I was wondering wether there is any advantage to shooting 3F powder out of your muzzleloader instead of 2F. Right now I'm shooting 95 gr. of 2F out of my TC Firestorm (flintlock). When I went hunting with my uncle last winter he was shooting 3F out of his flinter. I would think that 3F would burn faster and produce higher presser, equaling more velocity, so I would think that would be a better powder. But then if it was more people would already be shooting 3F. So my question is wether there is any distinct advantage to shooting 3F out of my ML instead of 2F. Thanks in advance.

Thanksfor moving it you guys.

Hopefully one of the Mods will get this transferred to the BP forum.

The only way to tell if switching to 3fg would have an advantage for you is to try it and see. Some guns and/or bullets prefer it and some don't.
You're correct in believing that the smaller 3fg cut will ignite faster and build more pressure at a faster rate. So if you're using true Black powder, you need to reduce a 2fg load if you try 3fg. So for your 95gr 2fg load, I'd start working up from 80gr of 3fg in 5gr increments to see where your best accuracy is found.

I lot of people do use 3fg in sidelock-type rifles, so it's not uncommon. Also the smaller loads of 3fg will make your can of powder go further as well (6 to 10 more shots to the lb).

Now, if you try using 777 powder in 2fg & 3fg cuts............the rules change a bit. There is VERY little difference; pressure, speed, or performance wise between the 2 cuts - so you do not have to reduce 3fg loads......unless you find better accuracy there. I played a lot with both of these in my Knight in-line and found that my heavier sabot bullets (over 300gr) like 3fg 777 better than 2fg, but any conicals, powerbelts, or 300gr or smaller sabots did better with 2fg. And I did not have to reduce my former 2fg loads when going to the 3fg, as there is less than 100fps difference between the 2 of them when used with the same bullet.

So, all you can do is try it to see.

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The old rule of thumb used to be 45 caliber and under they used 3f. 50 caliber and over they used 2f. I always considered the 50 caliber a middle of the road caliber. You can use either and get good results. I use Goex 3f in my 50 calibers for the most part. Especially the flintlock rifles. I also use 3f Goex in my inline rifles because I get better accuracy with some projectiles.

I even shoot 3f in some of the .54 caliber rifles. All you can do is try the two and see what gives you the best accuracy. I really would not worry about a little extra boost in pressures to the projectile. Also there is some concern that shooting the hotter 3f powder can ring the breech of the rifle because of the higher pressures. I have no evidence to back up whether that happens or not. The main thing is use the powder that gives you the best accuracy.

Advantages of 3f
Fast ignition
Reliable Ignition
Generally good accuracy due to barrel whip and other factors

Cons of 3f
Can get gummy if damp
Usually can't achieve velocity level that you could with 2f with same accuracy

I am after performance with a expected level of accuracy. Thats the reason I go with 2f. I

I use Goex 3F in .45/.50/.54cals, and Goex 2F in .58/.62cals...my experience is that3F seems to have a eyelashfaster ignition, and 2Fleavesa little more fouling.

Contact ww.prbullet.com, they are the makers of prescions bullets for muzzleloaders. They have a lot of precise info on different powders they have used and experimented with. hope it helps some. vangunsmith