Pyrodex...will somebody please explain?

[Pete Gaimari]

IMO if cost meant anything to us, we'd shoot smokeless centerfires because the ammo is much cheaper.

The powder i shoot out of my smokepole of expensive but damn well worth it! Capper knows what that stuff is i shoot :blah:

I do, but you're a confused youngster.

Probably that low altitude where you live. :slap:

 

[tg]

The one thing I have not seen mentioned is the fact that if pyro had not been greeted with open arms back when and folks had stuck to their guns so to speak that the availability of real BP may well have been maintained at levels closer to what it was in the past,but as the vast numbers went to the "easy" route as it was touted in advertizing less BP was sold and fewer could justify stocking, it just another case of a negative effect of reinventing the world of MLing alongwith modrnizing the guns and accesories, many who do not understand the adverse feeling toward substitures were not even shooting mL's when the issue could ave been avoided by a unified tradional based consumer base, it;'s to late now as with many other things....doesn't Captain Kirk shoot a Phaser anyway, the only problem he should have is if "The Dilithium Cahrystals are drained sir an' I cannoh charge 'em in tame".

 

[CaptainKirk]

Look...if I told you once, I've told you a thousand times... :nono:
We are not allowed to discuss them "phaser-type firearms" on a traditional BP forum. :shake:
Dilithium crystals either.
Where the heck are the Mods when you need 'em? :cursing:
And, if you will enter the Wayback Machine with me, Sherman, we will go back to the beginning of this thread and discover that...(gasp!)...the original precept was that when I began shooting REAL BP WAS UNAVAILABLE in my locale and the internet non-existent. You shot Pyrodex, drove a hundred miles to buy powder or just stayed home.
I do agree with Capper that buying it by the pound really makes little difference out of a couple of bucks one way or the other.
Things are much different today.

 

[Zonie]

"...Where the heck are the Mods when you need 'em? :cursing: "

Vee are vaching. :grin:

 

[tg]

Your locale may have been the exception in the early 70's there were many places around this semi rural area to buy BP,more in the metero area the point still stands that the acceptance of what was touted as easier/safer yadda yadda helped reduce the usage and availability of BP, some former gunshop/supply store owners have confirmed this when talking about the substitutes with me.I really do not dislike the substitutes more like a distaste those who brought it into the world to fix a non existant problem. and helped cause the demise of the real stuff, it was plain from the hype that this was the goal.

 

[Josh Smith]

IMO if cost meant anything to us, we'd shoot smokeless centerfires because the ammo is much cheaper.

The powder i shoot out of my smokepole of expensive but damn well worth it! Capper knows what that stuff is i shoot :blah:

Wait... how do you get that shooting a muzzleloader is expensive?

If you buy everything:

Hornady round ball: $13/100

Powder: We'll say $30/lb, for the sake of argument.

Caps: $7/100, again, for the sake of argument.

So, one shot from a .50 is

70gns powder = 30 cents

1 round ball = 13 cents

1 cap = 7 cents

Total per shot = 50 cents.

Now, for me, my expenses are thus:

70gns black powder (2Fg Goex) = 20 cents

1 round ball = negligible, couple cents; cast them myself.

Cap = 6 cents (I did some bargain hunting and got to be friends with store owners).

I cut your cost about in half.

I'm not including the cost of patches or lube as I make my own and the cost is likewise to the ball negligible. I do not know how much ya'll pay for prelubed patches.

Now, 100 rounds of CCI Mini-Mag rimfire cost about $7 last I looked. That puts the cost per shot at 7 cents. However, in two minutes with my target rifle/squirrel sniper, I burn through five. This is slow, but necessary when waiting for the right shots.

So, in two minutes' slow fire with a .22, I burn 35 cents. In that same amount of time, I can properly load, aim, and fire a muzzleloader, at about a quarter per shot.

I'm actually saving 10 cents every two minutes using a muzzleloader over a .22 Long Rifle!

Now, the cheapest surplus ammo I've seen was $5/20 for 7.62x54r. That's 25 cents apiece. In a Mosin-Nagant rifle, I can burn through five well-sighted rounds in a minute. That's $2.50 every two minutes.

From my perspective, a muzzleloader is the least expensive to shoot. :thumbsup:

Josh

P.S. Please forgive the modern rifle references. I felt they were necessary to mention to illustrate cost per shot-time compared to a sidelock muzzleloader, which is the basis of my argument. J.S.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

He's talking about something else Josh.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Some dont know my shooting habits :haha:

On a slow day a pound of powder lasts me a week. Thank goodness for snow storms because thats really what saved me $$.

 

[Josh Smith]

Some dont know my shooting habits :haha:

On a slow day a pound of powder lasts me a week. Thank goodness for snow storms because thats really what saved me $$.

So about 100 rounds per week?

I can totally see that now that I think about it.

Got my Bobcat ML during warmer weather, but had ignition problems. There was a place for a bridle, bet no bridle! I rigged something up and it now lives with a kid whom I taught to shoot it.

I acquired my other two muzzies on a night it was spittin' snow up near the MI border and had ice forming on my Blazer's radio antenna; and on a clear, cool day right around Thanksgiving, for the Kentucky and New Englander, respectively.

I shoot in my back "yard" so yeah, if I switch concentration from .22 to smokpole, heck, just might go throw that much meownself!

Do I wanna know what ol' Cap's talkin' 'bout? :grin:

Josh

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I can easily burn a lb a week Josh.

Renegade .54 90 gr loads. Target and hunting coyote.

CAS Practice:
Two 1860 Colts C&B
Winchester 66 44-40 BP cartridge
DB 12 ga shotgun BP

 

[Josh Smith]

Gotcha'.

I don't do CAS, but I can see myself doing a lot of muzzleloader shooting this summer.

Josh

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Just got back from shooting 3/4 lb.

It's easy. :idunno:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

yeah it is easy, especially once you get into the upper 110 grain loads.