which black powder???
 

Well I am kinda getting tired of the smell and all the cleaning I have to do with my powder. I was wondering what you guys thought was the cleanest burning and put off the least amount of odor? Plus I was thinking about switching to a pellet just to try it out. I am currently shooting a T/C Encore .50 cal with 90 grains of goex ffg 200 grain shockwave bullet. People told me triple seven is suppose to be the best stuff out now. So I was thinking about trying there pellets. I thought I would come on here and ask opinions first. To see what powder, or pellet you guys think would be best overall.Thanks

RE: which black powder???
 

I personally like 777 & Pyrodex R.S. powder
Pellets are ok but more expensive and you cant adjust your load as close as you can with loose powder

RE: which black powder???
 

I don't shoot in-lines but I use triple 7 in my percussion sidelocks (loose - not pellets). Very easy to clean.

RE: which black powder???
 

the cleanest powder hands down is Jim Shockey gold, but it is not as powerful as 777. You can shoot a Savage and go smokeless and that is really really clean, like never clean the BP (except with a drill) and only the barrel at the end of the season. Chap Gleason

RE: which black powder???
 

I'd say the cleanest I've shot was APP (Shockey Gold), but I didn't get the best accuracy with it.

RE: which black powder???
 

Blondie, I have only ever used 777's in pellet form. The gun shoots great with them (have used my buddy's JS Gold a couple of times) and I never found them to foul up the gun that bad that cleaning was a painful task. There might be cleaner stuff out there, I don't really know, but I would still give a good recommendation to the 777's.
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RE: which black powder???
 

T7 is by far the best powder I have used. Cleans up well and has proved very accurate...

RE: which black powder???
 

Black Mag'3 is the cleanest, great velocity and conistant. However, the powder is not currently available. Hopefully in 2008 Magkor will be producing BM3 again. Love this powder, but am hoarding what I have left using only for hunting.

777 2&3FGis excellent velocity, consistant, is fairly cleanand is widely available. Shoot about 4-6 pounds of 777 each year.

Pyrodex shoots really well in my experience.However the stuff is filthy,stinks like dead eggs that were stored for three yearsin a skunk's rectumand is about as corrosive as traditional black, so I just shoot traditional black.

Swiss BP is exceptional for taditional black powder. Shoot about 6-10 pounds of Swiss every year.

Goex BP is very good as well.

Goex Pinnacle is available although I have not shot any. Some folks have here on the forum and can give you the .02

American Pioneer Powder (APP)(which also makes Shockey), not shot the Shockey powder but have APP which is about as lame as it get's for a powder in my view.

Supposedly there is a new powder called Buckhorn 209coming out in 2008 from Western Powders Inc. that is supposed to be the next new BP substitue mousetrap. We'll see.

Tahquamenon

RE: which black powder???
 

So with all this talk about 777-what is the best way to clean the barrel?

Do you use soap and water? Or something else like Lyman or some
other brand of solvent..I have only tried the 777 in my cartridge rifles..

Even though I have lots of Goex on hand,I kind of like the idea of the
pellets.....What is the Goex Penntical like...I aint no good at spelling..

RE: which black powder???
 

At the range when shooting sabot's I clean witha spit patch down and up flip anddo again, followed by the same downup flip downup damp50/50 99% alcohol/windex patch followed by a dry patch downup flip and downup again.

For detailed cleaning, for all powders I use atablespoon of liquid laundry soap, a couple quarts of scalding hot water and pump-flush the bore.

Tahquamenon

RE: which black powder???
 

You method sound sinceable to me..I have heard some of the
solvents with ammonia will ruin your barrel..So it's soap and water
with all black powder or subs...

RE: which black powder???
 

johnny2, water by it self will clean 777 good, I would suggest very hot water so that thebarrel once it is hot will help rey it self and reduce the chance of rust.
There are other things that work quite well especally in the field the mizture of alk. and windshield warsher is in commen use by the guys here also windex with viniger [there are other versions of windex out so look careful].
blondiez24, At this time there is no powder available that does not have draw backs of some sort, with 777 you need to wipe every shot to maintain the kind of accuracy some of us want and some guns get "crudring " to the point where it is practically unuseable, Pyrodex is one of the most reliable and stable and very corrosive [more so than 777], I had very good luck with APP both the pressure and the velocity were moderate so I used a bit heavier loads but it did not smell bad and it was so clean I never wiped between loads but I got some bad powder [two cans in a row ] that did not shoot with the same accuracy so I quit using it.
Some of us have high hopes for the new Blackhorn 209, my advice would be to hang tight and watch the fourm and your supplier and try it before you switch to any thing. Lee

RE: which black powder???
 

I'm pretty much in agreement with Tahquamenon's assessment, except that I believe Pyrodex to be the MOST corrosive (but it is very good powder otherwise). With rotten egg smell, it's only a matter of degree - how much rotten egg smell one likes.

Just wish they would bring out a perfected formula/process version of BM3 for about $10/lb. :D

RE: which black powder???
 

I thought you guys would get a good LYAO with my aroma reference to Pyrodex = "stinks like dead eggs that were stored for three yearsin a skunk's rectum" [:o]

If BM3 shows up at $10/pound good luck finding any because I will have purchased all of it. :D

RE: which black powder???
 

Pyrodex is THE most corrosive powder from the tests I ran on a steel lawn mower blade about a year ago. The speed in which Pyrodex starts to rust would shock a lot of people. The other powders, even Goex was much more TIME forgiving.

The cleanest powder I ever shot was Black Mag3 with Pinnacle a very close second. APP was also another very clean powder to shoot. But the question is not always what is the best to clean, but what is the most accurate. I personally shoot a lot of black powder. Why? Cost effective, excellent properties, easy to clean, but it does stink. But a little stink never bothered me. I guess I have a higher stink-O-meter level.

Try some Triple Se7en and Shockey Gold pellets/sticks. Which ever one produces the best accuracy

RE: which black powder???
 

So has anyone had any accuracy issues with the t7 pellets? I usually site in1" high at75 yards. Usually every bullet is touching at 75 sometimes looks like I missed, and you'll see an edge of one of the other bullet holes widened. I really like the accuracy, but I was hoping maybe the pellets would shoot as good, and be a little cleaner, and odorless. From what I hear t7 gives the best power(speed per grain) and cleanest, odorless smell. I am getting info from people that just got started in muzzleloading a few years ago, and have prolly never used anything but. I only use my ML for hunting I like to be accurate out to 150 yards. I do maybe 4 or 5 shots a year. So cost isn't really an issue. I just want the powder that will ignite the best without a misfire, and be accurate, and easy cleanup. Give me some good ones to look at. Thanks alot guys

RE: which black powder???
 

Pyrodex smells worse than goex so triple 7 might be the way to go. Triple 7 did ok for me but it wasnt reliable enough after i opened the can and used it for a month.

RE: which black powder???
 

Tahquamenon,

What granualation of Swiss are you using and what caliber and loads do you use. I bought some Swiss 2f to try out in my 1/28 twist Green Mountain barrel, with 300 and 250 grain Hornady xtp's. I have not shot much of it yet and probably won't complete my testing of it until spring weather. Are you using 3f? in a .50 cal. with sabots?