I have to agree with Mark whiz. I use loose Pyrodex Select. I have also shot the Clean Shot and had no problem with it. It seemed to shoot fine. First off, I shoot a side lock .54 caliber not an inline. A friend of mine who was having fits trying to get his CVA inline to hit anything using pellets, went to loose powder and within 30 minutes we found his load and had it shooting sweet. He has never shot the pellets since. It is a personal preference, and I am sure there are those out there that like the pellets. I do not find them any advantage. Good shooting the new smoke pole, and stay safe...