Blackpowder and Pyrodex question.
 

What's the difference between the 2 powders?
pat

RE: Diffrence between Blackpowder and pyrodex
 

If you mean they are almost equal in power.. yes although Pyrodex might have a few fps edge. Fowling is also very similar in amount and nature... yes. Cost wise they are very similar in price.. yes. The fact that in general, both of them shoot in about any rifle you want to load them in.. yes.

Pyrodex and Goex ignite about the same... NO! Corrosion ability... NO!I think Pyrodex is a little quicker to rust your bore. Equal ignition temps... NO! Goex has a much lower igniton point and will flash much sooner at a lower temperature then Pyrodex. That is why it is used in flintlocks and hard to tune rifles. It goes off when other powders will not. As for water resistant NO! I have found Pyrodex much more fussy in humid conditions and on wet days hunting. Wet Pyrodex is a thick mess that will not light. If there is going to be moisture outside, I want Goex.

Pyrodex is offered in pellets while Goex is not. Both are good powders. If you're using Pyrodex and your rifle is acting hard to ignite and accuracy starts to go bad, load some Goex and see what happens ... you might be in for a good surprise. I personally like Goex.

Is that what you meant by pretty much it?

RE: Diffrence between Blackpowder and pyrodex
 

Just to add to what Cayugad mentioned,Pyrodex is classified as a smokeless powder by DOT.
It isa littleharder to ignite than blackpowder - but is safer to handle and store. Pyrodex is not classified as an explosive like blackpowder is - thus the reason why blackpowder is harder to find.

If I'm going to use either one, I buy the finer granules because it ignites quicker in many MLs - plus it burns cleaner. Pyrodex P is the equivalent to FFF powder found with real blackpowder. Either one is what I use occasionally in all my MLs from 45-58 caliber.

RE: Diffrence between Blackpowder and pyrodex
 

I agree with cayugad on all of his comments. Here are few things I can add.

I find Blackpowder to be the most consistent igniting powder available. It produces tight velocity distributions, especially with 385 grain conicals and larger which simply seem to be unachievable, in my experience, with any other substitute, including pyrodex (though I haven't tried 777). Blackpowder, IMHO, is more flexible when tailoring loads for a particular purpose and seems, for me anyway, to be a powderwhere I can accuratately predict load performancebefore I actual shoot the load. No matter what quantity of BP I use, the results have been consistent.

Pyrodex is a good powder also. I have found it to produce more muzzle energy than BP witha notable exception. The exception is with 385 + conicals. The yield is just less than Black Powder, according to my chrony. But with 300 grain projectiles, pyrodex, especially pyro P, produce dramatically increased muzzle energies than black powder. The velocity distributions are wider, but since the velocities are high, they don't rear their ugly head at the target to any great degree until the range is beyond 100 yards. I think the greater the charge (to a point) of pyrodex the better the performance. It is not as forgiving at lower velocities as BP is. What I like best about pyro P is that it propels RB and ballet type conicals much faster than BP with very soft and thin fouling which can be , in the case of ballets,loaded over continuously.

RE: Diffrence between Blackpowder and pyrodex
 

It's cleaner burning I do believe. It's certainly not as explosive. All I've ever used is pyrodex.

thanks guys you answered my question perfectly, guess I should've worded the title different.