What is your favorite BP substitute?

[HellifIknow]

Real BP is getting difficult to obtain locally.
Stores seem to have plenty of the various subs.
Must admit I know next to nothing about the subs.
Which is your favorite?

 

[ozark57]

Go to www.powderinc.com and they will ship bp to you. My favorite sub is not a sub! :thumbsup:

 

[Birddog6]

I won't use a sub. :barf: If I ever have to go to a sub black powder, I will quit shooting BP guns all together.

No, you can't buy it everythere, but it is still very easy to buy. All it takes is a phone call, drivers license & the money. :wink:

 

[Zonie]

Well...
To answer the question, I'll have to say Pyrodex.

Because it is available at most gun stores and its price is somewhat reasonable I sometimes shoot it in my Percussion guns, saving my real black powder for my Flintlocks.

I have not tried 777 because the price is outrageous so I cannot comment on it.

Years ago a man at the range gave me several pounds of Black Canyon powder which is one of the sulfur free powders. I think it was a forerunner to Clear Shot or something like that.

Anyway, it didn't take me long to find out why he just gave it to me.
It was very inconsistent and much weaker than either Pyrodex or real black powder.
I took the unused Black Canyon powder home and set it on a shelf.
About 4 months later I opened the plastic jar of it and found one large solid lump. Totally unusable. The other container was in a similar fix.

I've read with interest some of the tests done with these synthetic powders and all of them do seem to have one problem or another.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

American Pioneer and Pyrodex. I only use Blackpowder in my flinter.

 

[stubshaft]

Getting Holy Black is near impossible to get in Hawaii. What little I have stashed I save for my flintlocks. I never got great accuracy in either my pistols or rifles with Pyrodex and have since switched to Triple 7. It seems to be more consistent and the price is about the same ($31.95 @ pound for 3F). It does lack the smoke normally associated with BP, but you gotta make sacrifices.

 

[jtmattison]

I've used Pyrodex RS with good success. My switch to real BP (Goex) was smooth. They both perform about the same accuracy wise.
For truly reliable ignition 100% of the time I have stuck with the real stuff.
Order from Powder Inc. They'll drop it right at your door.

HD

 

[necchi]

Triple 7, ya it cost's more but ya use less. and it's about preformance, consistancy and reliability.
Expect it to act like Swiss, a "sporting" grade powder.

 

[BrownBear]

I've tried all the subs I could get my hands on, because sometimes black is just about impossible to get up here. Feels more responsible to learn how to use the stuff than to complain about it. I'd rather shoot than sniffle. When I can manage to get black, it's definitely better, but when I can't get it I'm not going to quit shooting.

In my uses Pyrodex P has worked best. Any capper that can be used with Goex 3f is likely to perform well with P. Ignition is more fiddly, experience is required, and you HAVE TO do a better job of cleaning. But it can be made to work.

 

[Coot]

Years ago, when I only shot percussion, I tried Pyrodex & it worked ok in both revolvers and muskets. It did not work in a small bore (.32) percussion - lots of misfires which did not happen when I used black powder in the same gun. The Pyrodex might have worked in the .32 if I had used magnum caps. Now, I shoot flinters almost exclusively & only use real black powder. As others have mentioned, it is easy to order & have delivered by UPS if it is not available or very expensive locally. My home is a "Substitute Free Zone" :grin:

 

[larry wv]

Black powder is best then Pyrodex then 777. Cap guns only for the subs. Larry

 

[1911nutjob]

Nuthin I can really add here that hasn't already been said, but I do keep some pyrodex P around to reduce what I take out of the blackpowder bank. An occasional misfire comes up with the P, but a second cap usually touches off the charge (this is with revolvers and a howdah). It works reasonably well, though it's a little dirtier than goex. I've seen no reason to try the other subs-they can be harder to find and don't store well. Why mess with what works?

 

[nkbj]

Tried some and got problems with them so far. Having higher ignition temps and the larger grain sizes seem to be the source of the performance related concerns. A lot of folks have apparently had success with loading a small amount of BP under the sub to get consistent ignition but mixing propellants in duplex loading gives me a case of the pressure spike teenage slasher movie willies.

 

[Rock Island]

Nobody has BP on the shelf around here, that's why I mail order it in bulk, 20-30 pounds at a time to save on haz-mat fees. Haz-Mat adds $25 or so to the shipping cost, but that's for one pound or 50 so I bulk order. I have tried them all, there is no substitute for real black.

 

[Samuel]

Many Many Years ago :hmm: I started out with a T/C Hawken and Pyrodex (it was easy to get anywhere)and it worked fine. When Started shooting Flintlocks I switched to Real Black, even in my Percusion rifles. But If I had to I would use Pyrodex -but only in percusion guns :wink:

 

[ohio ramrod]

My favorite sub for Geox BP is KIK BP.Find some friends and pool your resources to get a case and split it. The final cost will be cheaper in the end.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I really like Triple Seven. I've never had any problems with it in any of my TC Hawken rifles.

 

[Bearbait2]

Mr. HellifIknow,
As with yourself, BP is very difficult to come by up here in the Interior.
We have found Pyrodex to work well, under the circumstances.
Best Wishes

 

[Little Wattsy]

Pyrodex RS has done very well by me. I would maybe try Pyrodex P too...???

 

[bingo1952]

IF you Have to use one Pyrodex is the best IMHO.