Trent: If you use an OP wad between the powder and your PRB, there is very little difference in the residue produced by both FFg and FFFg powders. FFg is a hotter powder, so you are looking at higher chamber pressures, a sharper " crack", and about 10% more velocity for the same amount of powder.
Using the OP wad seems to increase the resistance in the barrel for both powders, but has the greatest affect on the FFg, when comparing performance with and without the OP wad, and the same charge of powder. I find the OP wad is even more helpful in my flintlock, leaving me much less residue, and me unable to tell the difference between the size of the residue from FFg and FFFg powders.
I recommend using FFFg in percussion guns, because you can compact FFFg powder better, and compacted powder gives a smaller SDV out of a percussion gun.
In Flinters, I recommend using FFg powder. The larger granules are less likely to blow out the vent hole when the charge is loaded; you will get better velocity and a lower SDV using FFg that is NOT COMPACTED in a flintlock, and ignition of the main charge is aided by the presense of more air between the granule. With the larger size Granule, FFg gets the nod over the FFFg powder size.
When loading a flinter, turn the rifle to one side so that the powder slides down the inside of the barrel. That way the powder does not compact from the drop. When you load the OP wad, just push it down firmly on the powder. Then, load the patch round ball so it just touches the OP wad. Don't try to compress the PRB, OP Wad, and powder.
When loading a percussion gun, you WANT the powder to drop free of the sides of the barrel to the bottom. The drop helps to compact the powder better than all the pressure you can put on the ramrod after the powder is down there. That long barrel becomes its own " Drop Tube" when held vertically while pouring down the powder charge. USE IT! Then run the OP wad down onto the powder, again, just firmly, The powder will already be compacted as much as it can. Then load the PRB down firmly against the OP wad. Don't distort the round shape of that ball by leaning on the RR, or, God Forbid, " Bouncing the ramrod off the lead ball.
If you screen your FFg powder to get rid of clinkers( large lumps of carbon, or lumps of powder) and remove the " fines", which burn much faster, and play hobs with your SDV, you will find that you get consistently good velocity, and better groups shooting that FFg powder in your flinters. Only when you get down to the small caliber bores will FFFg powder work better in a flinter than FFg, provided it is not compacted. In a percussion gun, in any caliber, I have to give the nod to FFFg powder, for the reasons stated above.
This, BTW, was a very hard, and long, lesson for me to learn as I switched from shooting a percussion rifle, to shooting flintlocks. I didn't want to believe what my eyes were telling me, and it took using a chronograph to convince me I was "wrong". Then, just to verify my results, I asked my brother to use his chronograph and his gun to check my findings. We had one of those, " I'll be one-eyed mule" kind of laughs over that. :blah: :hmm: :surrender: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:
