Powders used in Lyman's 1st Edition BP Handbook

[roundball]

Did the G-O and C&H black powders that were used in Lyman's tests conducted a good 35+ years ago have the same burn rates and pressure curves as today's black powder such as Goex, Kik, etc?

 

[jtmattison]

Good question.
I bet they are about the same since GO bought out DuPont. I'm sure their process hasn't really changed in a very long time.

HD

 

[Landngroove]

Not sure of the burn rates, and pressure, but my question is, did Goex aquire the G-O, Gearhart-Owens powder company? I have fairly recent Cabela's, and Investarm owner's manuals for thier MLS, and both refer to G-O black powder, in thier loading tables.

 

[Rebel]

G O that is just short for Good 'Ol black powder. :grin:

 

[FTW]

Gearhart
Owen
EXplosives
Formerly of Moosic,PA now of Minden,LA
Before that it was Dupont.It's pretty much the same now as it was then.Curtis&Harvey was from Scotland I think.

 

G-O (Gearhart-Owens) is GOEX. DuPont was DuPont. I have used both. C&H I never used so I cannot comment on it. DuPont had the reputation of making the best powder in the world. It was very good, but to be honest (and not very scientific), I cannot 'see' alot of difference between DuPont and the new GOEX in my rifles. Now, Elephant is another story--terrible stuff to me--at least the batches I tried. Some folks love it, though. GOEX is now made just a few miles from where I live, but unfortunately does not have a retail store at the plant, and powder is as hard to find around here as anywhere else....

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I'm quoting Bill Knight from mermory, but Curtis & Harvey used to be the standard to which other powders were compared - a sporting-grade powder at least as good as the current Swiss. Then, around 1970, they lost their supply of Glossy Buckthorn Alder charcoal and had to go to commercial charcoal and the quality of the powder dropped to to something like a bad lot of the early Elephant. They stopped producing B.P. about three years later. I have some of that musket-grade powder in 2F. I've only done limited penetration testing in my fowler, but it seems to give velocities something like GOEX 1F.

It was this vintage of C&H that was used in the Lyman 1st edition, IIRC.

Hope this helps,
Joel

 

[faw3]

dont know if this is right, but dad (FW) has a can of Curtis & Harvey #6 its from 1890 something, and it has on label made in Un Kingdom.He thought they stopped makeing it way back 80 to 90 years ago he'll be intrested to hear this. blaine ( for dad while hes in hospital)

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Curtis & Harvey #6 was THE GOOD STUFF for rifles for years, IIRC.

Joel