powder question
 

I have always just shot goex or T7 in 2f in all my guns. But i have seen here on this forum were some like 3f powder over 2f. Can you tell me the advantage of that

FFF burns faster and cleaner than FF...You should also use less as it creates more pressure...Buy using less, you have less residue...Over half of black powder is not burned, some goes out the end of the barrel and some stays in...By reducing your charge, you reduce fouling...

When I started, back in the '70s the rule of thumb was use FFF in .45 and below and FF in .50 and above...We now know this isn't true...

Now, some guns show a preference for one over the other, if so, used what she wants...

The chemical composition of the two powders is exactly the same. fffg just has smaller granules. Therefore for a given volume, more of fffg will fit, so it will weigh more and therefore be more powerful. I use it in my sidelock because it is easier for the smaller granule to fall into the sidelock chamber than the bigger granule. Just remember as nchawkeye stated, it is more powerful, so I reduce my volume about 10-15 % to achieve similar results. In other words, 85-90 gr of fffg is roughly equivalent to 100 gr of ffg in power.

I can remember years ago, no one shot 3f powder except in small bore rifles and pistols. There used to even be a rumor that shooting 3f in large bore rifles could damage the bore. Which I never did believe.

The advantages of shooting 3f is use it only if your accuracy is better then when you shoot 2f. I have rifles that tend to shoot better with 3f powder and then again just the opposite. So try the 3f and see how it works. You will still have fouling. But there is some that really like 3f.

Thank you for the Information. I will have to pick up some and give it a try. Inthe 45,s do you still reduce the charge by 10-15% when useing 3f.

Dang, I bought my .45 in the 70s and rebarrelled to .40 in the late 80s...I can't remember why I did but I do know my deer load was 75grs FFF and for squirrels I dropped down to about 40grs FFF...For wild turkeys and groundhogs I went with 50grs FFF...

I typically set up the sights on large game flinters to hit dead on at 25 yards with a half a charge of powder...I don't use large charges either on my round ball guns...In my .54 my deer load is 80grs FFF, not much different than what I was shooting in my .45...

Heck, my squirrel load in my .40 is 25grs...Sure is cute when she goes off...

Another point...I use FFF in both the pan and barrel, keeps things simple...

I use T7-2f in all of the inlines and 3f in the side hammers. I use the 3f in the side hammer because it is easier to ignite than 2f in severly cold weather. Other than that not a big difference.

It may burn a little cleaner - but I am not sure since I am using #11 caps in the side hammers there is not 'crud ring' and with the 209's in the inlines there is a hint of a 'crud ring' but nothing significant.

Shooting a MK-85 with 110 grains of T7-3f and I number #11 cap I have shot 31 shots in a row with out a patch - 2f would have probably done the same thing with a cap.

Hodgdon says to reduce loads by 10% when moving from 2f to 3f but after all the shooting I have done with the two, I am now loading pretty much grain for grain but in the rifles I am using they are all rated for more than I am shooting of ether one.

I shot this table awhile back and you can use it for a comparison of the two powders.... This one is for a 45 cal gun shooting a 200 grain bullet. As you look through the table you can see that at a point the 3f which ignites faster and burns out faster starts loosing velocity as you move up the powder scal



This is a 50 cal table but it is incomplete and the shooting date was so long ago I would have to start all over now...

fffg is more powerful for any volume used, so yes you would reduce the amout in a 45 cal. However, from Sabots tables, it seems in reality maybe not 10-15%. What that doesn't tell you is how much increased pressure the barrel endures, but for the most part is probably ok to use.

So with that in mind, probably dropping say 5% (5gr for easy to remember amounts) is a pretty good starting point.