Over the weekend I had a conversation with a fellow enthusiast and we wound up talking about ignition problems from bringing guns indoors etc.. He suggested the possibility of using a combination of Goex and Pyrodex, perhaps loading 20 grains of Goex then 70 Pyrodex to provide better ignition and still have a pretty clean burning charge. Worth trying?

I have duplexed a lot of loads. Mostly so substitute powders could shoot better in flintlock rifles. There is nothing wrong with doing that. A little Goex can really jump start other powders, BUT if you read most powder sites they do not recommend mixing powders.

Since the ignition temp of Pyrodex is higher than that of Goex, adding Pyrodex to Goex will not improve ignition...

If he is trying to reduce condensation, keep it outside....Or better yet, shoot it and clean it for the next session...

Somehow i do not seem to have a problem with condensation. Sometimes my muzzleloaders stay loaded with granular powder for a month or more and they always go bang. They are always brought into the house.On 22 Febuary i shot a hog with an Encore that was loaded on 2 February.

Mixing of powders is not a good idea at all, but when you pour a base of Goex down, then level the load and pour your Pyrodex, APP, Pinnacle, Triple Se7en, or what, I see no harm in it. All the Goex is doing is creating that burst of fire and heat that the substitue powders need.

If humidity and condensation is the problem, that is a whole different animal. Even a duplexed load will fail if subjected to conditons of barrel condensation and humidity.

Cayugad - but will it fail as quickly? Igather from previous discussions that Pyrodex attracts water more readily than BP, so it would stand to reason that BP at the fire source would increase the liklihood of dischard, no?

I can buy a pound of Goex for $11.55 a pound, I've tried Pyrodex, first time was in the '70s when it came out, I've tried 777...Frankly I still use Goex 90% of the time.

Maybe it is just where I live, but no matter what kind of powder I use, if I store them in an out building over night ... I run a real good risk of the rifle will not fire or might misfire.

If you have a lot of moisture in your area, I would suggest shoot the rifle off at the end of the day, or pull the charge if possible.. Then clean the rifle and start fresh the next day.

While that is a lot of work, the chance of missing a big shot because I was not willing to put in some effort cleaning a rifle just does not seem like a good trade off. Others will leave the rifle for weeks. I seldom let them sit over night.

yeoman

I have to agree with alsaqrI really have not had this problem at all. I leave my guns loaded weeks at a time, I take them in and out of the house and the truck. The one thing I do not do is bring in a really cold gun into a really warm room - it needs to warm slowly...

Both Cayugad and I did some experimenting with this problem a couple of months back... I left my gun outside on the patio loaded for a week bringing it in the garage then the house every evening. It got rained on snowed on and froze during this tme. Took it to the rock pit at the end of the test - it shot just fine...

You can look back in the pages and probably find both experiments. These guns are not as delicate as a lot of people think.

Sabotloader - I particiated in those posts, though not the experiments. What I found this year, after paying close attention (and having a misfire on a big 8 pointer) was that my sidelock, loaded with Pyrodex, brought inside following a morning hunt, would fire when taken back out that evening for a hunt. When kept inside over the following night, the risk of misfire increased substantially. I don't recall whether either of your tests included a sidelock? Either way I should conduct my own experiment, but I'm not crazy about discharging a gun on the property unless something dies when I do. Thought this idea worth floating.