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How To Tell Differences Between Pyrodex And Black Powders.....

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NEW222

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Hi all. So I have a question, and it is pretty much as said in the topic. In the past, I had used Pyrodex Select in a rifle of the type we cannot discuss here. Around the same time, I had gotten my first sidelock, Traditions Flintlock. Now getting ready for the flintlock, and my 54 New Englander, I got out my stuff. I bought FFFG Goex (real black powder)for use in my flintlock. Now, this was many years ago, and I had only shot the flinter about 5 shots and it sat since. But I found my old plastic powder pouring device and it still had powder in it! But what is it? Pyrodex Select, Or Goex FFFG? Is there a way to tell the difference? Or, would it be possible if someone here has a Red can of teh Goex FFFG they could please weigh and I could possibly determine it that way? Thank you all in advance.
 
Pyrodex if you compare it side by side with real black is lighter in color. More like a dark charcoal gray color. Try some in your pan. It probably either won't light or be difficult to light.
 
As it stands right now, my container of Goex FFFG weighs in at 16.568 oz, or 469.8 g. That is sealed tin on scale with whatever contents inside.
 
Those weights don't mean much, as Moonman76 says compare the colors. You won't have any trouble telling Pyrodex from real black and there's no need to throw either out once you identify them.
 
New222 said:
As it stands right now, my container of Goex FFFG weighs in at 16.568 oz, or 469.8 g. That is sealed tin on scale with whatever contents inside.

If the goex container is still sealed, how could any get into your "measuring device"?

The best way to test it is to put 10 grains in a pile on a piece of aluminum foil and light it with a match. If it burns, it's not goex. If it just goes POOF and makes the house smell good, then it's probably goex.
 
Gene L said:
Pour out the questionable powder and replace it with what you know to be real black powder.
That is the only reasonable advice so far in this thread and I heartily concur.
When it comes to years old stuff,, you'll never know.

Sprinkle it out on the lawn or the wife's flower bed and water it in, the nitrogen content does wonders for plants.
Truth.
 
Two things. By sealed, I had meant in the metal can with the lid on. Secondly, I am pretty confident to say that it is Goex in the plastic powder horn. It did indeed go Pffffft! Then I got an odor of rotten eggs. If I ever have to do this again, I promise to do it outside and not in the house. It is too cold out to open the windows, and honestly too late. I am sure I will hear about this shortly when the missus gets home from work. So, mission accomplished. Thank you to all for the replies and help.
 
You can tell just by looking at it closely. Pyrodex will be very uniform grains and Goex will be slightly irregular.

You can weigh it if you have a grain scale. Real blackpowder will weigh real close to what the makings on your powder measure says (assuming the marks are correct). Pyrodex will be lighter for an equal volume.
 
There was not much in the way for uniformity. As well, now that you mentioned it, I was playing with some new 'vials' I bought online for storing powder in when going shooting and hunting. I had my brass powder measure out and had forgotten the graduations on it, again as I had not shot BP for many years, so I pulled it out all the way, filled it level with the top from my plastic powder horn, and it was at 119.6 when weighed on my scale. To me this said that it was a 120 grain max measure. This also speaks for the closeness you mention in your post.
 
Best advice as Gene said is to dump the unknown and replace fresh with what you are sure of.
As far as ignition Pyrodex will work for a main charge (if you must) but is no good as a prime for a flinter as flash point is too high. By using real black powder you will be able to carry only one horn for load and prime both.
 
New222 said:
... Secondly, I am pretty confident to say that it is Goex in the plastic powder horn. It did indeed go Pffffft! Then I got an odor of rotten eggs....
If it went POOF! , it was black powder.

If it went Pfffffffffffft, it was most likely Pyrodex.

Both of them contain sulfur so both of them give off a rotten egg smell when they burn.

If you've done any reloading with smokeless powder and watched how a little pile of it burns out in the open, Pyrodex burns just a little faster but it definetly won't make a small explosion like real black powder does.
 
Again i forgot to add that I had looked at both under magnification and they were so similar i could not tell. But I will just be blowing it out of my New Englander percussion rifle. Got a gun show this weekend so will look for another powder horn for my Goex. Thanks.
 
necchi said:
Gene L said:
Pour out the questionable powder and replace it with what you know to be real black powder.
That is the only reasonable advice so far in this thread and I heartily concur.
When it comes to years old stuff,, you'll never know.

Sprinkle it out on the lawn or the wife's flower bed and water it in, the nitrogen content does wonders for plants.
Truth.


Amen, Bro.
Pyrodex is good fertilizer.
And, comparing fake with (supposed) real bp by color can be a dangerous misteak. Some bp fits the kinda gray description. A never to be broken rule for modern suppository reloaders is to leave the canister of the powder you are working with at the moment on the bench next to you. When done pour the remainder from the dispenser back into the canister. If you leave it in the dispenser do not use later. Never ever. :nono: Dump to be absolutely safe. Good habit for us bp'ers also to follow.
 
While I certainly agree with you on dumping unused powder back into the original canister it's hardly a dangerous ordeal in the OP's situation. The sky will not fall. At worst his flintlock just doesn't ignite it. It's hardly dangerous.

I'm not one to just waste anything. I was given crappy Pyrodex by my father and I used it to break in my new Lyman rifle.
 
I tend to fall into your camp and have some Pyrodex that is 30-40 years old. I'll get around to using it up some day. My concern would be with an unknown powder that might be smokeless. In that case it would get dumped.
 
smokeless powder has very uniform shape to it. Either ball, flake, or cylindrical. BP is more irregular, as it is ground in a powder mill from bigger balls to make the various granulations. So without doing a chemical analysis, the burn test is the best. If it burns slowly, it's some kind of a progressive powder, either pyrodex or another. If it smells like dirty socks, it could be 777. If sulfurous, then pyrodex.
 
New222 said:
Two things. By sealed, I had meant in the metal can with the lid on. Secondly, I am pretty confident to say that it is Goex in the plastic powder horn. It did indeed go Pffffft! Then I got an odor of rotten eggs. If I ever have to do this again, I promise to do it outside and not in the house. It is too cold out to open the windows, and honestly too late. I am sure I will hear about this shortly when the missus gets home from work. So, mission accomplished. Thank you to all for the replies and help.

Well ???did she throw you in the dog house?
are you living in a van down by the river? :rotf:
 

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