to get any in my area and refuse to pay the haz mat fee to ship it to my home. I heard it shoots great, has plenty of power, cleans easy, does not fowl to bad, and has a low ignition point. But like I said, I have not shot any of it.

I have shot it and the fouling is so minimal that I would not even refer to it as fouling. It is more like a little gray dust in the bore. Another point of interest for the Black Mag'3 that seems to be getting overlooked is that it is non-corrosive to steel. It will tarnish brass but will not attack steel. When you are in the field on an extended hunt it is nice to know that the barrel is not going to rust before you get to boiling water.

cayugad

MLKeith - that is what everyone is saying about Black Mag3. They also claim they get some outstanding speed on the projectiles. With some of velocity they are getting, do you have a concern on barrel pressures with this new powder? Are you cutting back on the charge size to compensate the power of this stuff?

MLKeith

The character of this powder is slower light off time than 777 as you can feel by the relatively soft recoil compared to same velocity of 777 charges. It continues to burn and form pressure as the projectile travels the barrel resulting in higher velocity than same volume of ffg 777 and higher resultant velocity with less perceived recoil (enough fancy words???). Yes I consider a 120gr. charge of BM3 to be MAXIMUM in any rifle. I only shoot 90-100gr. in my Omega and with 300gr. bullets get over 2000fps with a 209 primer and the 100gr. load.

Tahquamenon

I shot a pound of APP clean shot and really thought is was anemic as compared to BP. Was not that "clean" either.

I've seen some chatter about Goex Pinnacle, but I don't know if it's actually something new or just something re-branded?
If the flash temperature for Goex Pinnacle is 650 degrees Fahrenheit as Slamfire says, that's not that much lower than other substitute powders.

Regarding Black Mag'3:
My understanding is that the flash point temp for BM'3 is down around 380-400 degrees F. Not too far from real BP.
All I know is the ignition of BM'3 is superb, along with all other aspects of the powder. I'm working on my 3rd pound of BM'3 and have yet to find anything negative about it. It's better than any synthetic I've ever used and I've used them all save this new Goex Pinnacle.

Certainly with any higher charges you need to be cognizant of pressures regardless of what powder you use.

And as stated again for those that do not already know. "Do not exceed the loading data specific for your rifle."

MagKor states 120gr Maximum Black Mag'3 in rifles designed for magnum or 150gr BP loads. That is a 20% reduction.

777 loads are recommended by Hodgdon for a 15% reduction or 127.5gr for a "Magnum" load down from 150gr BP rifles.

In the Omega, 120gr BM'3 & a 300gr Hornady SST is not nearly as violent of recoil as that with the same load of 777. I've no clue of the velocity but it's fast with both and I think faster with BM'3. The accuracy I get with 777 and this load combination is not as good as BM'3. I'm getting just over 2" groups/100 yards with BM'3. With 777, it's right about 3".

It's on my list to buy a Chronometer to begin documenting velocities.

MLKeith

You are right on target with the recoil comparison. I shot the 100gr. BM3 with 300gr. SST and as stated it hit just over 2000fps on my chrono at 7000ft. altitude. The same volume of ffg 777 with the same bullet actually hurt to shoot compared with comfortable with the BM3 and the velocity was only 1643fps. To be fair if the 777 had been fffg the comparison would be closer but the recoil would still be awful and the crud ring is unbearable for me. My chronograph is the less expensive Chrony but the results are reliable.