Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

Based on an e-mail discussion I had with one of the contributors to this board, I began to wonder if what I thought I knew about Pyrodex pellets was true with charges below 150 grains. Years ago, at the SHOT show, I talked to one of the muzzleloading "celebrities" about the pellets. At that time, the only ones available in .50 caliber were the 50 grain Pyrodex. He indicated that the pellets burned more efficiently, gave more velocity, and more consistent velocities. I tried this with my Knight rifle and confirmed what he had recommended. Loose powder was about 150 fps slower and gave about twice as big of a group with 150 gr. charges.

Today, I was out at the range and decided to compare a "light magnum" charge of 130 grains behind a 250 gr. Shockwave. Out of my 26" Black Diamond XR, the pellet load averaged 2021 fps and had a SD of only 22 fps. The loose powder (Pyrodex RS) averaged 1958 and had a SD of 41 fps. The pellets, with this bullet,usually produce groups from one-hole to as big as around 1.8". The loose powder produced a five shot group of 2.2".

Yes, the pellets are still a better mousetrap with the 130 grain loading (at least in this gun), but the difference is no where near as great as with the 150 grain charges. I could hunt with the loose powder at this charge - and probably save some money in the process.

RE: Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

I always use loose powder and the reason is because it is a lot cheaper than the pellets. I normally use a 90 grain charge of Pyrodex by volume. I weighed the charge on my powder scale and it is 68.5 grains by weight. 1 lb. of Pyrodex will yield 102 shots with this charge. Just imagine how much money you would have to spend on pellets for that many shots:D. Cheapness always gets the best of me.

RE: Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

No question about the economy of shooting loose powder. And at charges of 120 gr. or less,the pelletsmay bea waste of money for accuracy andvelocityas well.

RE: Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

Roscoe,

I have the TC Omega and use 130 grains inpellets(two 50's & one 30) accuracy is good.I think what you are saying is the accuracy went to crap in your gun from 130 gr to 150 gr???

RE: Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

Roskoe...I wonder if you increased your loose powder load to equal the velocity of the pellet load if the groups would shrink???

RE: Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

The accuracy with 150 grains of Pyrodex pellets was very good - but only with a couple of bullet/sabot combinations. The Barnes Expander MZ and the T/C Shockwave both shot well with three 50 gr. pellets.

Its the 150 grains of loose Pyrodex that doesn't seem to burn as consistently or efficiently. And the test with 130 grains seems to suggest that, as the charge comes down, the loose powder gets better.

I was always of the understanding that pellets were the way to go when you are loading above 120 grain charges. The hole through the middle of the pellet allows for more complete ignition without substantially changing the burning rate of the powder. I still think this is true - just a matter of degree.

RE: Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

I'm thinking the accuracy would probably get worse as the charge of loose powder goes up, because it appears the variations in velocity get bigger. And the burning efficiency gets worse. But you never really know about these things until you try them.

I have also been wondering about using a stack of 30 grain pellets. One of the contributors to this board recently suggested that there was an advantage to having more pellets at the same charge weight. Might be an interesting experiment . . . .

RE: Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

Roskoe,

I am a loose powder user and I really am a bit surprised with your results. Money or cost of the product has always been a concern for me, but beyond that the irregularities in the pellets has always been my main concern. The following information comes from another writer on another site but it certainly verifies what I have found in my own personal experiances...

[/align]I have felt because of the pellets not being uniform in weight that I was not always shooting the same charge and I think my shootingresults verifiy this. I have achieved much tighter and uniform groups using loose powder than I can with pellets/sticks.[/align][/align]I can not think of a time that I have ever seen anyone in competition use pellets... They get to the point that they weigh each individual load to insure accuracy.[/align]

RE: Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

Roscoe,

I have been thinking about stacking four 30 gr pellets = 120 gr to see waht my Omega will do. Has any one tried this??

RE: Loose Pyrodex vs. Pellets
 

Roscoe - interesting field study.
I think a little more field data is needed to make any assumption that pellets produce increased FPS vs loose.FPS is a relative term that may often equate to increased group size.

As sabotloader post mentioned,pellets can and do vary.

I would bet if you packed the Loose Charge tighter your FPS would equal or exceed pellets.

I like loose as it makes things interesting,challenging and measured charge is always uniform with the ability to develope and tweak charge in small increments until you get a key hole group. To me thats part of the fun in muzzleloading.

Hey - for the guys that use pellets, if it works and ain't broke leave it alone - But - if it breaks once - Go Loose:D