Originally Posted by
Omega45
Nice test. The duplex would definitely aid in very cold weather hunting since T7 is easier to ignite. Western Powders gave me the thumbs up to try but I never got around to it. I was advised its just like using Pyrodex pellets with the igniter on one end.
To me, providing a small volume of BH for the primer fire to first encounter, which is done when using a breech plug with a chamber on the end, is like having a duplex load without having a second powder.
It seems this smaller volume of powder inside the chamber is easier to ignite than the full volume, and it then ignites the rest of the powder column. My mental picture of what happens when a powder chamber is provided may or may not be correct, but it does fit the data. Breech plugs with powder chambers, have ignited BH reliably whenever i have used them in the worst of conditions. This includes sub-zero temperatures, small flash holes, carboned flame channels, excess head space, and loosely fitting sabot.