Powder measure question

[dwhunter]

Yup - that was what I meant with the "unless, of course .....".
My point was (especially for those who are new to Muzzleloading and unsure of weight vs volume) the general rule for muzzleloading is to measure charges by volume according to the recommendations provided by the manufacturer.
For more advanced shooters who want to get the tightest groups possible, weighing charges is the way to go.

Over and really out.

:yeah:

 

[tooldog]

anybody know why they download the 777 pellets? seems like i remember reading that they didnt want people using full 150 grain charges of loose 777 in muzzleloaders. in fact, if i remember correctly, hodgdon doesnt recommend using any more than two pellets - pyrodex OR 777 - in any muzzleloader. its the manufacturers of the rifles who say that 150 grain charges are acceptable

They made the 777 pellets the equivalent of Pryodex pellets so people could switch without blowing up an older ml. My old Knight USAK's max load is something like 110 gr (of BP or Pyrodex) . So two 777 pellets would be over the max load if they were not reduced. It also allows someone to switch from Pyrodex to 777 pellets and keeps similar performance.

Also they can charge even more for the convenience.

tooldog

 

[Underclocked]

That last sentence is probably the reality. Instead of $60/lb, T7 pellets can cost you $80/lb.

HODGDON TRIPLE SEVEN 5050 PELLETS (100) Yes $19.50

That's about the cheapest place I know of to buy pellets on a regular basis and that doesn't count the HAZMAT fee or shipping. T7 pellets in that size weigh what, about 30 grains? So you get ~3000 grains of powder (and sumpin added) for $19.50 ++.

7000?3000 = 2.3333

2.3333 ? $19.50++ = $45.50++ for a pound of pellets

Multiply your local cost for that same package of pellets by 2.333 and you'll have your rough cost per pound of T7.

The same places sells your choice of FFg or FFFg for $17.00/lb (again plus HAZMAT and shipping).

Can't see why Hodgdon is buying powder companies. :wink:

 

[n8dawg6]

anybody know why they download the 777 pellets? seems like i remember reading that they didnt want people using full 150 grain charges of loose 777 in muzzleloaders. in fact, if i remember correctly, hodgdon doesnt recommend using any more than two pellets - pyrodex OR 777 - in any muzzleloader. its the manufacturers of the rifles who say that 150 grain charges are acceptable

They made the 777 pellets the equivalent of Pryodex pellets so people could switch without blowing up an older ml. My old Knight USAK's max load is something like 110 gr (of BP or Pyrodex) . So two 777 pellets would be over the max load if they were not reduced. It also allows someone to switch from Pyrodex to 777 pellets and keeps similar performance.

Also they can charge even more for the convenience.

tooldog

course, if ya loaded 110 grains of loose t7 in there, that'd be over the max load too oh well, i guess they can always tell ya to reduce your loose powder charge, but cant exactly tell ya to use less than two pellets.

ive always kinda wondered though if the barrels on the new vs. old knights are really any stronger, or if they just decided that they could shoot 150 grains of powder in 'em instead of 120 without 'em blowing up. did green mountain actually make the barrel diameters thicker, or change the hardness? i could swear that my mk-85 has just as much or more barrel diameter than the disc elite. (course . . . id never shoot 150 grains of powder in either one! )

 

[fordfisher]

2.3333 ? $19.50++ = $45.50++ for a pound of pellets

Multiply your local cost for that same package of pellets by 2.333 and you'll have your rough cost per pound of T7.

The same places sells your choice of FFg or FFFg for $17.00/lb (again plus HAZMAT and shipping).

Can't see why Hodgdon is buying powder companies. :wink:

The way I sees it is that you get 50 shots out of 1 box of 50/50 pellets and you get the equivalent load and around 90 shots out of 1 pound, 7000 grains (weight) of loose fffg. If 1 lb of loose is cheaper than one box of pellets then pellets are costing you about double.
Nick papagiorgio said "Am I right, Am I right?" Thats a big difference when you fire your ML more than just at deer. :lol:

 

[MK85Shooter]

Dawg,

I wondered this same thing a while back when I was thinking about switching from #11 cap to the 209 conversion kit and from Pyro to T7 in my MK85. I sent an email to Knight Customer Service asking what the max load of loose T7 is in an MK85. The MK85 owners manual lists a max charge of 120 gr BP.

I assumed that they would tell me about 100 grains since T7 is apx 15% "hotter" then the equivalent volumetric charge of BP/ Pyro. They replied that I could go up to 120gr T7. Now if my math is correct that is the equivalent of ~ 141 gr of BP/Pyro.

That got me speculating that if at the time these guns were being produced, (prior to 209 primer ignition), that Knight may have determined in their testing that 120 gr BP/Pyro was the max charge that would consistantly ignite with the #11 caps. Perhaps this was the reason for the 120 gr max BP load rating for the MK85.

 

[schoolmaster]

Take your TC powder measure and set it on 80 grains to start with. Then move it to 85 and and shoot some groups at that charge. Then 90 etc until the gun starts to put them close together. This measure measures powder by volume. If you have no powder scales, it is not a problem. If you use the measure, set at 80 grains and then weigh that charge on a powder scale it will weigh quite a bit less then 80 grains. If you weigh out 80 grains of powder on a scale and set your powder measure on 80 grains and put the weighed charge in it, it will overflow with 777. You will get good results if you just use the measure.

 

[Hunt 4 Bucks]

2.3333 ? $19.50++ = $45.50++ for a pound of pellets

Multiply your local cost for that same package of pellets by 2.333 and you'll have your rough cost per pound of T7.

The same places sells your choice of FFg or FFFg for $17.00/lb (again plus HAZMAT and shipping).

Can't see why Hodgdon is buying powder companies. :wink:

The way I sees it is that you get 50 shots out of 1 box of 50/50 pellets and you get the equivalent load and around 90 shots out of 1 pound, 7000 grains (weight) of loose fffg. If 1 lb of loose is cheaper than one box of pellets then pellets are costing you about double.
Nick papagiorgio said "Am I right, Am I right?" Thats a big difference when you fire your ML more than just at deer. :lol:

Actually you would get 116 shots out of a pound of T7. Like underclocked said above it is a 1 to 2.333 ratio, pellets to loose.

So the price is even better for loose.