How many grains in a pound?

[Red Owl]

As stated above Pyrodex has a lower specific density and they advertise that way- that you get more shots per pound compared to black powder. In any event, volume measures are the way to go with black powder. Muzzle Blasts magazine a few years back interviewed the top shooters in the country- they all used plain old volume measures. Don't think that weighing the charges will give you better accuracy. Some bench shooters use volume measures.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

Thanks to everyone that made my prediction a reality!!! I can sleep now.

 

[deerstalkert]

I think I would count eight cups in the jeep. Likely size C or D.

Notchy Bob

does C or D equate to Fg or FFg? if so how many grains in each?

 

[Woody Morgan]

does C or D equate to Fg or FFg? if so how many grains in each?

And we use the term "nipple" with abandon...

wm

 

[Archer 756]

I wonder what weighs more lb of feathers or a lb of lead

 

[deerstalkert]

I wonder what weighs more lb of feathers or a lb of lead

let someone slap you in the face with a pound of each, and you will wonder even more!

 

[Woody Morgan]

I wonder what weighs more lb of feathers or a lb of lead

Are we now ready for the weight vs density discussion?

wm

 

[deerstalkert]

Are we now ready for the weight vs density discussion?

wm

kinda what this devolved into didn't it?

 

[Woody Morgan]

kinda what this devolved into didn't it?

It was mentioned earlier but didn't get traction.

wm

 

[deerstalkert]

It was mentioned earlier but didn't get traction.

wm

that reminds me, i have to put the studded tires on the wifes car! oh wait! thats off topic. sorry.

what was the topic?

 

[Tbache]

Thank you for the history lesson. A few longstanding questions have been answered!

 

[TNGhost]

Once again we have conflicting information about weight & volume measuring. A Grain is a Grain & a Pound is a Pound & they are both defined in absolute terms. Trying to equate volume measure to definitive weight measures is absurd & will always invite confusion. There are 7000 grains (and grains are definitively defined) to a pound (which is also definitively defined). If you want to equate volume measure with actually weighing powder & try to somehow make them equivalent, I have some ocean front property in Arizona you might be interested in. Call BR549 & we can talk. The post by APG shows that a POUND by weight of a particular powder MEASURES OUT BY VOLUME to be different than 7000 grains, but that pound of powder still weighs 7000 grains on a scale. It just so happens that FFFg measures & weighs out the same because of powder granule size & the volumetric space it takes up when filling a void. Now, I'm going to make some popcorn & watch this go on for at least 100 more posts arguing about how many grains in a pound.

7000 a number every reloader is painfully aware of.

 

[FishDFly]

Where or where is Zonie?

 

[Two Feathers]

The "answer" will be dependent upon the density of the powder in that particular lot/can. Volumetric measure and actual weight measure will likely never be the same.

MAN....I've been here a million times when I made powder measures for guys!!!
It's all Volumetric. If that were NOT the case, you'd have FFg measures, FFFg measures, and FFFFg measures, but you don;'t you have a Black Powder measure!! It's kind of a "one size fits all" situation.
I'm with Notchy Bob, if you want to obsess over grains like a Bench Rest compertitor, then go ahead and drive yourself nuts, but it's not that big a deal!! 70 grains of FFg will drive a .50 cal. RB just exactly the same as 65grains will. Or so close that NO ONE will ever be able to tell the difference especially that deer? Except maybe with a Chronigraph?
Just my $0.02
God bless:
Two Feathers

 

[Red Owl]

Years ago the NRA published a book on reloading. There was quite a bit on black powder. Apparently even years ago the batches of powder would vary a little and fillers were added to adjust, so the Pyrodex thing is nothing new.
On the BEST alternative. Modern bench rest shooters argue that since density can vary, if you weigh each charge, AND seat the bullet to the same depth all the time AND the density varies, there will be more space/air in one batch of weighed powder as compared to another batch of weighed powder and that volume might result in slight variations in the weight but the space/air in the case will be consistent. So, half of this or half of that. There are excellent bench rest shooters that use either system. My point is, I started out thinking that if I weighed each charge I would have a more accurate result than using a volume measure and that is not necessarily true. So, relax, nothing wrong with using volume. As I said, most (all) of the top shooters at Friendship use volume measures.

 

[windini]

I wonder what weighs more lb of feathers or a lb of lead

As I understand what's been writ in this thread, the correct answer is:

A pound of feathers.

Because feathers are weighed in English pounds of 16oz, but precious metals like lead are weighed using 12-oz troy pou...

Well, dang! Lead is precious to me, anyhow!

 

[tenngun]

I thought drams were by weight, also... Sixteen drams per ounce, times sixteen ounces per pound, equals 256 drams per pound, or 27.34375 grains per dram.

When Horace Kephart completed his famous range test with an original .54 caliber Hawken rifle, he used charges in multiples of 41 grains... That is, he started with 41 grains, then 82, then 123, 164, and so on. I think he was well over 200 grains when he decided enough was enough.

Why 41 grains? He never said, but I suspect he was using an old military pistol flask for charging his rifle. The service load for .44 caliber percussion revolvers was 41 grains, or exactly one and one half drams.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

Ah yes. I had only seen it used as volume but it was weight too
Things are often interlocking. A gram is the weight of one cc of water at one degree c under one atmosphere of pressure.
An ounce of water by volume weighs an ounce 1/16 of a pound
So how many grains do you need behind a ounce of shot in your 30 bore when your shooting a two stone turkey at two chains?

 

[excess650]

Ah yes. I had only seen it used as volume but it was weight too
Things are often interlocking. A gram is the weight of one cc of water at one degree c under one atmosphere of pressure.
An ounce of water by volume weighs an ounce 1/16 of a pound
So how many grains do you need behind a ounce of shot in your 30 bore when your shooting a two stone turkey at two chains?

An ounce of shot in a 30 bore seems a bit much. 3 drams behind an ounce in my 12 bore.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I think "dram" may also be a measure of volume, but the quantity is likely different. You see it in reference to drinking whiskey. One sixteenth of an ounce of whiskey wouldn't be very much!

There is an old-time fiddle tune called "Give the Fiddler A Dram," and a very old song called "Little Maggie," which has the following verse:

The last time I seen Little Maggie
She had a dram glass in her hand
Drinkin' away her troubles
With a low-down, sorry man.

Old-fashioned weights and measures are a fascinating area of study.

Okay, okay... So I'm a nerd...

Notchy Bob

 

[Jim Wag]

let someone slap you in the face with a pound of each, and you will wonder even more!

It might
Depend how
Tightly you
Tamp those
Feathers

Jim in La Luz