Is Swiss Powder any good?

justinoldguy said:

For 40 years I used Goex in my various rifles, shotguns, and handguns. It did ok, but I had nothing else to compare it to, as far as real black is concerned. Then I bought some Swiss, and I will never use Goex again. Swiss is vastly superior to any commercially available black powder I have used. At the range, I shoot nearly every shot over the chronograph, literally thousands of "rounds" in a wide variety of guns. Swiss gives much higher velocity with like charges, +200 fps in revolvers, and +300 fps in long barrels. Shot to shot variation is also very consistent. Have not noticed a diffetence in fouling, all black powder is pretty dirty. As far as subs are concerned, Swiss 3f and Pyro P are identical in performance in every gun long gun (percussion only) I have ever shot them in. In revolvers, Swiss lags behind Pyro P significantly, but not nearly as much as Goex. This is not conjecture, but actual data based on chronograph results, which have no agenda or preferences. I willingly pay the extra $10-$15 per lb. for Swiss. Side note, Triple 7 outperforms both Pyro P and Swiss, but is not reliable in sidelock muzzleloaders. Out of ten shots, I will regularly get a couple of hang fires using standard percussion caps. Triple 7 is fine for use in revolvers.

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Interesting as I’ve seen so many varying results with Pyrodex P. Lyman’s BP book shows it to not be all that great. Some I see claim extreme velocities. Hogdgon’s also states it’s not all that special. What I’ve shot didn’t seem weaker, but feelings aren’t a good measure…

GREENSWLDE said:

Swiss Powder !! Nothing to Touch it These days Unless you can find British TPPH, the only L/R powder is Swiss No. 3 and in F/L shot guns GO TO No.1. No.1 won Me a number of World /Inter Gongs in the70's, 80's and 90's. BUT Be careful with self priming Flint locks. Use a Hammer glove until you are ready to shoot in an Important Comp as Referees may have you on Toast.. OLD DOG

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There’s potent French powder that rivals Swiss, and South Africa had been working on a powder years back. Just don’t really hear much from far flung places anymore so I don’t know if it was brought to the public or not.

Spikebuck said:

I can't speak to Frontier's results, but as all other responders here have stated, Swiss is generally regarded as a premium powder. I have shot Goex, KIK, and Swiss (as well as 3 different subs). IMO, Swiss is cleaner and more consistent through my Chrono (except in percussion, 777 was really an equal in that respect.)

A friend of mine reports Old Ensford is also very good, in his testing, but he still uses Swiss as his go-to powder.

If you have it, use it. And it will last forever sitting on the shelf. When you use it up, if you want to support the only U.S. mfg, then switch to Old Ensford from Goex.

You can't legally sell it if you want to get rid of it, but you can give it away.

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Oh, come on, as if one individual selling a can of powder to another is going to trigger a national crime wave....

Are Rolex watches any good??

springfield art said:

Oh, come on, as if one individual selling a can of powder to another is going to trigger a national crime wave....

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Maybe as long as the buyer isn’t an ATF agent…. A friend of mine that I knew for years father recently passed. I knew his father for over 25 years and didn’t find out until after the funeral he worked for one of those three letter federal government agencies.

I have a pal who meets regularly with some very high income guys, most of whom are veterans of some sort. A regular attendee is an agent of a particular 3-letter, and he bluntly stated, if you have or know of something regulated by my employer, DO NOT even mention or think about it around me....

I have not used Swiss in any front loaders but shots lots of it in Sharps .45-70 and its probably the most popular powder in that usage.

rodwha said:

There’s potent French powder that rivals Swiss, and South Africa had been working on a powder years back. Just don’t really hear much from far flung places anymore so I don’t know if it was brought to the public or not.

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Zloty Stok is as good as Swiss! Polish, last Germans I shot with were using it! But I will never say I got a pound from them! Or should I say a kilo!!!

Mogadishu Meanderer said:

Zloty Stok is as good as Swiss! Polish, last Germans I shot with were using it! But I will never say I got a pound from them! Or should I say a kilo!!!

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Plus the name has a catch… a breed of certain women that make certain men really happy and …. Broke!!!

Spikebuck said:

https://www.atf.gov/explosives/qa/may-i-sell-black-powder-without-license

May I sell black powder without a license?​

No. Anyone who engages in the business of selling black powder, regardless of quantity, must be licensed as an explosives dealer. [27 CFR 555.41(b)]

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So if I have more than I will ever use, how can I get rid of it?

AAAPAUL said:

The law states a person can buy #50 or less and needs no license. So within the law a person can buy #50 and and split the cost and share with a group or sell off what they don’t need and still not be engaged in a business

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Thank you.

