I think Pyro pellets are a bit stronger than the powder. So, it's more like 130gr of BH 209.

Which I consider a magnum load that's not needed, and i'm sure it kicks hard.

Thanks everyone, it's 100 percent don't need to do it so I won't waste my money.

Thats your right to do so. It's a very exspensive and not real efficient way to shoot versus loose powder. I have never got three pellet loads to shoot as well as loose. I'm sure some can and do.

The key to this is... if the load was accurate. And I agree, I can take loose powder, and make it do the same thing. But if PELLETS were accurate and lets say a lighter load was not, and I was confronted with distance.. I would shoot the three pellets.

150 Grains of pellet is equal to 150 grains of loose as far as I know. The change comes when your shooting Triple Seven pellets and loose Triple Seven powder. And Muley, you're right three pellets do have a pretty good kick. Which is one reason I never shoot that. Also pellets to me are just a fun thing to shoot. Other wise I shoot loose powder 99% of the time.

3 pellets is not equal to 150grns of loose powder. I think 85grns of loose powder equals two pellets???? I'm close but not exact.

Pyrodex and Triple Seven pellets are the area where the snake oil sales pitch starts to sizzle. Sold as black powder equivalents of "pelletized powder," they have nothing to do with traditional black powder. The pelletized powder lingo is wishful thinking, as pellets are just pellets. This type of tortured language adds more confusion to the mix. If you take two tablets of aspirin and call me in the morning, you have taken two aspirin tablets, not "tabletized acetylsalicylic acid." Sometimes pellets are just pellets, ask any rabbit, and a cigar is just a cigar. Let's talk about what they really are, and what they do.

Pyrodex pellets are a sophisticated rocket fuel type propellant, more related to an Estes rocket engine than black powder. They consist of a black igniter portion on one side of the base; although called an "ignition accelerant," this is nothing more than good old black powder. They are, of course, not volumetrically measured, and they do not burn at all like loose powder. A Pyrodex pellet burns progressively down the bore, from the base in, from the outside in, and--due to the hole in the center--from the inside out.

Though not recommended by Hodgdon, most inline manufacturers currently allow and promote the use of "three pellet loads" for velocities far in excess of what loose black powder or Pyrodex can possibly achieve. How fast? One load out of the 2004 Knight catalog shows a muzzle velocity of 2417 fps, another is 2639 fps! These velocities can actually be bettered in a longer barreled gun, like the Thompson/Center Omega.

Triple Seven pellets, used in three-pellet configuration, actually produce a bit more muzzle velocity. Where Pyrodex pellets are pressed into shape from black powder and Pyrodex RS, Triple Seven pellets are made from straight Triple Seven, and are harder to ignite. For what it is worth, I've personally found Pyrodex pellet loads to be more consistent, and more accurate.

A word of caution is in order. Hodgdon does not condone the use of more than 100 grains of their Pyrodex or Triple Seven pellets in .45 or .50 caliber muzzleloaders, and they clearly, loudly proclaim that warning with every box of pellets sold. Several people have asked, "What pressures do three pellets produce?" Well, there is no finite answer. Much is necessarily contingent on projectile weight, type, and caliber of rifle.

Pellets vs powder.

2 Pellets = 1889 F.P.S. 1902 Ft. Lbs.
3 Pellets = 2249 F.P.S. 2696 Ft. Lbs. (MAX LOAD)


80 grs. FFG = 1511 F.P.S. 1217 Ft. Lbs.
90 grs. FFG = 1629 F.P.S. 1414 Ft. Lbs.
100 grs. FFG = 1672 F.P.S. 1490 Ft. Lbs.
110 grs. FFG = 1710 F.P.S. 1559 Ft. Lbs.
120 grs. FFG = 1761 F.P.S. 1653 Ft. Lbs.
130 grs. FFG = 1794 F.P.S. 1716 Ft. Lbs.
140 grs. FFG = 1846 F.P.S. 1816 Ft. Lbs.
150 grs. FFG = 1879 F.P.S. 1882 Ft. Lbs. (MAX LOAD)

longer distance the less bullet drop.......this is kinda like the best bullet post...not only would you want the best bullet wouldn't you want the most powerfull(fastest)load your gun could shoot accurately....a friend only uses 150....he asked me why would you shoot less

Your friend would have to prove to me that his 150gr load is the most accurate out of his gun.

Why not shoot a .338mag for rabbits? More is not always better.

muley..i think your right he's not a range shooter I sure he didn't test different loads...in his mind I'm sure he thinks a gun that shoots 150 is better than a gun that shoots 100 and in some ways he's probly 1/2 right lol...i bring 150 in my black diamond when I hunt probly for all the wrong reasons i'm hopeing to knock him(deer)off his feet....