Black Powder Vendor?

[tom hudson]

Need a little more help - I having a difficult time finding black powder - none here in town so i went to Sportsman's Warehouse in Sacramento today & they don't carry it anymore - the gun guy there said to just order it on line - so is there any problems ordering it on line - If not anyone have a good vendor out here in the West? - thanks tom

 

[Zonie]

The only "problem" is having to pay the "Hazardous Material" fee which isn't really a problem. It just costs money.

Seriously, the cost is the same for the fee and it covers the shipment whether the amount of powder is one pound or 30. With this in mind you can see where it is wiser to order as much black powder as you want to have on hand rather than just ordering one pound or so.

Keep in mind that once you receive your powder you will not be allowed to resell it to anyone.

If you know someone else who also wants to buy some black powder you can get them to pay you up front before you buy the powder. Then, when you make your order you are acting as an "agent" rather than a salesperson so you won't need a license and transferring the other persons powder to him (them) will be legal.

 

[leslie]

The best place I have found is powderinc.com they also seem to be the least expensive,for Goex that is.You can check the Goex site for sellers all over,but it doesn't make any difference,hazmat fees and postage are the same.The Western vendors are all more expensive.There used to be a vendor in Hollister but he was out of sight pricewise.

 

[leslie]

In line with what Zonie said about buying in bulk,you might check around near where you live for a muzzleloader club and join them.Many clubs buy powder in bulk and then parcel it out to their members avoiding any illegalities.

 

[tom hudson]

dang - it's always the easy jobs that turn into big jobs!

so whats the down side of using paradox - it's all over the place - tom

 

[jerrywh]

Often the local muzzle loading club will have some for sale. Being in California may be a deterant.

 

[Zonie]

Pyrodex will work alright in a percussion gun but it works poorly in a flintlock.
The temperature required to get it to fire is much higher than real black powder. We're talking around 830 degrees F for Pyrodex vs 460 for real black powder.

Because of this difference even a percussion gun will sometimes have a noticeable delay in firing.

There is some debate about the corrosive nature of Pyrodex fouling, some saying it is worse than real black powder and others pointing out that it is about the same. With either powder a muzzleloader must be cleaned with water as soon as possible after shooting it and if this is done, corrosion or rust won't be an issue.

Pyrodex is made to be measured just like black powder, with a volume style powder measure.

It is lighter in actual weight than real black powder but it produces the same energy per cubic centimeter of volume.

Because Pyrodex weighs about 2/3 as much as real black powder but it is sold by the pound, one pound of it will give about 33 percent more shots.

You didn't ask but Seven7seven (or 777) powder also has a high ignition temperature. It is noticeably more powerful per cc than either real black powder or Pyrodex.
This increase in power doesn't come without a price though.
777 is notorious for burning patches which makes shooting a patched ball an iffie thing. Once a roundballs patch burns thru any good accuracy flies out the window.
777 is another powder that doesn't work well with flintlocks.

The other powders like Shocklies Gold (sp?) are very weak powders and they have a very limited shelf life after the container has been opened.
These powders and 777 were made to be shot in those modern style guns using modern primers that we don't talk about here.

 

[tom hudson]

so jim lets say i was going to use 20 grains of BP - how many grains of Paradox would that be?

I know a guy in San Francisco who is really into Black Powder - He also works the same gun shows as i do - I bet he will be able to fix me up with BP - he burns a lot of it - i finished up engraving the Tenneesse Rifle & it's all back together - i pick up some fresh caps today & i still have my BP box full of stuff from years ago, so i'm good to go if i find some fuel - thanks Tom

 

[Zonie]

If you are measuring the powder like you should be, that is, with a powder measure adjusted to throw 20 grains you would use the same setting to measure the Pyrodex and you would be just fine.

If you used that powder measure, set to 20 grains and filled it with black powder and then poured it out on a accurate scale it would weigh about 20 grains.

If you then filled the powder measure with Pyrodex and poured it out on the accurate scale it would weigh about 13.2 grains.

The thing is, both the black powder load and the Pyrodex load thrown from the same measure with the same setting would produce about the same amount of POWER. That is why it's important to use the volume method of measuring any of the synthetic black powder substitutes.

As for your friend and his black powder, he cannot sell any of it to you unless he has a Federal license to sell black powder.
Without the license any sale he might make to anyone is against the law.

