Report on Pow-Ex

[Tonibaruch]

I bought a can of fffg, I wanted the ffg but only the fffg was available, so I remain stuck with the granulation equivalent to the Swiss N°2 which I shot until now. All in all a good thing for comparison.

Visual impression: extremely good. Shiny black, I couldn't distinguish (based on memory) from the swiss.

Weight impression: my volume measures produce doses much lighter in weight than they are supposed to be. I don't remember how swiss powder performs on this side. I dosed for volume the same doses I'm used with the swiss, though.

Shooting impression: once I discarded my new experiments with patches lubed with beeswax+oliveoil (impression is they are TOO lubed and the effect is like shooting with a smoothbore) and came back to the old 0.445 ball, with 0.25mm patch lubed with ballistol+water, and felt again the right resistance at loading, balls flew at the right points. Recoil is softer than with the Swiss, but the (possible) loss in power doesn't impact on accuracy. I made some very good targets at the end, both with round ball and 310g minie (still to find the right load here). On round ball at 50meters I shoot very light loads, 30g or slightly less. With more powder my fast twist start to lose accuracy, and I save on the shoulder pain. With minie I am starting with 40-45 g. Let's see in the next sessions if more powder will produce even better accuracy.

Nose impression: pow-ex smoke seems not to have the strong sulfure smell of Swiss, which has a very strong smoke which takes at the throat. At least it did not have that strenght today, in a very humid rainy day. I also made the odd thing to blow in the nipple at a certain point. When happened with Swiss i remained disgusted for one entire day, today I survived. Maybe Pow-ex really have less sulfure taste...

Flames impression: with swiss I didn't ever noticed the fly of burning debris I noticed today. The lighting condition was quite new, though. Very few light in a very dark rainy day, could be this but I am inclined to think that Pow-ex has this richness of burning debris, more than Swiss.

All in all, if this really is a powder close to Goex (on the label it says it is "american style powder"), I think you guys on the other side of the pond are shooting a very good powder, maybe a tad softer than the Swiss which is the best seller here, a bit different but pleasant to shoot and with an high perceived quality.

My two eurocents

 

[roundball]

Sounds like a good report...be interesting to see if it starts being carried here in the US

 

[Zonie]

Tonibaruch
Very interesting report.

As you may have read on this forum, when shooting Swiss powder many of us here have found that we need to reduce the Swiss powder load about 15 percent from the GOEX powder load to hit the same point on a target at 50 yards. This applies when using the same equivalent granulation size.
Simply put, Swiss powder is about 15 percent more powerful than GOEX.

Was there an increase in fouling in the bore compared with the Swiss powder after the shots?
Swiss does seem to burn cleaner than GOEX and if your Pow-Ex is similar to GOEX I would expect to see an increase.

 

[Tonibaruch]

Tonibaruch
Very interesting report.

As you may have read on this forum, when shooting Swiss powder many of us here have found that we need to reduce the Swiss powder load about 15 percent from the GOEX powder load to hit the same point on a target at 50 yards. This applies when using the same equivalent granulation size.
Simply put, Swiss powder is about 15 percent more powerful than GOEX.

With the new patch lube I was hitting all across the board, so I am not sure about this. But when I started to shoot minies I had to increase elevation and the "shoulder impression" is less kicky, so I am rather sure this powder lacks some power in front to the Swiss but I don't know exactly how much. First time I put my hands again on the Swiss I'll do a precise comparison, grain by grain.

Was there an increase in fouling in the bore compared with the Swiss powder after the shots?
Swiss does seem to burn cleaner than GOEX and if your Pow-Ex is similar to GOEX I would expect to see an increase.

I shot without being forced to clean due barrel fowling. But I cleaned once in a while and nothing particularly nasty seemed to happen. I would not say based on yesterday shots that Pow-ex it is dirtier than Swiss, sure it has a less unpleasant sulfure smell.

 

[StevePrice2]

Antonio,

Interesting report about the POW-EX powder. Thanks. I'll check at my supplier next week and see if they carry it yet. I shoot GOEX only right now.

by the way I was born in Vicenza and lived there and in Verona a few years when I was younger. Lots of good memories.

ciao!

 

[Tonibaruch]

by the way I was born in Vicenza and lived there and in Verona a few years when I was younger. Lots of good memories.

ciao!

So I guess some of your parents had some business in NATO, right? If you find Pow-Ex I sure would be curious to see how it compares with the original Goex. Reading this group I got curious to put my hand on the american powder of choice, if Pow-ex is similar (as advertised) I maybe can steal some "secret recipe" for the ultimate load, or try to translate it in Swiss :grin:

BTW, traditional muzzleloading is great.
Too much fun!

Tb

 

[Dphar]

Shooting minies and conicals with FFFG is a bad idea and may be why you are having accuracy problems.

Dan

 

[hawkeye2]

I have shot in N-SSA competition for 25 years and know a lot of people who shoot 3f behind minies of all styles and weights in barrels of different twists with excelent results. They claim less fouling and faster expansion of the skirt with 3f verses 2f. I have worked up loads with 3f and seen no shortcomings but always went back to 2f.