American Pioneer Powder

[Richard Dittman]

I just saw an advertisement for this powder and have never heard anything about it. Has anybody had any experience with this powder?

 

[cynthialee]

never used it

BP replacement. Folks seem to think it is cleaner burning. Haven't heard any complaints, but I also never heard any rave reviews.
I'd only use the stuff if I couldn't get my hands on Goex but some shooters really like the substitute powders.

 

[user 49399]

I’ve used it in percussion guns and it was ok. I have some left that I shoot blanks in a small cannon couple times a year.

 

[ord sgt]

Never heard of this powder.

 

[Archer 756]

JUNK USE REAL BP

 

[deerstalkert]

i have half a pound left from a bottle i bought years ago when it first came out. think it was made in Saugus Calif at the time.
it works but BP is better

 

[Ninering62]

JUNK USE REAL BP

Its not junk either! The narrow-minded thinking that if it aint real black - its junk is just ridiculous.

 

[cynthialee]

Its not junk either! The narrow-minded thinking that if it aint real black - its junk is just ridiculous.

I have to agree. While I don't use powder replacements, I have and they work well enough.
My daddy shot Pyrodex only and I was raised to not use BP. (Dad had some unfounded worries about the stuff.) Wasn't until I was in my late 30's I tried Goex fffg and I never looked back. My pop was a wicked good shot, to levels I could only hope to attain. And he did it with a substitute powder.

 

[Ninering62]

I just saw an advertisement for this powder and have never heard anything about it. Has anybody had any experience with this powder?

Heres what I've heard from a cpl friends that are using it now. I'll be getting some for the first time shortly myself. Its not temp or humidity sensitive, it has no sulfur in it, easy to set off, easy clean up with water only & no crud ring like with T7 & you can get a case of it ( 10lbs ) for about the same price of what a 5lb bottle of BH 209 costed when they could be found. Whats not to like huh. I have a TC High PLains Sporter that i'll be gettin a .40 cal fast twist barrel put on it with a .410 barrel too. I have a Pedersoli 12ga & an ROA pistol that I'll use that powder in all of them - gladly.

 

[Ninering62]

I have to agree. While I don't use powder replacements, I have and they work well enough.
My daddy shot Pyrodex only and I was raised to not use BP. (Dad had some unfounded worries about the stuff.) Wasn't until I was in my late 30's I tried Goex fffg and I never looked back. My pop was a wicked good shot, to levels I could only hope to attain. And he did it with a substitute powder.

Thanks for your reply & wonderful story.

 

[deerstalkert]

unless they have changed their granulation it is pretty bulky. may have trouble in the ROA.
and don't believe all you hear about the crud ring. if i remember right it does build one and it is very hard. ymmv

 

[Okie Hog]

American Pioneer Powder has been in business for nearly 20 years. APP is the spinoff of the Pyrodex pellet patent infringement lawsuit by Hodgdon against Clean Shot. APP manufactured Goex Pinnacle and Black MZ powders.

The company continues to manufacture and sell APP and Jim Shockey's Gold powders. They also manufacture the Shooters World Multi-Purpose Black 3F.

Yep, it's fashionable for some to badmouth APP powders. Most of the detractors have never used the stuff.

 

[Ninering62]

unless they have changed their granulation it is pretty bulky. may have trouble in the ROA.
and don't believe all you hear about the crud ring. if i remember right it does build one and it is very hard. ymmv

Thank you for your reply. I'm gonna get some APP FFFg for the .40 sidelock & BP 12ga & I'll see how it does in the ROA. I still have a cpl lbs of Goex FFg & FFFg sittin round for yrs I gen only use to blow up tree stumps & have fun with smaller charges for entertainment purposes lol. Where I live, I could make one hellova big boom before even raising any eyebrows. Outside of that, I'd much rather use subs. Ya'll will love this - I'll be shooting sized 10mm jacketed pistol bullets out of the .40 high plains sporter sidelock just like I did out of my .40 Seneca fast twist. I only used T7 fffg in that with an .060 veggie wad which helped with multiple reloadings without havin to deal with the crud ring. Yep, jacketed 10mm pistol bullets in a sidelock fast twist at 1800-2000fps now thats cool. I may try using the APP fffg in my Accura V2 .45 too with the cast GT cast HP 255gr bullets for plinking & a really cheap hunting load too. If I dont get the kind of velocity I want with just the APP then I'll duplex it until I do. Simple as that. Not - very " traditional " I know.....dont care either.

 

[mooman76]

I used it at least ten years ago. Granulation seemed inconsistent. I mostly used it in my trapdoor and it shot well but nothing to brag about. These days you use what you can get.

 

[#blackpowderbill]

APP formerly Clean Shot until GOEX went after them for using a trade marks name Clean Shot something like that.
They had a pellet that worked like a roman candle didn't burn well for me , then changed to square pellet after the law suit.
I have shot oh 24 plus pounds of the stuff when it first came out. Sold a bunch too. Goex was hard to get always back ordered and it , CS was less expensive. Shot it in a variety of rifles, CVA,TC custom percussion. Never any problems for me
I even loaded it in 45/70
Only thing I noticed is it liked to clump up.
I'd break it up and load shoot just fine.
It was cleaner seeing it is a light color
Found 2 jugs here one marked APP the other Clean shot

 

[Richard Dittman]

Thanks for all the replies. I shoot Goex bp, but with them going out of business and other bp out of stock, or at least hard to find, I was looking at another type of powder that I might turn to.

 

[user 48702]

I've still got plenty of MZ Black (American Pioneer ) and love it for what it is, mostly use in cap and ball, as well as cowboy cartridges. Travelers has BP in-stock
BP In-Stock

 

[tallpine]

I have actually used it so I can give you an honest assessment. It performed pretty close to real black. Burns cleaner than real black. Will not work in a flintlock. If you own a percussion it will get you by nicely if real black is not available. I own one rifle that likes it better than real black. Go figure?

 

[William Lincoln]

I felt Black MZ was a deal at $10 a pound from Sportsmans Warehouse.
Used up a bit of that. Was great powder for a cheap price.

 

[Whughett]

American Pioneer Powder has been in business for nearly 20 years. APP is the spinoff of the Pyrodex pellet patent infringement lawsuit by Hodgdon against Clean Shot. APP manufactured Goex Pinnacle and Black MZ powders.

The company continues to manufacture and sell APP and Jim Shockey's Gold powders. They also manufacture the Shooters World Multi-Purpose Black 3F.

Yep, it's fashionable for some to badmouth APP powders. Most of the detractors have never used the stuff.

Never used APP but did use Pyrodex and Shockey’s Gold way back when my powder consumption was low. Both were readily available and BP wasn’t. When my interest shifted from metallic hand gun to percussion hand gun it became feasible to order black in quantity thru net sources. I seem to recall subs were always higher priced and I could get Grafs house brand at around $16 a pound. Big sigh, back in the day.