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Substitute powder

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Y'all are going to shoot me for this sacrilegious say statement, I use pellets when I hunt for ease of loading and unloading, and substitutes (mostly pyrodex, and some 777 when I have it).

It's just so easy to keep a small tube with two or three extra reloads in your pocket, and I have to worry about loose powder.

When I shoot for fun, I mostly shoot substitutes (because that's what's available at my local stores, I've never even seen real black powder for sale). They go off every time, and there's really no issues other than some being slightly more dirty, but I clean at the end of a shooting session anyway so it doesn't really matter to me. Personally, I have no issue with substitutes.

Each powder shoots slightly differently by volume, but in all honesty, all three are more than powerful and accurate enough to take a deer. Just make sure you practice with each one and know it's differences.


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If some of you took the time to try Pyrodex in your Flintlock you would discover that you wasted lot,s of your time on here arguing on here about it.
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I don't know anything about substitutes in flintlocks, all of my guns are percussion.

I'm sure flintlocks are an entirely different thing.
 
I was in Wally World yesterday and looked to see if they had any CCI caps (they have them every now and then) and noticed the sub powders on the shelf. A pound can of Blackthorn209 is $83!! Not sure if that was the wrong price on the shelf or not.
You may want to take another look at that BH209 bottle & actually read it. I don’t know if they ever made 1lb bottles of it. They were 10oz bottles until Hodgdon bought it. Then it became 8oz bottles for 80.00 +/- per 8ozs.
 
Hello everyone,
I'm back (I feel sorry for you), it just so happens I'm having some health problems, that's being old... ;)

Concerning the powder, and for the small difference in price. I prefer to use real black powder rather than any substitute, by the way, and as far as black powder is concerned, I'm sure it works with my flintlock rifles without having to do duplex loads. Then, using substitutes with muzzleloaders doesn't seem right to me, if not somewhat blasphemous...

(Click on picture)


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I have returned to traditional ML'ing after a multi-decade hiatus (well I never REALLY left). I have commented before on how the culture now has gotten... well.. weird. Buncha' old stich-counting curmudgeon Pharisees. Like this "Pyrodex?!?! Slay the infidel!" stuff; people denigrating others for buying Traditions, etc. It was such a relaxed and fun camaraderie - what happened?

Oh well, off my stump. If the alternative powders were all that bad they wouldn't sell any; the market would decide (which it seems to have done - it's more prolific than ever). I'm like MontanaMuzzleloader, who said in a similar old locked thread [ LINK ] last year "...Personally, I have no issue with Pyrodex or its use...I’ve burned pounds of the stuff... I can find no difference in corrosiveness or ease/difficulty in cleaning. I get no more shots between barrel swabbing. I find it requires the same prompt cleaning as real black...".
 
You may want to take another look at that BH209 bottle & actually read it. I don’t know if they ever made 1lb bottles of it. They were 10oz bottles until Hodgdon bought it. Then it became 8oz bottles for 80.00 +/- per 8ozs.
That could be true. I was in awe at the price and didn't look at the bottle itself. I don't use it anyway.
 
Why buy fake powder when you can buy the real stuff for $25 a pound?
But they don't make Real Black Powder anymore, I have checked every shop and gas station within 5 miles of my home and NONE to be found!
I heard that all the Hoarders bought it all up and then the supply dried up.

Woies Me!
 
They still make it. Our local club buys it in 25 lb lots and we divide it up.
That's not what I've been hearing?
Maybe I need to expand my search out to 20 miles....these smokepole rock banger sticks are gathering dust...I might have to start pouring $45 to $85 a pound pretend stuff down them.

(Or break into that assorted stack of cans and bottles I been hoarding 😉 )
DARN YOU HOARDERS!!
 
Bh209 is some of the best powder you could possibly run. You literally can shoot the entire can without ever touching the bore with a cleaning patch, and get single # SD over the chronograph.

When Hodgdon took over, they ran it into the ground and haven't been able to get it to the consumer at a reasonable price.

Have not had the chance to look into it myself, but they say the Fire sticks by federal use bh209, which explains where all the powder is going. They'll be fulfilling their contract with federal until it's up, then most likely start offering it at a more affordable price vs what it is now.

Used to be able to buy it in 5lb jugs when it was owned by western powder.

It's a different beast than Swiss or any other substitute made.
 
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