About to order some real black what should I get

[RobRed]

I’m new to traditional muzzleloading, I’ve been shooting modern online for a little while and want to get into both flint lock and side lock percussion rifle shooting

I don’t have any guns yet other than my in lines but I’m going to stock up on real black for my future self while I see it available.

What should I get? I assume 3f covers all of my bases (priming and main charge), should I also get some 4f for priming? Should I even bother with 2f?

I want to be good for a few years. Thanks

 

[eekjellander]

I’m new to traditional muzzleloading, I’ve been shooting modern online for a little while and want to get into both flint lock and side lock percussion rifle shooting

I don’t have any guns yet other than my in lines but I’m going to stock up on real black for my future self while I see it available.

What should I get? I assume 3f covers all of my bases (priming and main charge), should I also get some 4f for priming? Should I even bother with 2f?

I want to be good for a few years. Thanks

3 f is a great choice , I have OE 1 1/2 and 2F and 4F , can you guess what I use most ?, 3F bore/pan in everything in every Caliber I own flint /percussion and 3F shows your a lucky guesser!/Ed

 

[Bushfire]

Swiss, there’s a reason most competitive shooters use it. I just stocked up on Swiss to last me years.

What granulation is up to you. I’ve never used 3F, happy with 2F as a main charge and either 2F or 4F in the pan.

 

[deermanok]

I would recommend buying Swiss. It's more expensive but worth it.
3f is a good all round granulation. I use it for priming and main charge in my flintlock.
I also have 2F Swiss but don't use it that much.
You'll have to order a minimum of 4 pounds if you get it from Graf&Sons, so why not mix it up a bit. 2F and 3F. You might just end up with a gun that likes one better than the other.

 

[MrTom]

".... so why not mix it up a bit. 2F and 3F. You might just end up with a gun that likes one better than the other". - deermanok

I use 3f T7 in my Optima pistol and Accura v2 at the range. My Kodiac .45 cal doesn't like 3f T7 at all, but shoots great with 2f.

 

[user 31408]

The granulation depends on what caliber projectile you want to shoot and also a lot of rifles have their own "sweet spot" for granulation and amount of powder. I would purchase one can of FFG and one of FFFG and see which one your rifle is more accurate with. If you end up with one you don't like for accuracy you can always use it to prime with. Another thing to pay close attention to is patch thickness if your shooting round balls.

 

[RobRed]

The granulation depends on what caliber projectile you want to shoot and also a lot of rifles have their own "sweet spot" for granulation and amount of powder. I would purchase one can of FFG and one of FFFG and see which one your rifle is more accurate with. If you end up with one you don't like for accuracy you can always use it to prime with. Another thing to pay close attention to is patch thickness if your shooting round balls.

Unfortunately I need to order this, there is no local supply. I will be buying in bulk.

 

[user 31408]

Where are you located at sir? I live in Benton, Pa. and if your close you can come over and shoot some of my FFG and FFFG to compare for accuracy before you order some.

 

[RobRed]

Where are you located at sir? I live in Benton, Pa. and if your close you can come over and shoot some of my FFG and FFFG to compare for accuracy before you order some.

Wow so generous, thank you! This community is full of some great people.

I'm still shopping for a good flintlock. So I don't have a setup to test quite yet.

I figure with the way things like ammunition, powder, primers ect are becoming sometimes hard to get I should stock up on consumables when I can and worry about finding the right gun later.

There are millions of kit's along with new and old guns out there, meanwhile we are at the mercy of manufacturers for the consumables.

 

[Hanshi]

I sorta "stocked up" with Graf 3F powder a couple of years ago. It was the least costly powder I found and the quality is excellent. Then there is Swiss, of which I have just a little bit, it's 3F and my .32 loves it. I use 3F in everything from .32 through .62. 4F is great for pans and Swiss has a couple of even finer grain varieties. I also have a small stock of Goex 3F which is kind of a standard.

 

[smokepolehall]

If you are on a budget get Graf/Schuetzen powder its decent. Swiss is the top n price reflects it. I am saving up to get about 10 lbs in 3 F. I have Swiss in 4 F & Null B for pan charging.

 

[Ron Huff]

I use lots of different powders just to test them out. Depending on what gun you end up buying 3F is pretty universal and I have never had a gun that I could not get a good group using it. If you buy a flintlock I would not worry a whole lot about priming powder 3F works fine. I have about a pound of Swiss Null B and will probably never us it very fine grained and twice the price of a pound of 3F. Swiss is excellent powder but I ended up with a couple of pounds of the Caviar grained Swiss and did not care for it. Their standard grain 3F is what I will buy if Goex does not produce Olde Eynsford when they are back up and running.

 

[anonymouscowherd]

4F for priming is best but 3F works

4 or 3 for smaller calibers (45 or less ... ish), 3 or 2 for larger (up thru 58/28ga) and preferrably 2F for .62/20ga and bigger is the general thought but 3f work for me from 45 to 54 to 12ga

Grafs has the best price for their store brand which is made by Schutzen, and they have the lowest shipping and hazmat

 

[earlwb]

I would say to get whatever brand of real black you can get. 3f or 2f. 3f is usually for pistols but it works in rifles too and 2f is primarily for rifles but it still works in pistols though. Since you are new at it the different nuances each brand may have won’t make any difference to you.

 

[Half-Cocked]

I am certain there are people out here with way more experience than me. That said I chose 2F because I believe it is slightly more economical. BP is sold by the pound yet used by volume. Larger chunks to me mean less powder. I could be wrong and probably am wrong. Experimentation is in order. Measure 60 grain my volume of each and weigh them. 4F is easy to get take what ever powder you have and use a Morter and pestle.

 

[babstooge]

I’m new to traditional muzzleloading, I’ve been shooting modern online for a little while and want to get into both flint lock and side lock percussion rifle shooting

I don’t have any guns yet other than my in lines but I’m going to stock up on real black for my future self while I see it available.

What should I get? I assume 3f covers all of my bases (priming and main charge), should I also get some 4f for priming? Should I even bother with 2f?

I want to be good for a few years. Thanks

I was always told .50 cal up use ff,50 down fff ffff for the pan. however like @dearmanok said fff is the best all around powder. I also like Swiss I usually use 10%less of usual charge it's a hotter powder, scheutsen is also a good powder. I haven't tried the new Goex yet. Bruce

 

[smokepolehall]

What caliber/s do you plan of getting ? 3 F is smaller, so using volume measurements it will be faster in velocity than the same gr charge of 2 F. Bigger caliber/s may like 2 f better, its a try to see what it likes. What twist rate/s ? Deeper grooves denote better patching seal for prb, shallower depth on grooves shoots conicals n sabot better. Reason it grooves are easier to seal the gas in.

 

[Winter Hawk]

I'll second that the rifle determines what works best. In general (as has been said) .50 caliber and up like FFg, while the same and smaller like FFFg. I used to prime with FFFFg but found that when the humidity is high it becomes damp and won't light off. I switched to priming from the horn many years ago and haven't looked back.

 

[Bushfire]

contrqry to the naysayers Britsmoothy on the sister forum has had great success using 4F as the main charge for everything up to 12G