nervous about using true black

once you try black, you'll never go back. :grin:

 

[Poor Private]

Easy to give your musket/rifle a quick cleaming. Just use some hot water down the barrel with a rag and cleaning rod and your good to go till you get home .

 

[tg]

You have received a lot of advise on the merits and usage/cleaning of real BP, it is nothing to be concerned with as most have stated, you can do without the hot water routine for cleaning however for some it has resulted in flash rusting, there are many methods of cleaning most all will work if the procedure is followed properly, have a good one and enjoy the journey, the smell of the real stuff will take you back a century or two that is another plus...

 

[Glenfilthie]

I refuse to use the substitutes. I don't care how convenient, how clean, how much better they perform, nor do I care to listen to the hype and hot air that surrounds them.

I admit I have tried them, but they just aren't the same. Everyone thinks I am nuts too.

If black powder makes you nervous, don't shoot it. The name of the game is fun and it is no fun using stuff you are uncomfortable with.

I do believe that muzzle loaders that never experience the charm of doing things the old way are missing out though.

 

[tg]

"I do believe that muzzle loaders that never experience the charm of doing things the old way are missing out though. "

That is a well put statement, quite often it can just be the little things that can allow one to swing and miss on the way things were done/used/ made in the past, and it can limit the experience to one degree or another, many don't care, but some would likely get a bit farther down the trail
by tightening up on the PC/HC factor just a bit here and there, and be quite pleasd with the end results.

 

[stfilcek]

Y'all must all shoot cap guns and I have never found any of the substitutes that well work even a little bit in a flinty.

 

[Robert Egler]

Y'all must all shoot cap guns and I have never found any of the substitutes that well work even a little bit in a flinty.

I'll agree with that! :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

And, what is your point? ( HINT: The subs DON'T work in Flintlocks! They have a much higher flash point( ie. the temperature at which substance burns) than does Black Powder, making them difficult at best to ignite using flint ignition. ONly when black powder is used for priming, and a " starter charge " of black powder is First poured down the barrel, so it will ignite from the burning prime, and then ignite the substitute powders can you use substitute powders in flintlocks. If you have to have black powder for the priming charge, and for the " starter charge" in the barrel, what is the point then of carrying around both Black Powder and a Substitute powder????

Now throw in the difference in costs, the fact that the ascorbic acid based substitutes begin to deteriorate once the can of powder is opened and the powder is exposed to air, the fact that the powder does not store well, and maintain its power, while Black Powder has an infinite shelf life, and I think we have a point about using the same powder that the makers of the original guns designed the guns to fire- BLACK POWDER.

If I want to shoot smokeless alternatives, I get out my modern guns and blast away. I enjoy shooting my modern guns just as well as I do my MLers. I even enjoy rapid fire shooting events, that burn up lots of ammo in a hurry. But I also dearly enjoy the calm, deliberate loading and cleaning of shots from my MLERs, and the satisfaction of knowing I can do things with my MLer that other shooters just can't do, because they have not, and will not, take the time to learn.

There is NO excuse for anyone to claim they can't get Black Powder in this country, unless, like BrownBear, you live on Kodiak Island. Everywhere else, you can order the powder by phone, and have it delivered to your door.

 

[nodakhorseman]

My original question was sincere. But, I must say that it's fun to see how a conversation unravels. I truly appreciate everyone's passion.

As I pointed out originally, I am mostly ignorant to the use of true black powder. Or should I say, WAS IGNORANT. :haha:

I have hunted since I was 10, but never did have anyone to teach me the joys of muzzleloading guns. I gravitated towards them myself and am mostly self taught. I've been shooting ML guns for about 10 years now and I have a TON to learn. Looks like I was worried for nothing--I was worried that real black powder would be super corrosive when afield for days at a time. Thanks everyone for setting me straight.

--Nodak

 

[musketman]

Looks like I was worried for nothing--

--Nodak

If I may add to this:
Please keep in mind that black powder is still an explosive and will cause great damage or even death is mishandled. I realize that the original topic was aimed at the corrosiveness of the propellant, but extreme care must be taken in other areas too involving black powder.

Care must be taken around camp fires, smoking is a no-no when loading, never load directly from a can of powder, common sense thinking will go a long ways towards keeping yourself safe and others around you.

 

[No Grease]

The point you are enjoying your rifle as is. Whether you are using true black or a sub. This is what it is all about is it not. The above recomendations are there the knowledge on this website is boundless. But the idea is everyone here enjoys thier muzzleloaders and has fun with whatever propellent they use. One of these days or maybe sooner you might give true black a try but until then enjoy your rifle for what it is enjoy.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Sometimes, how a question is posed, no matter how innocent, it gets all of us excited. There is so much misinformation out there, being perpetuated by people who don't have a clue what they are talking about. I have found very knowledgeable shooters with modern cartridge guns, who I would not hesitate to consult for information on modern guns, who don't have a clue about Black Powder, and are not interested in learning! That is what amazes me-- that anyone who is a " gun nut " to the rest of the world has NO interest in MLers!

You would be a rare individual if you were lucky enough to be raised in a home where you would be taught about black powder and MLers as you were also being taught about modern smokeless powders, and breechloaders.

MY father had messed around, as a kid in Chicago, making his own firecrackers, and doing a host of other things with guns that are illegal today( and probably were back then, too!)

