Best Brand of Black Powder

[Loyalist Dave]

What do you guys recommend for black powder?

GOEX and Graf's (which is now made for Graf & Sons by GOEX)

WHY is it the best powder? Well "best" depends on the shooter's criteria. Some want least expensive. Some want most consistent in velocity. Some want most powerful when comparing equal measures. Some want cleanest burning. Some want combinations of the previous factors.

GOEX is the best, because it's made in the USA. It's not imported and thus would not be subject to importation restrictions, or dockworker strikes, or airfreight strikes, or overseas labor strikes. So It's important that as long as the company makes a good product, that those who are black powder enthusiasts in North America continue to keep that company in business. (imho)

LD

 

[VADSLRAM]

The best brand of black powder is whatever brand of REAL BP that you can actually get. In my decades of shooting I've only seen a handful of stores that stock more than one. And those were back in the 60s and 70s. I guess with these here innerwebs you have choices but unless you are competitive shooting, any real BP of reasonable grain size will put lead down range.
Pyrodex and any other of the BP subs might work in some guns by my flinters won't fire with it in the pan and I'm not going to carry two different powders.

 

[LeftHandGuy]

I hope the OP will forgive the slight derail here, but would anyone care to explain just why Pyrodex is so bad, and therefore why does anyone use it at all?

My flintlock is marked up BP or Pyrodex, so it would presumably be capable of functioning.

I know it’s harder to ignite in a flintlock, and I knew re-enactors in the UK who used it on occasion because it is not covered by explosives legislation (they are overwhelmingly matchlock shooters). But surely there had to be a reason the stuff exists at all?

 

[mooman76]

Pyrodex is not as bad as made out to be. Yes it is more corrosive but either way you gun needs to be cleaned and cleaned soon. I've never had a fowling issue with it. Allot of people also knock it but have never really used it much or at all. It shoots good for me.
The reason people buy it is because it is much easier to find. They argue you can order it but you can't order it some places because of shipping or other reasons and some people on tight budgets can afford a large enough order to make it worth while. I and most people would rather use the black if it was readily available but the fact is it isn't always available. To me it's not a big deal to just use a sub if I can't get it easy.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I hope the OP will forgive the slight derail here, but would anyone care to explain just why Pyrodex is so bad, and therefore why does anyone use it at all?

My flintlock is marked up BP or Pyrodex, so it would presumably be capable of functioning.

I know it’s harder to ignite in a flintlock, and I knew re-enactors in the UK who used it on occasion because it is not covered by explosives legislation (they are overwhelmingly matchlock shooters). But surely there had to be a reason the stuff exists at all?

Pyrodex is more on the order of not so good as opposed to bad. As you know, one of the strikes against Pyrodex (and most of the other substitutes) is that they require a far higher ignition temperature that makes ignition in a flintlock very difficult. The other strike against Pyrodex is that the fouling is far more corrosive than black powder fouling. It is imperative to clean the gun as soon as possible after shooting Pyrodex and any of the other perchlorate based powders. The third strike is that in places of high humidity, Pyrodex ages poorly. It looses power shortly after opening the container and will clump up to be very hard to measure an accurate load.

The only advantage is that Pyrodex is not considered an explosive as black powder is and can placed on display in a retail setting. A person who only shoots a small amount of powder can purchase Pyrodex without the issues associated with ordering a quantity by mail and paying a hazardous material handling charge. Of course if the shooter only fires a few rounds a year hunting may experience a loss with respect to performance the longer the container of Pyrodex sits on the shelf.

If your flintlock is marked Black Powder or Pyrodex, probably on the barrel, I would be leery of its capability to function with Pyrodex. Most likely you have a barrel from a manufacturer that uses the same barrel with a different breech for flint lock or percussion lock and for manufacturing purposes doesn't want two inventory sections for barrels for assembly.

 

[Carbon 6]

Pyrodex is not as bad as made out to be. Yes it is more corrosive but either way you gun needs to be cleaned and cleaned soon. I've never had a fowling issue with it. Allot of people also knock it but have never really used it much or at all. It shoots good for me.
The reason people buy it is because it is much easier to find. They argue you can order it but you can't order it some places because of shipping or other reasons and some people on tight budgets can afford a large enough order to make it worth while. I and most people would rather use the black if it was readily available but the fact is it isn't always available. To me it's not a big deal to just use a sub if I can't get it easy.

Pyrodex doesn't like lazy cleaners, poor cleaners, and the "I only shoot my muzzleloader once a year" deer hunter, and one's who leave their gun loaded till next season..

These people should avoid using Pyrodex. (and probably muzzleloading in general).

Everyone has an opinion but not everyone has experience. Muzzleloading has a steep learning curve, and isn't kind to poor students.

 

[Spikebuck]

Pyrodex is not as bad as made out to be. Yes it is more corrosive but either way you gun needs to be cleaned and cleaned soon.

Mooman...I have to agree on this one. I used Pyrodex when I first started with my cap guns and after a few years changed to T7. I never had a corrosion problem with either, though I thought T7 was a better sub. My guns are always immediately cleaned after shooting and I never had any issues with corrosion.

In fact, in my ignorance as a brand new muzzleloader guy with no one around to guide me, I had no idea that my Pedersoli had a Patent Breech. While I was putting the end of the barrel in a bucket and flushing the barrel, I was not getting a swab all the way down into the narrow Patent Breech. A couple of years into shooting I learned of the patent breech. Upon examination with a bore scope, there was no corrosion there. I did start to use a small diameter swab to get all the way down into that chamber after that, but apparently flushing it was enough to keep the corrosion at bay along with whatever rust preventative got down in there (I always put a little shot in through the nipple).

