Everyone has to start somewhere, so let this be the beginning of your education about HYPE. Don't believe it! What has already been said about the powder here is correct. I believe they actually are telling people you don't have to clean your guns, because most of the fools who buy this powder are also buying zip guns, so they can hunt during special MLer only seasons. These guns are so cheap, they want you to corrode them out by NOT CLEANING the guns, so you have to buy another in a year or two.
You need to use modern solvents to get the plastic and smokeless powder residues out of them. Then you also need to use soap and water to clean the barrel and action, in order to makes sure any priming compound, or percussion cap residue is also removed. The powder actually does absorb moisture faster than does Black Powder, not less!
Now, throw in the cost of the stuff- as much as $27.00 per bottle, and most do not contain 16 oz., as BP is sold, and you are paying a lot of money for a lot of TROUBLE.
Traditional arms have been using black powder for more than 500 years. All the " Bugs " have been worked out.
Long ago.
Quit trying to reinvent the wheel, Please! If you go to the links section at the top of the index page to this forum, you will find powder suppliers who will ship powder to your front door. Graf& sons will sell you as little as 5 lbs per shipment, and still discount the powder. There is a Hazardous Materials fee that is charged PER SHIPMENT, so it makes more sense to find other BP shooters, and combine your money and order to buy a case of the powder, which you then split up. It also gives you the lowest pricing- less than $13.00 per pound to your door. If you buy the powder in bulk, and pick it up yourself, you can cut even more money off the price.
These substitute powders are based on ascorbic Acid, which oxidizes easily. It also deteriorates quickly once the can or bottle is opened, and the powder loses power. Once opened, you have to use the powder up in a short time.
The only benefit to using these powders that I have found is missing out on the smell of sulphur and " rotten eggs". But, for most of us, that smell is not so bad, and is only temporary. Water quickly dissolves the sulfur and the odor leaves the barrel when you pour the water out.
There are places in Canada, and Kodiak Island, Alaska, where getting Black Powder is difficult. In England you have to have a special permit to own the stuff, and are limited in how much of it you can have at one time. Ain't government wonderful? In those places, you have to use a substitute powder, but the best of them is still Pyrodex. However, none of the substitutes is designed to be used in Flintlocks. They all have a higher flash point than does black powder, altho Pyrodex is apparently lower than the others.
The only good results I have heard about using American Pioneer Powder has been by a few CAS shooters, who are shooting the Black Powder cartridge events using the stuff. Apparently, with modern primers to ignite the powder in a closed chamber, shooting a heavy bullet, the stuff burns well enough to let them hit those huge targets, and they don't mind all the cleaning they have to do with their guns.
Buy Black Powder, instead. It will save you money and aggravation.
