Question about powder

[Trooper]

Is triple 7 and pyrodex as corrosive as black powder? What are your thoughts?

 

[bisleyjohn]

They are all corrosive if you don’t clean. My experience? Both about equal.

 

[Trooper]

They are all corrosive if you don’t clean. My experience? Both about equal.

I was told a few years ago that pyrodex and 777 were not corrosive, I had my doubts as I have seen so many barrels that have been left to stand a week or more. They didn't look pretty. obviously the owners were not aware of the facts. I'm kind of OCD in cleaning my guns. 23 years in the army kind of does that to you...

 

[bang]

Don't even consider any bp powder non corrosive. Thuroghly clean immediately.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I understand 777 to be the lesser for corrosive residue but still hygroscopic. As soon as water absorbs any salts created from combustion we have a corrosive solution present.
My experience from using pyrodex for years is that it is slightly more aggressive in corrosive nature than black powder. Never tried 777.
Pyrodex is slightly harder to ignite than black too. Pyrodex does go a little further per pound.
I have never found black powder to be especially bad in its corrosive nature. It seems to be easily controlled via animal or vegetable fats. Pyrodex is more aggressive but can still be controlled.

 

[user 36911]

From all I read Pyrodex is much more corrosive than black powder. T7 less than BP. I've never found black powder to be corrosive. Clean at the end of the day and there's no problem.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Its not the powders that are corrosive, its the salts in the fouling that when it draws the water out of the air that the corrosion / rusting begins. Pyrodex has less of the sooty fouling that black powder generates, but Pyrodex fouling is fouling regardless of the quantity of the fouling. Treat all residue from firing your muzzle loader as corrosive and clean thoroughly after shooting. That way you don't need to worry about corrosion in your firearm.

 

[Walkingeagle]

Never shot T7 but have shot Pyrodex and real Black powder lots. I’ve one gun that loves Pyrodex P. All the others use Goex 2 or 3fg, depending on the gun itself.
Pyrodex does allow far more shots between wiping due to way softer to minimal fouling, black powder fouls the bore more and makes loading without wiping difficult. Black powder can be harder to find for us up here, and more expensive. Both must be cleaned the same way, same time at the end of the day. More/less corrosive is not the issue. Clean like your army training taught you. I think the tank shells were all black powder.
Walk

 

[Nameless Hunter]

When I used T7 years ago, I found it to leave a harder/crustier residue that was harder to remove than BP fouling. Never used Pyrodex.

 

[user 36911]

When I used T7 years ago, I found it to leave a harder/crustier residue that was harder to remove than BP fouling. Never used Pyrodex.

Yes, that's a crud ring. caused by T7 being a sugar based powder instead of use sulfur like bp and Pyro.

However, fouling is not corrosion.

 

[Trooper]

Never shot T7 but have shot Pyrodex and real Black powder lots. I’ve one gun that loves Pyrodex P. All the others use Goex 2 or 3fg, depending on the gun itself.
Pyrodex does allow far more shots between wiping due to way softer to minimal fouling, black powder fouls the bore more and makes loading without wiping difficult. Black powder can be harder to find for us up here, and more expensive. Both must be cleaned the same way, same time at the end of the day. More/less corrosive is not the issue. Clean like your army training taught you. I think the tank shells were all black powder.
Walk

The propellant in tank shells was cordite. Once the shell was fired, the air inside the tank turret stunk when that breech was opened. the fume extractor on the tank's barrel helped.

 

[Trooper]

My missus and I went out yesterday afternoon and we must have shot off close to 50 round balls each. we swabbed out our barrels with a squirt of windex on average every 4 or 5 shots with no issues. We came home, stripped the rifles apart then with the nipples removed, we stuck the breach into boiling water and scrubbed our barrels until the water came out clear at the muzzle. We drained the water from the barrels muzzles down, then dry swabbed the barrel bore. While the barrel was still quite hot, we then applied some wonder lube 1000 liberally to the inside and outside of those barrels. We checked the locks and cleaned the crud from the hammers then wiped them and the stocks down with bore butter, re assembled them and placed into storage. Am I missing anything?

 

[user 36911]

My missus and I went out yesterday afternoon and we must have shot off close to 50 round balls each. we swabbed out our barrels with a squirt of windex on average every 4 or 5 shots with no issues. We came home, stripped the rifles apart then with the nipples removed, we stuck the breach into boiling water and scrubbed our barrels until the water came out clear at the muzzle. We drained the water from the barrels muzzles down, then dry swabbed the barrel bore. While the barrel was still quite hot, we then applied some wonder lube 1000 liberally to the inside and outside of those barrels. We checked the locks and cleaned the crud from the hammers then wiped them and the stocks down with bore butter, re assembled them and placed into storage. Am I missing anything?

Yes, you did. Flushing won't always clean out the breech channel. The 2nd problem is the bore butter. You couldn't pay me enough to use it.

 

[Walkingeagle]

You’ll get a million opinions as to your cleaning regime, weed through them carefully as some will be downright rude! I see nothing wrong with what you are doing, and if you are satisfied with the results, that’s all that counts. Only change it if you need to, but it very closely matches mine. Only difference is I use bear oil rather than wonderlube or bore butter. Mink oil works great too.
Walk

 

[Walkingeagle]

Also I use the same hotwater with an old toothbrush to clean around the nipple area and lock hammer.
Walk

 

[user 36911]

You’ll get a million opinions as to your cleaning regime, weed through them carefully as some will be downright rude! I see nothing wrong with what you are doing, and if you are satisfied with the results, that’s all that counts. Only change it if you need to, but it very closely matches mine. Only difference is I use bear oil rather than wonderlube or bore butter. Mink oil works great too.
Walk

It's hard to clean the breech channel once it's carboned up. Better to start scrubbing it now. Bore butter isn't helping the situation.

Not rude. Just honest.

 

[Britsmoothy]

My missus and I went out yesterday afternoon and we must have shot off close to 50 round balls each. we swabbed out our barrels with a squirt of windex on average every 4 or 5 shots with no issues. We came home, stripped the rifles apart then with the nipples removed, we stuck the breach into boiling water and scrubbed our barrels until the water came out clear at the muzzle. We drained the water from the barrels muzzles down, then dry swabbed the barrel bore. While the barrel was still quite hot, we then applied some wonder lube 1000 liberally to the inside and outside of those barrels. We checked the locks and cleaned the crud from the hammers then wiped them and the stocks down with bore butter, re assembled them and placed into storage. Am I missing anything?

Pretty much what I do. I don't do anything special for any channels or patent type breaches. Water velocity via the pumping action is adequate enough to dissolve the salts and flush. Any black is just neutral carbon.

 

[user 36911]

You're forgetting what the caps deposit in the breech channel. It takes times but slowly you'll experience slow or mis-fires. Then it's hard to clean it out.

 

[Britsmoothy]

You're forgetting what the caps deposit in the breech channel. It takes times but slowly you'll experience slow or mis-fires. Then it's hard to clean it out.

I remove the nipples. All nice in there when I'm done

 

[user 36911]

Everybody removes the nipple. You can't see down the whole channel on all guns. A clean out screw helps to get in it and scrub. Also, letting a cleaner soak in the channel before flushing helps too. Just flushing will get you at some point.