Please help me choose powder....

[Hatchet10]

Have been shooting Goex Pinnacle fff in my cap n ball 1858 and my KRB when shooting NEX 460 conicals with good results. Now that Goex discontinued Pinnacle Im thinking of going with eather Black Mag XP or Triple 7 powder. I would appreciated your opinions/suggestions. I do shoot Triple 7 pellets in my KRB with sabots but have never tried it in powder form. Although Im not crazy about the cost of Black Mag I do like its reputation for low corrosiveness and ease of cleaning. Ofcourse I would consider BH209 if I didn't have the KRB....

 

[cayuga]

There is always American Pioneer Powder 3f for the cap and ball revolver.

As for the rifle I would get some loose Triple Seven 2f powder and try that. I think it would work real good. Also Pyrodex RS while dirty, is a very consistent powder. And normally cheaper then Triple Seven.

 

[Hatchet10]

Thanks Cayuga, but I would just buy Triple 7 fff and use it for both pistols and rifle in that case. I know about American Pioneer and though It may appear as a good choice with similar qualities to Pinnacle I still seem to have heard just about as many positive as negative reviews of it and so I don't really know....

 

[cayuga]

The triple seven 3f should work fine in both.. but you might want to cut your charge back a little in the revolver. Triple Seven is 15% stronger then Pinnacle.

 

[Lee 9]

While T7 is a long way from the best it does have the advantage of being easy to get; the history of Black Mag is that most of the time you can not get it the new XP is actually a better powder if you could depend on there being some available when you need it. Lee

 

[sabotloader]

Hatchet10

Might want to read Spitpatch's report on the KP1 - if that breech plug will work in a KRB - might be something you to try to get...

 

[OptimaAndy]

i have beeen using T7 and pyro but recently found somae blackmag3 and thats what i am going to be using. The dealer seems to have an "IN" with MDM so have the BM3 or BMXP availible should not be an issue.

The BM3 leaves no mess and you don't have to swab between shots and here is a little bonus that i hadn't mentioned in my own thread is that there is more smoke with the BM3 than with T7 or pyro.

 

[wildhobbybobby]

I use Gen Yoo Wine Goex Blackpowder in both my cap and ball Ruger revolver and my iron-sighted KRB with the No Excuses 495 grain and am very happy with the results.

Instant ignition and fine accuracy in both guns, and it makes me feel oh, so authentic to be using the real stuff. I save the BH209 for the scoped rifles.

I bought a case of 25 pounds online a couple of months back for only $12.95 a pound. You can mix and match granulations in a case, so I got 2F, 3F and 4F (for a flintlock) in the same case. You could get by with 3F for both of your guns.

 

[big6x6]

Have been shooting Goex Pinnacle fff in my cap n ball 1858 and my KRB when shooting NEX 460 conicals with good results.

Several ways to go here.... For one...Shockey's Gold is about the same as Pinnacle if not exactly THE same. PERSONALLY...I'd probably go to Wano/Grafs or Swiss blackpowder.. Wano is cheap but Swiss offers better velocity..

 

[Hatchet10]

Thanks guys, you've all been very helpfull. As it was suggested earlier, perhaps I should take a second look at AP Shockey's Gold in spite of my earlier reservations regarding its quality....

 

[Mark whiz]

I really prefer true black in my 1858 Rem - it loads the most consistantly for me and just makes lots of smoke. But I shoot a lot more 777 in it - because it's easy to get and I use it in my rifle too.


Here is some Chrony data I got on my pistol shooting .454 round balls:
30gr BlackMag 3 - 810fps
30gr 3fg 777 - 901fps
30gr Pyro P Pellets - 1009fps
30gr 3fg Goex black - 613fps

BTW, Black Mag gave the worst extreme spread between fastest and slowest shots and 777 gave the best, followed by Goex, then the Pyro pellets - with Black Mag dragging up the rear with a spread over twice as high as 777.

I've since picked up a bottle of 3fg American Pioneer to sample (even though I have had major issues with their 2fg dying quickly on me) - just haven't had the chance yet to do so.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Swiss...

I've been a Triple 7 shooter for several years now, but Swiss black has practically weaned me off it. Great velocities and extremely consistent too. Between shot swabbing is no more difficult than T7.