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Pyrodex shortage, newbie question

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What a person puts into their muzzleloader is really of no concern to myself or anyone else.As long as it goes bang, good for them. I haven"t seen much of a shortage (yet) but the price hike is very "noticeable".
 
I am not trying to debate or offend anyone. It is a metal muzzle loader barrel. It gets wear and tear just like many things. Take care of it as you use it. Get out the salts residue and it will shoot for years. No rifling stays crisp forever no matter what you have. Its like polishing your brake rotors after every drive until you go out and drive again. Materials deteriorate over time and use. There is a time where you reach the end of a useful life .....and then there are guys like Hoyt that can tell you if you can carry on.....or not. dont waste time wringing your hands...
 
Me thinks lots of the mentality thats comes to preserving what you have is so that that you may pass it to your Heirs..a Legacy of sorts......but your heirs may care very little for the nurture and care you put into something. Not every Relative puts his /Her eye to the same thing as you did nor has the passion....you can hope. Your Baby could go at a garage sale after your,e done. Shoot it now and wear it out!
 
Yes, I have won pistol shoots with a snub nose 38 instead of my competition race gun just for fun.
 
I was out yesterday on the hunt for some pyrodex. I could find pellets but not powder. Thinking about using a much smaller load of powder down the barrel and then a pellet or two on top with ball and patch on it. This to preserve my powder for hunting. If I use apricot same grain volume with this mid will it be dangerous or damage my rifle.

Do yourself a favor. Try some quality real deal black like Old E or Swiss. Take the time to develop a good load. Then you'll see the difference. For a casual shooter who "may" go through a pound a year, that's not enough shooting to learn anything useful. That's often the guy who complains that there's "shortage" cause they don't take the time to find reliable sources. They also don't take the time to find out just how accurate quality black powder can be. Said shooter is usually the "pyrodex is just as good" person cause they haven't taken the time to find out the real story on real black powder. They don't have the experience to know or understand why many of us won't let Pyrodex into any of our guns.

So what's a "good" load? Don't be satisfied with hitting a paper plate at 25 or 50yds. This is what you should be looking for at 50yds. Load is Rapine Minie, 44gr 3f Old Eynsford. Squares are 1in. Caliber is 58.
coltgroup.jpg


Here's what a 63 Sharps carbine is capable of with paper cartridges and 3f Old E.
sharpsgroup1.jpg


I go through upwards of 30+ lbs per year shooting competition. During the "plague" when our competitions were cancelled, I still shot 20lbs. If you're serious about learning your gun and just what it can really do, just say no to Pyrodex.
 
I have found that Triple Se7en is the best of them all, and have had no ignition problems with caps. It doesn't have that nasty pyrodex smell either. I personally have not had good luck with long term storage of any substitute though. BP stores forever.
 
Pyrodex is about all we can find in Boise/Meridian/Nampa, Idaho. No percussion caps at all. What we can find is plenty of excuses why we can't find what we need. It gets really old after a while. Fortunately, I have sufficient supplies to last a couple months but if I can't resupply, I may have to start shooting that which cannot be named, again. I need my 'BANG'.....💥
 
I found some pyrodex in stock locally. Also while talking with and helping my neighbor over the weekend, her son passed away last fall, I was called to check on him and found him. She had some BP guns and accessories of his to get rid of. I bought some goex and about 7 tins of #11 caps and will be buying a revolver and will soon post other BP items. Also some reloading hardware for her
 
We called ourselves the SRS (Secret Revolver Society). A half dozen of us would show up with snubbies to a high cap match and play the game our way. Just 'cuz. :)

But...I digress.

wm
I still remember the secret handshake...
Do you remember that one match at the place with the girl who had the thing? LOLZ! What a time that was! I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t been there!
 
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Pyrodex is about all we can find in Boise/Meridian/Nampa, Idaho. No percussion caps at all. What we can find is plenty of excuses why we can't find what we need. It gets really old after a while. Fortunately, I have sufficient supplies to last a couple months but if I can't resupply, I may have to start shooting that which cannot be named, again. I need my 'BANG'.....💥
The bang is most important to me, as long as i can hit the target I am happy, I use what i can get(afford),find, i use up to 4 oz powder in my cannons, and they don't care if it is BP or pyrodex, Same with my rifle/pistols. Have to use BP with flint lock toys.
 
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