TOW Powder Advice

[Marc Adamchek]

Last night, flipping the pages of the TOW catalog (yes, the PRINTED one) I saw something that struck me as odd. I can't remember what page it was on, but I was looking back and forth at powder flasks, nozzles shot bags and the like.

Anyway, they gave this advice: FFFg - for pistols
FFg - for rifles Fg - for shotguns

Does anyone here adhere to that line of thought?

 

[rabjr]

:haha: Nope..

 

[Bill Hall]

Just a generalization, and somewhat outdated. Here's my thoughts: 3f for pistols always works best (until someone's experience proves me wrong :redface: ) 2f or 3f in rifles, whichever works the best for that particular rifle. And I have never seen 1f used in shotguns, but I'm sure it would work. I used 2f back in the day when I used a muzzleloading shotgun. We shot 1f in cannons when I was part of a cannon crew. Bill

 

[Tom Compton]

Nope! Heard it that a way tho.

I use FF in barrels (rifles .32 and up, revolvers, pistols and shotguns) and FFFF in pans. Never owned anything smaller than a .32.
TC

 

[William O.]

IIRC Fg was for cannons? FFFg for .50 and smaller, FFg for .50 and larger. Personally I find that my 50 cal prefers 3f while my .54 likes 2f, but I can use 3f in it with nearly the same accuracy.

 

[hanshi]

Hmmmm... :hmm: To keep things simple I just use 3F for all rifle and smoothbore shooting except those instances where 2F is shown to work better. It's 4F for prime.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

How much faster in the pan is FFFF compared to FFF?

 

[Marc Adamchek]

I am in agreement with the members on this one. To tell you the truth I was really taken aback when I came across these "directions" in the TOW catalog.

 

[Zonie]

Thanks to our good friend Pletch who measures things like the speed of ignition in flintlocks we have this post by him: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/...d/254255/post/950817/hl//fromsearch/1/#950817

Ignoring the Null B powder and looking at the 4F powders speed is was 0.047 seconds. The 3Fg speed in the pan was 0.059 seconds.

Both powders speeds are faster than the human eye or mind can see or notice.

The difference being 0.012 seconds put into terms that folks can relate to takes a bit of playing.

A car traveling at 80 miles per hour will travel 1 foot 5 inches in that 0.012 second period of time.
A man running at 10 miles per hour will travel 2.11 inches in that 0.012 second period of time.

 

[MSW]

one of the things i like about Zonie is his unerring ability to throw the monkey wrench of common sense into an otherwise viable (and completely theoretical) tirade.

he's right: the implication being that we waste a lot of mental effort on an inconsequential thing.

I would recommend that you try different grades and see what your particular weapon likes best.

just one guy's free advice, and no doubt worth every penny!

 

[Dphar]

Last night, flipping the pages of the TOW catalog (yes, the PRINTED one) I saw something that struck me as odd. I can't remember what page it was on, but I was looking back and forth at powder flasks, nozzles shot bags and the like.

Anyway, they gave this advice: FFFg - for pistols
FFg - for rifles Fg - for shotguns

Does anyone here adhere to that line of thought?

F even in large bores like like a Brown Bess will require a lot of powder to make velocity compared to FF.
F is best in rifles using long bullets.
The reason for much of this stems from blowups. There were a rash of blowups back in the 70s that could not be explained. Invariably mass produced MLs, many American made. There was an influx of very cheap imports, something that has reoccurred in recent years. Poorly assembled breeches etc.
Poor thread fits in nipple seats.
So some think its "safer" to shoot coarse powder.
FFFF is twice as fast as FFF.
FFF is twice as fast as FF.
Etc.
Fine grained powder WILL increase breech pressure.
But FFF is not going to cause a failure in a properly made firearm made of SUITABLE MATERIALS.
But if you sell components that are KNOWN to be unsuitable then its "safer" to recommend slower powder.
I consider the FIREARM to be the deciding factor. If the rifle/shotgun performs adequately or performs best with one granulation or the other this is the deciding factor.

Dan

 

[poordevil]

I only use 3FFFg in everything from .44 to .69 Musket Rifled. I have bought nothing else since 1974.

P

 

[Joel/Calgary]

IIRC Fg was for cannons?

Fg is usually used in cannons today as it is the coarsest powder commonly available, but it is WAY finer than traditional cannon powder. There used to be a couple of sizes in between Fg and Cannon, for line-throwing guns and for whaling harpoon guns.

And I cannot recall who, but I recall a few folks have posted here about getting getting better patterns with Fg in their large-bore shotguns or fowlers.

Regards,
Joel

 

[texcl]

Yup, 1f seems to tighten patterns on some shotguns but does nothing on others, I know my old .62 fowler hated 1f but my original 12gax33cal. combo gun loves it out of the 12ga barrel. My next powder order I'm going to buy 1f, 1.5f and some 2f just so I have some around to test.

 

[William O.]

Interesting, so cannon powder was more like chunks than granules back then? :shake:
I know, I crack me up sometimes. But I really did learn something new, thanks for that info.

 

[Zonie]

GOEX still sells "CANNON POWDER". It is courser than 1F.

Here's a link http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=392603

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Hanshi, that's EXACTLY my routine as well.

 

[richard peterson]

Uncle Ned Roberts(The Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle)says that "rifles of 38 caliber and larger usually give the best accuracy with FG powder, while those of smaller bore do best with FFG" but allows that some rifles of 40 and 45 caliber shoot best with FFG. I'm going to give Goex FG a tryout in my Pedersoli .54 Hawken.

 

[David W.]

I wonder what powder he used? There used to be less potent powder on the market. Curtis & Harvey was one.