What are some of the BP substitutes you have used, and what are they made of? Aren't they generally more inefficient than genuine BP?
I do not know if I would consider them more inefficient the genuine BP. Many of the substitutes have more power then black powder. They burn hotter, and produce much less fowling. They are also easier to clean out of the barrel in most cases. These might not be the best choice for a flintlock because of the higher ignition point some of them have, but in the sidelocks and inline rifles they are an excellent choice.
Triple Se7en Powder for instance. I shoot this in my sidelocks and inlines. It will clean up with water. Triple Se7en FFg is 15% stronger approximately then Goex Black Powder FFg. It does not seem to be too water sensative, hunting with it in damp and wet weather have never caused me any problems wiht my rifles. The big draw back with this powder is cost compared to Black Powder and in some cases when shot in the rifles a crud ring develop and you must swab the barrel clean every so often to remove it. Simple water is all that is needed to clean this powder out of the rifle. I have a couple rifles that shoot their best with this powder.
Clean Shot FFg is another (or was ) common powder. It is now called
American Pioneer Powder . It is a sugar based powder. Some people claim it has problems when used in wet conditions. I personally have sat outside when it was snowing, shooting of numerous shots and never saw the moisture as a problem. Of course I did not walk out and sit for four hours in this environment and then have to depend on ignition. APP or Clean Shot is about equal in strength to Black Powder. The FFg grade is very course. I would suggest the FFFg grade of this to anyone wanting to shoot it. I shot off over half a pound of the stuff yesterday and the accuracy was outstanding. I shot one inline rifle over 25 times and had to swab three or four times. This was when I was changing bullet types. One other time I swabbed I think more out of general habit then anything else.
Goex Pinnacle is a new powder just out. It is made through a combined effort of American Pioneer Powder Company and Goex. It was claimed that it will fire in flintlocks... Ok it will, but not to my satisfaction. To many delays. Now in the sidelocks and inline rifles this stuff really shines. I shot 12 sabots in an inline and never swabbed the barrel. This was impossible using the other powders. The accuracy was outstanding and ignition was perfect all the time with a #11 cap system. In the sidelock rifles I shot this powder in, accuracy was outstanding. I have no way to test this but considered it equal in strength to Black powder. Fowling for me with this powder was not a problem.
Pyrodex RS, Select, and P class powders have been around for a long time. The powder comes in different grades like Black powder and is about equal in strength according to grade. I personally like the Pyrodex P (Pistol powder) or the RS to shoot. It will not shoot in flintlocks unless you duplex the loads which as long as I can get black powder I refuse to do, but in sidelocks and inlines this stuff just plain works. The fowling is not the best. Like black powder, it has a bad fowling to it, but I shot this stuff for years when I was a younger fellow because black powder got hard to come by in my area for a while. Good stuff for hunting in wet weather, and has been used by many hunters and target shooters over the years. Fowling and clean up is the main draw back of this powder.
One of the other powders that has entered the market which I have not been able to test is called
Black Mag3. From all I have read on this powder it sure looks like an interesting powder....