Shortly after he trained me to shoot a .22 rifle, and then a .22 revolver, he introduced my brother and me to his .45-70 Springfield, and its " Semi-smokeless" powder loads. The cartridges are collector's items today, but who knew? Even the empty casings are worth several Dollars apiece, but then, again, who knew?

It was shortly after that when Dad was with us at a gun store and spied a replica flintlock Tower pistol, for less than $30.00. It was a smoothbore, and was made well enough to shoot, So he bought it, and a can of FFFg Dupont black powder( the Predecessor to Gearhart-Owens Explosives( GOEX). The frizzen had not been hardened, so he sent it off the Dixie Gun Works, and order a scissor mold in .62 caliber and we were in the business of shooting black powder salutes on the 4th of July, and an occasional trip to a range to shoot PRB out of the horse pistol.

I think we settled on a charge of 60 grains of FFFg in that 10 inch barrel- about 25 grains more than the maximum efficient charge, so we got both a good push on the grip, and lots of smoke and fire out the muzzle along with a round ball that traveled generally in the direction of where it was pointed. :rotf: But, we tried everything from 30 to 100 grains of FFFg in that pistol before backing off to the 60 grain charge.

Without sights, and being a smoothbore, it was a wish and a By-Golly-Gee to hit anything at much beyond 10 yards. My brother did manage to put balls on the paper at 25 yds, which had heads shaking all along the pistol range at Friendship that September. That was in 1962, and he has been a member of the NMLRA every since. He was HOOKED! Still is. Now he's building his own guns! AND, he is a Rock-locker, too! I didn't get into BP shooting until I became the lawyer for my local club in 1976-7.

So, welcome to the sport, and welcome to the forum. The only dumb questions are those not asked. I am fortunate to work in a profession where everyone EXPECTS me to ask DUMB Questions! Don't worry too much about how we phrase responses, here. Some days are better than others. :thumbsup: :surrender: :hatsoff:

 

[musketman]

Take a few empty eye drop bottles, put alcohol in them and a small bottle of gun oil and clean as necessary...

Please make sure to remark the bottle of it's new contents, even though you know there is alcohol or oil in the bottle doesn't mean that someone else who finds it will know, they may even use it thinking it is eye drops.

A second of prevention will help prevent an accident from happening.

 

[nodakhorseman]

Believe it or not, I actually have a pound (minus 6 shots) of GOEX FFFg at home. About 4 years ago, one of my best friends from Alaska came down to North Dakota to do some hunting with me.

In Alaska, most every hunt is a major undertaking, so he was excited to do a little more relaxing hunting. We hunted whitetails for 4 days, pheasants for 2 days and geese for 2 days. We hunted the deer with muzzleloaders only and between the 2 of us, we filled the freezer with 6 nice fat does.

Since you can't travel with black powder (duh), he asked me to pick him up a can of GOEX FFFg. He shot maybe half a dozen shots and the rest has been sitting in my shop ever since.

After all this discussion, I think I'll take the GOEX to the range and give it a try. Should be fun.

--Nodak

 

[nodakhorseman]

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I'm now among the ranks of the true black powder users! :grin:

I was having trouble getting my new .50 cal GPR percussion to settle in. Based on some good advice, I grabbed that can of GOEX FFFg and headed to the range this afternoon.

I cleaned the bore with J-B Bore Cleaning Compound before heading afield. I shot a 70 grain charge of GOEX FFFg instead of 80 grains of Pyrodex Select FFg. I also used a .018" patch instead of a .015" patch.

By the end of today's session, she settled right in and is now ready for deer. I'd like my groups to be a bit tighter, but I'm sure they will--when the gun breaks in a bit more and once I grown further accustomed to shooting the gun.

Great fun! Thanks for all the good advice!

--Nodak

 

[laufer]

I've been muzzleloader hunting for quite a long time, but I've never used true black powder. I'm not worried about the safety of using true black, rather I'm worried about the corrosive nature of true black.

I'm very diligent about cleaning my MLers every time I use them. But, what do you do when you are in the field on a multi-day or week-long hunting trip when you are using true black? How do you clean the gun so damage does not occur?

I do hunt on week-long trips and am ignorant in many regards on true black powder. That's why I've always used Pyrodex and have been comfortable with it on these trips.

--Nodak

once you go black, you'll never go back!!! :wink:

 

[Zonie]

Please make sure to remark the bottle of it's new contents, even though you know there is alcohol or oil in the bottle doesn't mean that someone else who finds it will know, they may even use it thinking it is eye drops.

Boy you can say that again!
I know of a guy who thought that doe urine was nose spray so he shot a squirt of it up his nose.

I bet if that bottle of doe pee was clearly marked he never would have assaulted his poor sinuses with it.
:rotf: :grin:

 

[Uncle Jed]

Boy you can say that again!
I know of a guy who thought that doe urine was nose spray so he shot a squirt of it up his nose.

Is he kin to Jethro by any chance? One of these days you'd better have a lo-ong talk with that boy.

 

[mckutzy]

Boy you can say that again!
I know of a guy who thought that doe urine was nose spray so he shot a squirt of it up his nose....

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf: :rotf: wow :applause: :applause: that was funny, the whole house is rolling about this.

Back in the day when i was a wee(pardon the pun) lad we had these stickers with a yucky face on all the cleaning products and was told dont try to drink the colored liquids.... this one needed that sticker

 

[mckutzy]

as per the op...

= :thumbsup:

=:bull: