westbrooklawn

Although I am truly a "newbie" I thought I would pass on my experience for what it's worth.

I had developed a good load of 85g T7 and 245g shockwaves for my new TC stainless Omega. I finally got a chance to get to the range with some Black Mag 3. My impressions:

1. The Black mag 3 is much cleaner, and less crud ring than the T7

2. With the same 85g charge, the groups were good... comparable to the T7

3. The Black mag 3 has a noticably harder recoil than the same charge of T7

4. The Black mag 3 patterned about 2 1/2" higher than the same charge of T7 with the same bullet.

Again... for what it's worth!!

cayugad

Interesting results.. I have heard people talk both ways about the Black Mag3. I guess all I can do is keep my eyes open for some and shoot it for my self...

Keep shooting and see what you think.

Roskoe

From what I have read and heard about Black Mag 3, the reason it is kicking harder and shooting higher the T7 is that it is probably developing more speed. I read somewhere that 100 gr. is a maximum load with BM3, whereas 120 gr. is normally maximum for T7. I'm still trying to get my hands on some BM3 with paying $50 a pound with the hasmat charge. Maybe a trip to cabela's next month . . . . Good luck. Roskoe.

MLKeith

I chronographed a 100gr. volume load of 777 ffg against the same volume of Black Mag'3 pushing 300gr. sabot/bullet. I did get considerably higher velocity out of the Black Mag'3 although I felt the recoil was somewhat softer (heavy but not as sharp as the 777). I was also shooting a stainless Omega. Black Mag'3 seems to work best with heavier bullets and longer barrels which is why the Omega owners seem to love the stuff. I know I am certainly sold so far.

Roskoe

What sort of velocity did you get out of 100 gr. of Black Mag 3 with a 300 grain bullet?

MLKeith

At 7000ft. altitude, 60degrees F, with some wind I shot a Harvester sabot with a 300gr. solid copper clad pistol bullet and the following resulted:
With 100gr. volume Black Mag'3 and a Winchester standard small rifle primer in the 25ACP conversion on my stainless Omega I recorded a three shot average velocity of 1920fps. I later shot the same load but changed to a Winchester standard 209 primer and the velocity average for three shots was 2004fps. Magkor confirmed that the velocity with the 209 primers should be slightly higher than with a standard small rifle primer or a #11 cap. The same volume of 777 ffg and the same bullet only hit just under 1700fps. (I have a person that claims my numbers for the 777 are not correct but that is what I recorded and have no reason to disbelieve my chronograph as it is just back from the manufacturer and has been completely rebuilt). 777 in my Omega is a mess to deal with and the crud ring is very heavy and difficult to remove. I shot the three shots with Black Mag'3 without a swab between shots and the loading was not difficult.

eldeguello

Thanks for the interesting comparison!

Roskoe

Interesting. You are getting about the same speed with 100 gr. of BM3 that I am with 150 grains of Pyrodex pellets. How's accuracy?

Buckeye Mike

My results with bm3 were the same compared to t7. It was much cleaner and it was much easier to load second and third shots without swabbing. I also perceived more recoil when shooting 348 grain powerbelts out of my Omega. I intend to try it out again in the next week or so with some 250 grain shockwaves but at this point I am impressed and it is my powder of choice.

Buckeye Mike

My results with bm3 were the same compared to t7. It was much cleaner and it was much easier to load second and third shots without swabbing. I also perceived more recoil when shooting 348 grain powerbelts out of my Omega. I intend to try it out again in the next week or so with some 250 grain shockwaves but at this point I am impressed and it is my powder of choice.