Tripple 7 Powder in Flintlock Rifle

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Directions on Tripple 7 and Pyrodex indicate these products can be used in flintlock rifle if shooter first loads 5 grains of black powder followed by remainder of load containing by either Tripple 7 or Pryrodex.

Have any flintlock shooters used this mixture with success or is there a noticeable delay in ignition or reduced accuracy? Please comment.

Also can black powder substitutes be used in the flash pan??

 

[Semisane]

It works, and there's no noticeable delay. But it's a pain in the butt and not worth doing unless you have a hard time getting black powder.

You can sometimes get Pyrodex P to ignite in the pan, but not on a very consistent basis. Pyrodex RS is even less consistent. Triple Seven hardly ever.

 

[wattlebuster]

I wouldnt even go there unless you are having a very hard time getting black powder. It will work though if you are. A flintlock an real black just go hand in hand

 

[azmntman]

Simply carry a mini flask (like for a revolver) with a 10 grain spout. A 3 second extra step but it works great. Never even tried to use synthetic in the pan. Pre charge of black powder at 5-10 grains will save you a bunch of BP and NO DELAY

 

[Wes/Tex]

got lots of delays and misfires trying and finally gave it up as a bad lot. Real black works every time and
we can all have it delivered to our front doors unless you live in one of the People's Republic...in that case run like hell!

 

[Darkgael]

You need BP in the pan. You need BP to duplex. If you can get BP to use for that, you can get it to use as your primary.

 

[Crewdawg445]

You need BP in the pan. You need BP to duplex. If you can get BP to use for that, you can get it to use as your primary.

:applause: Absolutely, why bother with pyrodex or the other? Nothing beats the real thing!

 

[Billnpatti]

If you own a flintlock and want to shoot it, you MUST have black powder...REAL black powder. The synthetics simply won't work in a flintlock. The problem is the ignition temperature of the synthetics is significantly higher than black powder. This makes it harder to ignite which makes it unworkable in a flintlock except, if you can get your hands on at least one pound of real black powder and use duplex loads as others have suggested. But you cannot use synthetics in the pan. :shake: The stuff simply won't ignite from a flint spark. :cursing: Your only hope in your pan is real black powder. Sorry to say, but nothing else works in your pan. The bottom line is that you MUST have some real black powder if you hope to shoot a flintlock. If you can't get your hands on real black powder at all, it is time to trade off your flintlock for a caplock. :hmm: They will shoot the synthetics reliably.

 

[mr.flintlock]

As an experiment, I dropped a 10gr charge of black powder in then topped it with 60gr of triple 7 and patched round ball and it worked fine and did not hang fire. I do not use this combination but just wanted to see if it would work. Unless you are having a difficult time finding black powder, I suggest that you stick with black powder only.

 

[Jim C]

In over 40 yrs of shooting BP I've never used anything but Goex. To me it's all part of the traditional/primitive thing. IMO the synthetics are nothing more than modern hogwash.

 

[Crewdawg445]

:applause: :applause: :applause:
Well said sir.

 

[Billnpatti]

Unfortunately, there are places where "modern hogwash" is all that is available and unless one is shooting a lot, having a pound or two of real black powder shipped to you and paying the HazMat fee makes it mighty expensive to shoot. I feel sorry for folks in that situation but I understand what they are up against.

I am extremely fortunate in not having to depend on synthetics because I have, what for me is, a lifetime supply of real black powder. Of course, at my age, a pound could be a lifetime suppply. :haha:

 

[Twisted_1in66]

As many have told you, real black powder is what you want to use in a flintlock. All of the imitation BP's have a flash point about 400° higher than black powder. That's why it's so hard to get them to light in a flintlock.

The duplex loads will work fine in the main charge because the black powder explodes with enough heat to light the imitation stuff. If you can at all do it, avoid the duplex loads. Honestly, flintlocks are tricky enough to get dialed in without the added complexity of varying load pressures by mixing BP and sythetics.

Also, if you are looking at Triple 7, that's expensive stuff. The thing that runs the real BP into that price range is paying the Hazmat charge to have it shipped to you. But the Hazmat charge isn't per pound, it's per shipment.

For instance if you order BP from Powder Inc (one of the online companies that will deliver it to you), it currently costs $25.50 per lb ordered in a 5-lb lot. If you order it in a 10-lb lot, the price per pound goes down to 20.05 and if you order in a 25-lb lot, price is down to just $16.20 per pound. It's a chunk of dough at once, but ordering a 10-lb lot will save you a bit and you won't run out for quite a while. Buying it in a 25-lb lot is much less expensive.

A lot of folks will go in together to place an order, pay for it upfront to the person placing the order, and then split it up between them when it arrives. That way no one has to pay for all 25-lbs at once and everyone gets the low price on the powder.

So, lots of ways to do it, but save yourself the headache of dealing with duplex loads and unpredictable misfires. Just use real Black Powder.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[Jim C]

Graf and Son will ship you one pound Goex, 5 pound, 10 lb, or 50lbs for $16lb. Hazmat is $28. I usually get 5 or 10 lbs at a time to help offset haz and shipping.

 

[TJK]

I'm sure you are not in an area with a Cabelas or a Bass Pro, but both carry black powder. It is more expensive than ordering say a case but you can get one can at a time.

Myself, I just can't sleep at night if I don't have at least a half a dozen cans waiting to go.

If you have any buddies that you shoot with just go in on a case with them. We do it all the time; 3 or 4 or even 2 guys splitting a case makes it pretty darn affordable. I've never understood what all the fuss is about. But then again I am lucky to have some shooting buddies, and not everyone is as lucky.

Bite the bag and order a half a case, the stuff won't go bad and you'll sleep better at night.

Rio