I only use real black now because all my shooting is with flinters, but those two subs worked just fine for me in my cap guns.

 

[mooman76]

Pyrodex doesn't like lazy cleaners, poor cleaners, and the "I only shoot my muzzleloader once a year" deer hunter, and one's who leave their gun loaded till next season..

These people should avoid using Pyrodex. (and probably muzzleloading in general).

Everyone has an opinion but not everyone has experience. Muzzleloading has a steep learning curve, and isn't kind to poor students.

100% true. I have some really old Pyrodex, 20+ years old. It has shot fine for me but I was out was with single digit humidity. Since moving back east I am beginning to doubt it is holding up. I've been having ignition problems of late that I never had before. Still working the issues though.

 

[Carbon 6]

I've been having ignition problems of late that I never had before.

Go buy a new can, to confirm that it is actually the powder causing your ignition problem. But, ignition has always been a problem with Pyrodex. More and more substitute powders are manufactured with 209 ignition in mind, this includes Pyrodex.

 

[LeftHandGuy]

If your flintlock is marked Black Powder or Pyrodex, probably on the barrel, I would be leery of its capability to function with Pyrodex. Most likely you have a barrel from a manufacturer that uses the same barrel with a different breech for flint lock or percussion lock and for manufacturing purposes doesn't want two inventory sections for barrels for assembly.

Indeed - never even considered using the stuff - just curious about it really. Presumably all the other non-BP BP substitutes are essentially comparable?

 

[Grenadier1758]

There is some indications that the American Pioneer Powder does function in a flint lock.

This is a video of someone firing a Brown Bess using APP.


According to the Mad Monk, the APP is an ascorbic based powder that is quite hydroscopic which means that you will end up with water in our breech.

I am of the opinion that using real black powder is still the best option.

 

[Bob McBride]

It's a tie between Swiss and Goex IMO. Swiss is hotter by about 15% and that's great for lots of hunting scenarios but I find Goex is plenty good for other scenarios such as small game charges in =/<.32 and very large charges in smoothbores. I keep and use both.

 

[mooman76]

Go buy a new can, to confirm that it is actually the powder causing your ignition problem. But, ignition has always been a problem with Pyrodex. More and more substitute powders are manufactured with 209 ignition in mind, this includes Pyrodex.

I already dumped what little I had left and opened a new sealed can that I already had so we will see. When it is gone, I likely will buy no more pyrodex. Nothing against it, it served it's purpose when I needed it, just that now BP is more available to me. Not quite readily but a hour away. I live close to gaffs now and also have the means to order 5# or so.

 

[Frontier's]

Nipple brands / design are crucial in ignition performance, not all of them perform the same.

Bottom is a Hotshot nipple which has a very smooth transition point from the flash channel to the flash hole. I do not like the vented nipple as you will lose heat from that design, one biggest flaw they made with that nipple.

 

[rodwha]

As I see it Goex’s Olde Eynsford is the best. It’s energetic like Swiss and Triple 7, but costs barely more than a dollar over their standard powder. This means I can chose to use the same charge and get more bang or reduce the charge to get something similar with less powder that either brings the cost to equal or maybe better. And at the same time it fouls less. I’m a hunter that really wants to have my rifle and revolvers using the same powder flask, and since the revolvers are the lowest denominator here it means I need a high energy powder where my Remington revolver has enough oomph to rely on, in this case I’m on par with a standard .45 ACP or .45 Schofield level and not a .38 Spl or something else dismal.

However I want my guns to shoot well. It may mean I have to try 2F instead of 3F as I believe my revolvers will still do well enough, or maybe it’s Swiss, a powder I want to try anyway. I’ve used T7 in my pistols but think I’d prefer real black powder as it’s more consistent if nothing else.

For a rifle having an energetic powder isn’t an issue though. So it comes down to fouling, if that’s an issue, and the lengths to which you’ll go to get it. Do you want to be able to get a pound locally? It’ll cost a bit more per pound this way. I used to use T7 as it was the only energetic powder I could find locally at BassPro, and hour there and back. But all things shooting were hard to find, and for months no 3F so I got tired of wasting my time and looked online. Sure, I had to drop a bit more coin upfront, but what I found was ordering 3 lbs at one time broke even despite shipping and HazMat, but I didn’t have to go get it so it saved me gas @12 mpg and time, not to mention frustration. I buy from Grafs since you don’t have to purchase in huge orders. Anyway, there I found Olde E and been buying it since, which is cheaper than T7.

Quite frankly you could shoot re-enactor grade powder. Inconsistent from what I have read, but some find it works well enough.

 

[TNGhost]

Need to ask this guy what he was using, looks like some good stuff, prolly Swiss 4f, more bang for the buck

 

[rodwha]

Or just being a 4 ga the as enough with a standard load...

 

[Intosomthin]

When I first began muzzle loaders (80s) bp wasnt hard to come by, but pyrodex was the rage. After using both, i decided no to pyrodex. Bp burns much more reliably in all weather. Even wet bp will burn... not so with pyro...

 

[nkbj]

Hey guys! So I got into black powder shooting a few years ago when my grandfather built me a rifle for my 18th birthday. He also gave me a powder horn and some other shooting accessories to go with it. I have recently noticed that my powder horn is getting lighter and lighter, and I have no idea how much powder was in it to begin with, since the top has been sealed shut. What do you guys recommend for black powder? My papaw says he wouldn't use Pyrodex in it, as it isn't real black powder. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Best get whatever you've been using.
I like GOEX 2, 3 and 4F (and also Jacks Battle in flintlocks) but depends on what I've found to work.

 

[ZUG]

The BEST black powder is the one you can find to buy - If it real black powder and goes bang then it is the right stuff to buy & use