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Ahm a Pyrodex Man....

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well, i did some side-by-side comparison shooting this weekend with fffg blackpowder and pyrodex RS. i must say, i dont think ive ever noticed this before, and ive always thought that pyrodex was kind of a meaningless propellant, but the pyrodex RS actually produced significantly less fouling. shooting roundballs, i could have shot the pyrodex rifle all day with nary a patch between shots. however, i like the ignition qualities of blackpowder better. i got two slowfires with the pyrodex, and that was using cci magnum #11 caps (switching to musket nipple on that gun). anyway, at the end of the day when i cleaned the two guns, it took many, many more wet patches to clean the blackpowder-fouled rifle than it did to clean the pyrodex-fouled rifle. i have kind of a new found respect for the stuff . . . provided i'm getting it for $9 a pound at wally world like the can i'm shootin right now. :grin:

i shoot t7 too, but mainly in my [unspeakable] rifles. pyrodex produces less recoil and muzzleblast than t7 on a volume-for-volume basis. also, pyrodex fouling, while stickier, is softer than t7 fouling. that makes it better, in my opinion, for a day of rounball shooting . . . if you're not wanting to do a lot of between-shot swabbing.
 
I have also noted that Pyrodex produces almost no fouling.
Many times I have shot over 40 shots without needing to wipe the bore even once because of this.
As you say, it will hang fire sometimes and once in a very great while it will require two caps to get it going.
 
Zonie said:
I have also noted that Pyrodex produces almost no fouling.
Many times I have shot over 40 shots without needing to wipe the bore even once because of this.
As you say, it will hang fire sometimes and once in a very great while it will require two caps to get it going.
Agree...Pyrodex-RS was very satisfactory for me in TC caplocks for several years...40-50 shot ranges session without wiping between shots...just like TC's advertisements for Natural Lube 1000.

Since I've switched to Goex 3F, I like it much better of course, but Pyrodex did OK for me when that's what I had
 
That's my experience, exactly Zonie. Was starting to think I was missing something by clinging to Pyrodex. Guess not.

BTW, my quest to buy some real BP today failed. The one place I knew of that carried it was closed. The nearest Bass Pro has everything but BP. Maybe it's for the better.

I'll stick with what works.
Bob
 
BTW, my quest to buy some real BP today failed. The one place I knew of that carried it was closed. The nearest Bass Pro has everything but BP. Maybe it's for the better.

Have you tried online?[url] http://www.grafs.com[/url] is one place where you can get real BP. Even witht the Hazmat Fee buying 5lbs of BP is cheap than getting Pyrodex for me.
 
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Live about 35 minutes north of KC. I can get BP from various places. Granted not as easy to come by as RS at Walmart, but no harder to find then ammo for some of my modern rifles.
 
Shucks! You mean the 17 - 18 year old Pyrodex I have isn't any good anymore? I actually have a couple jars that are that old. I'll wait until rain is forecast and ferilize the yard with them.

RedFeather
 
I just shot up a 10- year old can of RS this fall. The doves, rabbits, squirrels and deer taken with it did not seem to realize that it had gone bad.
I loaded up on RS at 5$ a pound a couple of weeks back. At 5$ a pound, Pyrodex becomes a very good choice! Put it this way, I bought 1000 caps and I will need caps before I will need powder for a caplock. I do need to order five pounds of black in soon for the flinters.
 
I found several cans of old P grade Pyrodex at a local hardware store a couple of moths ago for $7 a pound. The cans were made of cardboard. I have tryed loads out of each can and they seem to work great. I shoot P grade in my Senneca .36 and .45 with great results.
 
grayghost said:
I found several cans of old P grade Pyrodex at a local hardware store a couple of moths ago for $7 a pound. The cans were made of cardboard. I have tryed loads out of each can and they seem to work great. I shoot P grade in my Senneca .36 and .45 with great results.
Wow...is there a date code on the bottom?
I didn't know it was even offered in a cardboard 'can'...Pyrodex I began buying in 1990 was already in black plastic injection molded containers at that time
 
Wish I could find a deal on Pyrodex. Been eyeing some at my local Wal-Mart and it didn't drop one cents after hunting season. Still ~ $16 per Bottle. It's cheaper for me to jsut order BP. Not saying one better than the other. I get good results with both, I justing saying I am a Cheap Shooter. I go with what the lowest $$$$$
 
After watching my black powder cartridge buddies shoot metallic silhouettes and the warm-breath-in-the-barrel routine they go thru to soften fouling between shots, I had a thought:
I think some of the variation in posters results here between Pyrodex and real black powder may be due to the relative humidity in the locale where they shoot. I live in the desert where it has been 3% RH lately. That's dry! I would suspect a shooter in Seattle where it's closer to 100% RH most of the time might have different results. When I first bought my T/C Hawken in the mid 1970's I tried Goex BP and Pyrodex. For me, in this environment, there is no choice. It's Pyrodex. BP was a bear to clean between shots. I can shoot all day using Pyrodex without any bore attention at all. Another factor is that no one sells BP around here.
As they say, your mileage may vary.
 
I have had the same results using Pyrodex here in Ore. I can shoot all day without having to swab the barrel using it. Of course now that i got interested in flinter, i don't use it except in my double barrel .12 ga caplock.
 
Rebel agreed. Why my original post says USE what works. I don't care what it is as long as it is BP or a SAFE substitute! I never thought of the humidity factor good point.
 
Interesting, Charles. I'd considered humidity, but was looking at it the other way. Was wondering if the reason I'm having good luck with Pyrodex is because I'm a 'barrel blower' :shake: Your good performance in 3% RH demonstrates that humidity isn't a big issue with Pyrodex....but might be with real BP.

I agree, Charley Hart, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Bob
 
I started with Pryrodex and went to BP. When I first started muzzle loading, the guy's at the shop would tell me not to shoot BP because it would screw the gun all up. I was told, "It's dirty and filthy and will rot the barrel of your gun." :nono: :yakyak: :bull: Of course they didn't sell BP. :grin: Then I met up with an old timer at the range who turned me on to BP and gave directions to the shop that sells it. :bow: I've had zero hangfires or slow ingnitions use BP. Shop Owners that don't have the Federal License to sell BP, tell alot of lies about BP. :shocked2: :grin:
It's no harder to clean up your gun using BP then Pyrodex. Does any serious muzzleloader go beyond five shots without swabbing a bore?
 
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