Do you prefer Real Black Powder or a BP substitute?.........Why?

Well I, for one, cant wait til they come out with a sub that leaves no residue at all, comes in pellets that don’t make your fingers dirty, and smells like BP. They could put a little layer of baby powder in the pellet so it looks like white smoke when you shoot it. That’d be awesome. I’d buy that.

I started with Pyrodex in my first muzzle loader, a CVA percussion rifle. I continued to use it in my revolver, percussion pistol, flintlock and inline, because it was easy to get. And what I noticed was every time I pulled the trigger on any of those guns they all went 'KA-POW'. And little round holes appeared in the target (whether paper or something else)...every time.

Then I went to a local BP club meeting/ shoot and was LECTURED on how much better real BP is...

So I tried it...and it went 'KA-POW' too! And little round holes appeared In the target (whether paper or something else) just like they did when I used Pyrodex. Imagine that.

When I'm at the range I clean/swab the bore after X-number of rounds fired. Since I'm never in a hurry at the range, cleaning the bore using powder type X-Y or Z was/is never an issue. I've never found one type of powder so hard to clean out that I threw my hands up in disgust and cursed the Gods of Black Powder for tricking me into using such a terrible product.

When I deer hunt with my flintlock or inline I do my part by making the gun go 'KA-POW' just once, and the deer do their part by falling down dead right away. So, cleaning is easy.

Ironically, I just got home from the local PEW-PEW store, that happens to sell BP and BP substitutes, and the sales guy said he and his distributors are out of Swiss 3F. And his prices on Pyrodex are high-ish. So I bought some GOEX 3F (it was $4.00 cheaper).

The morale of my story is, in my opinion, use what you like, or what you can get.

Ignition ignition ignition. Black powder gives instant ignition, Subs for ME do not. I might be crazy but with a percussion gun I can always audibly/physically detect delayed ignition using subs. To me the delay seems to turn a percussion gun into a flinchlock. I wouldn’t even attempt it in my flints. Blackpowder isn’t available in my area either. I just order five pounds at a time. Ends up being about $20 a pound with shipping and hazmat.

back in the day cowboy shooting goex 3f in revolvers & rifle, subs in shotgun only because bought some 777 for $8 me & a buddy bought pounds & pounds of the stuff

Pyrodex since 1980 and never a problem........

Once you go black.........you'll never go back!

Use Bp in my flintlocks and musket cappers. My cowboys get 777.

Once I grew up only real black powder for me. Subs are for students.

Years ago when we were young and dumb, my buddy put 2 pyrodex pellets in a percussion Hawken and it wouldn't fire. I only use rwap BP for sidelocks. And only use subs for modern stuff. And i don't see that changing.

i prefer to use real BP because it's cheaper, even if i do have to out of my way to get it, and most of what i shoot now is flint

I shoot BH 209 almost exclusively and can say the ONLY disadvantage for me is it needs the bigger 209 primers to ignite. Seriously no comparrison with BP or any of the other subs. Last week 52 shots and no swabbing the barrel until I was done shooting for the day

I use both. My Lyman GPR likes Pyrodex and shoots tits on to a hundred with it. My .32 squirrel rifle likes the black. My inline and TC Seneca use the Pyro also. Never had cleaning trouble with either. I clean real good after a hunt and then keep my muzzys front and center in the safe so I can regularly pull them out and clean once a month whether they need it or not. I have a regular maintenance program I do which involves once a month charging of all batteries, atv, motorcycles, etc. My muzzys also get the same maintenance. Once a month. Gives me a chance to admire and play with my toys as well as keep them clean. As far as availability, I have to online order all my black, nobody has it around here. Pyro I can sometimes pick up at Walmart and at the end of the season they'll usually put it on sale for $10 a pound. That makes a difference.

SkunkApe said:

I shoot BH 209 almost exclusively and can say the ONLY disadvantage for me is it needs the bigger 209 primers to ignite. Seriously no comparrison with BP or any of the other subs. Last week 52 shots and no swabbing the barrel until I was done shooting for the day

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What are you shooting ?

Carbon 6 said:

What are you shooting ?

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T/C Hawkens in .50 and .54

SkunkApe said:

T/C Hawkens in .50 and .54

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Bh209 and 209 primers.
You turned a T/C Hawken into a modern ML, Why?
Did you abandon round balls too ?

I'm always confused why people do such things. The muzzleloader was perfected by 1840.
Why change it ?

Carbon 6 said:

Bh209 and 209 primers.
You turned a T/C Hawken into a modern ML, Why?
Did you abandon round balls too ?

I'm always confused why people do such things. The muzzleloader was perfected by 1840.
Why change it ?

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Carbon 6 said:

I too used Pyrodex for match shooting, largely because it was easier to get at the time. but Pyrodex does have some advantages.

Flame channel blocking when wiping between shots and using real black powder, can easily be overcome. You just need to change how you wipe and/or what lube you use.

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So Pyrodex is not a modern propellant? Why would you use it and turn your gun into modern ML? Slippery slope.

SDSmlf said:

So Pyrodex is not a modern propellant? Why would you use it and turn your gun into modern ML? Slippery slope.

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The basic formula for pyrodex was invented in the early 19th century.

My comment wasn't meant as a criticism, I'm just curious why people do what they do and why they defend or promote it.

Carbon 6 said:

The basic formula for pyrodex was invented in the early 19th century.

My comment wasn't meant as a criticism, I'm just curious why people do what they do and why they defend it.

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So how and when was Pyrodex traditionally used in the 19th century? No criticism, just curious.

I think I will unfollow this thread. I am out of Zofran.

firestick said:

I think I will unfollow this thread. I am out of Zofran.

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Bob McBride said:

Well I, for one, cant wait til they come out with a sub that leaves no residue at all, comes in pellets that don’t make your fingers dirty, and smells like BP. They could put a little layer of baby powder in the pellet so it looks like white smoke when you shoot it. That’d be awesome. I’d buy that.

Click to expand...