TFoley said:

TPPH powders, made by WANO, disappeared around 2003...........................................

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Hi Tom,
Just shows how old I am. Do you remember David M. from P>H> ???

AAAPAUL said:

The law states a person can buy #50 or less and needs no license. So within the law a person can buy #50 and and split the cost and share with a group or sell off what they don’t need and still not be engaged in a business

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You were correct up to sell it off part. Members of our club can contribute to the cost of a case of powder.
When I had my gun shop I had my federal explosives license and there is alot more to selling black powder. You are required to have a powder magazine and an explosives license they will come and inspect your set up. Ya'll can get upset and call me
a commie if you want but that's the way it is.

WhittenSales said:

I have some Authentic Swiss Black Powder - Supreme Black Powder in 16oz unopened bottles in 1Fg and 3Fg. How long does it last and if I stop shooting BP, how do I get rid of it? Can it be resold?

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You have a Hazmat problem on your hands and a very dangerous one. PM me and I will send you my address and shipped the dangerous no good stuff to me and I will take care of it.

WhittenSales said:

I have some Authentic Swiss Black Powder - Supreme Black Powder in 16oz unopened bottles in 1Fg and 3Fg. How long does it last and if I stop shooting BP, how do I get rid of it? Can it be resold?

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My 54 cal mountain rifle gets its best accuracy when shooting SWISS. Nothing else even comes close. I’m not promoting Swiss powders or anything else, but I don’t want to shoot anything else when I need a sure bullseye.

WhittenSales said:

I have some Authentic Swiss Black Powder - Supreme Black Powder in 16oz unopened bottles in 1Fg and 3Fg. How long does it last and if I stop shooting BP, how do I get rid of it? Can it be resold?

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It's junk.

Send it to me I'll pay hazmat and shipping.

WhittenSales said:

I have some Authentic Swiss Black Powder - Supreme Black Powder in 16oz unopened bottles in 1Fg and 3Fg. How long does it last and if I stop shooting BP, how do I get rid of it? Can it be resold?

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Welcome to the Zoo!
First:
1F is typically cannon powder, perhaps fine in a blunderbuss but I have only used 2F in mine.
3F is typical 'all round caliber' powder however charts will tell you it is for "smaller caliber" ie 45 and below.

Swiss is slightly different from all the other powders mentioned here in that 1F is 'sold' as Cannon powder then Swiss has 1.5F and 2F with is considered 'large caliber powder' (say 75 down to 50 caliber), then line all other powders they have 3F and 4F where 'typically' 3F as mentioned is small caliber (45 and less) and 4F is their Priming Powder.
NOW, Swiss also has the 0B (Null B) powder, extra fine and fast burning primer powder sold in 1/2 pound bottles.

So; basically what you have is one pound of Cannon powder and one pound of small caliber rifle/pistol powder.
Courius however you came by it and don't know about....?

Now "Selling": you can NOT ship it, not legally, and if caught you will go to jail and be hit with a heavy fine!!
But to 'sell' it Locally to another shooter....well, ya I suppose it would be "illegal" (also different states have different rules where storage and transportation is considered) - but; person to person, in person, who is to say they did nit go in on a Bulk Purchase with you (Depending on YOUR local laws)??
We go in on bulk purchases all the time, frie ds who are without and going to an event or hunt drop by a 'buy a pound' - no harm...maybe 'foul' legally, but not Selling it as in you are keeping a stock pile and selling for Profit.

If you know a friend who shoots and you want to 'get rid of it' - give it to him, sell it to him...would be a shame to dump it because some told you "You Own It, Your Stuck With It!"
...besides, you clearly don't know about it, how did you come by it?

GREENSWLDE said:

Hi Tom,
Just shows how old I am. Do you remember David M. from P>H> ???

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I also remember Roger Hale!!! I had a short correspondence with him about my first Whitworth rifle, that had been on order with Ron May of Buckhurst Hill for almost two years - having been advised that there 'might' be a wait - only to be told that the next tranche were all taken up by DGW in Tennessee. I ripped him a new one in letter form, and reminded him that he had a modicum of responsibility to his UK-based customers. A week later, Ron called me up to say that a very nice, very dark wood Whitworth was waiting my collection....

My bestie, though, in the 'gun trade', was the curator of the MoD Pattern Room - Herbie Woodend MBE. I was visiting with a group of students the day that Parker-Hale had grudgingly returned the full set of P53 Sealed Patterns, jigs and so on that they had had on loan, since deciding to replicate the P53. The pair of us rolled up our sleeves, donned cotton gloves and went through that precious chest twice - once in each direction - with the contents list. It took about two hours, but Herbie wasn't going to sign anything as acceptable until he was happy.