Stretching it just a bit, he can give you black powder. As long as it isn't "sold" and he's just giving it away that would be legal.

 

[William O.]

Order 5 pounds of Goex on line, I think that's the minimum some of those places require. Triple 7 is usually available at the sporting goods stores like Bass Pro Shops and I much prefer it over pyrodex. T-7 is hotter than other substitutes so you must reduce the load by 15%; so if your starting load is 50 grains of traditional black powder then for T-7 it's 43 grains. If you can get traditional black then don't bother with any of the subs.

 

[tom hudson]

thanks Jim

 

[Robert an saa fan]

Tom,

Not sure how far it would be for you, but you might check with Connie Youngman at B-Bar-Y Traders, (209) 984-0354, 18278 Main St, Jamestown, CA 95327 (Near Sonora in the Gold country).

I usually see her trader store with black powder, etc. at some Northern California rendezvous and she may still have a rendezvous she runs near Jamestown.

She told me in the past she stocks black powder in her store. Have never been there, got go sometime. Hopefully will get back to one of her rendezvous this year if the bad back will allow.

Robert

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Pick up your phone and order 5 lbs of Goex. It should cost you around $110 with shipping and Hazmat fee.

Compare that to your 5 lbs of Pyrodex, and you'll see it's very close. In some cases the BP will be cheaper.

Forget Hodgdon Triple 7. It was made for inline guns with 209 primers. It will give you grief with a sidelock. No matter what anybody tries to tell you.

Even Pyrodex will give you delayed shots on occasion.

Use real black powder. The gun was designed for it, and it works the best.

btw Call before you drive anywhere. Make sure they say they have Goex powder. There are other brands of real BP. Post on here what it is, and we can tell you if it's real BP before you take the drive.

 

[tom hudson]

that might be an option if my guy in SanFrancisco doesn't come thru - Jamestown is 150 miles south of me. But that wold be a nice bike ride - thanks - tom

 

[tom hudson]

5 pounds of powder is a lot of powder for a 32 Ca. - would like to start off with 1 pound and see how much i'll actually shoot BP - I shoot a lot of air rifles - i also enjoy slingshots & i burn up some 22 LR but i don't shoot the smokless stuff much anymore. How long a shelf life does BP have?

 

[Pete Gaimari]

5 pounds of powder is a lot of powder for a 32 Ca. - would like to start off with 1 pound and see how much i'll actually shoot BP - I shoot a lot of air rifles - i also enjoy slingshots & i burn up some 22 LR but i don't shoot the smokless stuff much anymore. How long a shelf life does BP have?

I'm pretty sure 5 lbs is the minimum you can buy online. I've never seen less. It would be awfully expensive to buy 1 lb and pay the shipping and Hazmat fee. The more you buy, the cheaper it is. I buy a case (25lbs) at a time and get free shipping and Hazmat. That works out to $14 a lb.

If you only want to buy 1 lb. You'll have to find a store near you to buy it.

As a last resort buy Pyrodex P (3F). I feel it fires off easier than the Pyrodex RS (2F). When using Pyrodex you have to be more careful that the nipple is completely clear, and the breech/barrel is clean and dry of any oil. Using CCI magnum caps will help too.

 

[Jim/OH]

Black powder last forever. Just keep it in a dry place and average temperature. Don't mess with any artificial powder or any kind. Find some way to get real black powder, you will never regret it. :thumbsup:

Hope this helps, see ya, Jim/OH :hatsoff:

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. feb 5 / 11:45

tom,

i feel your pain, as the saying goes.. my solution is to use www. grafs. com where i get a 5lb shipment of GOEX ($14.99)or grafs wano ($13.99) with free shipping.. that helps offset the hazmat fee considerably.

check it out,

:thumbsup: ~daniel~

 

[Pete Gaimari]

They give free shipping to everybody?

 

[Herb]

Tom- there is some misinformation creeping in here. For example, the Material Safety Data Sheet for Pyrodex lists the Auto Ignition Temperature as 740 degrees. Triple 7 is 770 degrees. And Google up Goex Material Safety Data Sheet and read that the Auto Igniton Temperature is 392-867 degrees (whatever that means). Yes, Pyrodex and Triple 7 are harder to ignite, by patented composition. But they can work very well. Scroll down to page 5 in this Shooting Accessories forum to "Pyrodex-will somebody please explain?". Read through six pages of discussioin and you will be informed about these powders. What kind of rifle are you shooting?