BINGO & DITTO!

Cayugad said it for me too. With GOEX, Pyrodex, or Triple Seven I use three patches to clean the bore - one to flush pump with plain water, one to dry (followed by a blast of carb cleaner), and one oil patch after it's been sitting for a while and I'm sure it's dry.

As for swabbing between shots with BH209. No you don't have to. But then again how long does it take to swab between shots? <1 min. with a spit patch and dry patch? And really, if you think of it - how many shots do you take at game while hunting? One, two at the most.
I will agree that BH209 is not hygroscopic. That is a definate plus when hunting in wet weather. (something I don't do anymore unless I am on a guided hunt) But I've left my Hawken flinter loaded an entire season many times with good old black powder in the damp wintery conditions of PA's January ML season. And it went off when I needed or wanted it to.

That's why we all have a choice. I choose BH 209, and i've tried them all.

right! I want to give Alliant Black MZ another go around to see how it shoots. Last time I tried it I wasn't too impressed. But then I come to find out that with the 300 gr bullets I am shooting I wasn't loading it hot enough. Recommendations say between 100 - 120 gr. I was only shooting about 80 I think.
And while not moisture absorbing like BH209, it is moisture resistant. And its not as fussy about igniting as BH209. And a heck of a lot cheaper.

Ignition with BH 209 is as simple as the Western BP. I don't find that a big deal. Certainly not enough to use another powder.

Well there are many things to consider but if you get crud ring from 777 you will wish you had never seen the stuff. my guess is about 70 to 80 % do.
Pyrodex is a good dependable powder and it will shoot almost as accurate as Blackhorn as Cayugad says it is good as any powder up to 100 yds actually I would say a bit further.
Not all of us shoot in out backyard like Cayugad and the clean up process wit Pyrodex is kind of smelly clean up in less than 5 minutes any place we happen to be with Blackhorn is a real +for some of us, then there are those of us that hunt the plains and the Midwest cornfields or even some mountains and when you need that flat trajectory and like here where there are bear deer and hogs with legal multiples on every thing but bear those dead accurate second third and on and on with out hesitation or cleaning do make a difference. So think about it and if you can try a small amount of each powder before you make your decision.

As you can tell, different strokes for different folks as far as powder, but for the life of me, I can't see any reason to shoot pellets. More expensive and less options for tweeking a load. Couple of speed loaders, and you are reloaded as fast as any pellets.

That said, I use used pyrodex and 777 powders in my sidelocks with equally decent results.

In my inlines, I have gone to BH 209, not because it cleans up faster/eaiser (seems about the same to me) but because I don't like to swab between each shot and don't always feel like cleaning the rifle as soon as the shooting session. Went to Colorado hunting two weeks ago, fired a fouling shot and loaded up, hunted for 7 days without shooting at game. Fired the bullet into a stump, put one swab through the bore and packed up the gun. Came home and waited a week before I cleaned the gun. Can't see any evidence of rust. Couse that is with a stainless barrel, but they rust too.

That said, BH 209 is expensive to shoot. It also won't work with all inlines. Have to have an enclosed system and a certain kind of breechplug to get it to ignite reliably

Believe me, I was not trying to start an argument on which powder is best, and why. When I read his post he asked about Pyrodex or Triple Seven in powder or loose form. Almost immediately he was steared off those choice, his choices I might add, to a different powder. I only wanted to point out that there was nothing in the least bit wrong with his original choices.

And yes, I shoot BlackHorn 209 powder. It is a good powder. Although for the first two shots I can get a flier in my rifles. After the first two shots.. its dead on.

And I know there are a lot of dedicated Black Horn 209 powder shooters. But I was running low on powder again. I was down to a pound of BlackHorn 209 and just a couple of Black Powder and almost out of Pyrodex and Triple Seven. So I ordered a half case of powder. And in that entire case, there was no BlackHorn 209 ordered. It just does not excite me like it does some of you. Although, it is a good powder.

After he works a good load up and is comfortable shooting his rifle, then I encourgage him or anyone to experiement with powders, primers, and projectiles and see which ones out there work for YOU the best.

Your disclamer will not hold up Cayugad, given your history as a known trouble maker on this forum.

Seriously though, you have a valid point. Too often new guys are bombarded with slightly (and sometimes not so slightly) off topic recommendations based on our own preferences, rather than solid answers to their specific question. It would be far better to answer the question first, then add other things they may want to consider.

Agreed, I see nothing at all wrong with either 777 or pyrodex. Cheap and accurate. But a newby needs to know that you can't shoot these powders and wait 3-4 days to clean the rifle. You have to clean it the day you shoot it. Otherwise it will rust and eventually pit the barrel.