Pyrodex / Synthetic Black Powder

[capt_joe]

New to the forum. Sorry if I'm asking question that's been asked. I looked and couldn't find the answer so here we go....

Is it just me or have others found that pyrodex and or synthetic black powder losses it potience over time. It seems to me year old powder almost refuses to go off. I try vary hard to keep powder in a dry place in tightly sealed container.

What if anything can I do to give it a longer shelve life?

I know what most will say...... Shoot real Black Powder..... I plan to get real black powder soon but it seems hard to find.....

Thanks for everybody's comments and help.....

 

[fyrfyter43]

Another recent thread: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/237566/

Real BP is the best. Here's a list of GOEX distributors. http://www.goexpowder.com/distributors.html Contact the one closest to you...they should be able to tell you of any retailers near you that carry GOEX. Many of them also sell powder by mail-order, but most have at least a 5 lb. minimum. And a $22.50 haz-mat fee is charged in addition to shipping costs.

 

[MSW]

don't feel ashamed to shoot the synthetics... if that's all you can get while you await the real BP, so be it. i am at aloss to explain why the stuff won't ignite if kept dry: i am still working on some nearly twenty year old pyrodex which still goes off using standard caps. i don't know if it's lost power: not having a chronograph, i don't know if the ball is slower out of the muzzle than it used to be and since i'm just plinking, the soda cans don't seems to mind (or if they do, they don't mention it). try checking to ensure that your flash channel is really clear. after that, there are 'hot shot' caps you can try- i only shoot cap&ball revolver using percussion (all my other stuff is flint) but they are said to be the cat's meow when it comes to getting the hottest performance out of your caps.

good luck, and be patient until the 'real stuff' arrives.

 

[shmrck1]

Joe,
I don't see where you mention what you are
shooting. F/L or percussion?If F/L substitutes
are absolutely a :nono: in the pan.IMO
Another outlet for B/P is www.grafs.com
snake-eyes :thumbsup:

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Yeah the gov't really put the screws to black powder shooters. The storage requirements are so absurd that finding bp to buy by the pound is difficult.

I suggest getting affiliated with a shooting club of any sort. Even if you partner up with a smokeless cartridge reloader you can both save each other money on the haz-mat fees.

That said, I would try some of the other substitutes like 777 or that new one that claims to be non-corrosive - got a picture of a buffalo on the can. Pyrodex without a doubt is terribly hygroscopic & corrosive. In fact I would venture to say that if Pyrodex was never invented, in-lines would never have been invented either. In other words, in-lines were a cure for a problem that Pyrodex created - poor ignition.