I was re-stocking my supply of blackpowder last week when I noticed Grafs had something new. Product listed was Goex Express black powder! I instantly thought to myself that this was going to be Goex's answer to Swiss blackpowder. Here is the ad copy for Goex Express:
GOEX Express Black Powder is a high-performance, premium black powder made of a careful mix of the finest quality materials manufactured to rigorous and precise specifications for cleaner burning and softer fouling performance. Designed for competitive shooters, GOEX Express provides very high velocities for extreme accuracy at long distances with a low standard of deviation. GOEX Express Black Powder is available in Fg, FFg and FFFg and granulated to provide optimum performance in metallic cartridges and shotgun shells.
So I ordered up some Wano ffg, some Swiss ffg, AND some Goex Express ffg and fffg! It came in TODAY and I couldn't WAIT to try it so I got my stuff together and away to the range!
I figured I'd use the 'ol reliable Lyman Trade Rifle .54cal for a little test. I MAINLY wanted to see how Goex Express compared to Swiss in terms of velocity. So armed with the .54cal Trade Rifle and Swiss ffg, Wano ffg, and the Goex Express I started shooting..
I used Hornady .530 roundballs, Ballistol/H2O soaked T/C .015 patches. and CCI #11 caps thruout the test. Target was set up at 60yds as that's about as far as I can shoot accurately with open sights@ There were no ignition problems with any of the powders..
First up was of course Swiss ffg. My favorite load for this rifle is 85gr ffg Swiss so that's what I started out with. The only thing I did from a spotless/oiled gun was to fire off a cap and I loaded up. I shot 5 times, swabbing after the 3rd shot. The first shot was LOW and the other 4 were awesome.
There is no doubt that I could have put 10 shots thru that group. Muzzle velocity for this load TODAY was 1676fps...that's down a little from the last range outing with this combo but still a smoking velocity nevertheless...
So NEXT up I shot 85grs of both Wano ffg and Goex Express ffg, 5 shots each. I took pictures if the targets BUT suffice it to say that the groups were TERRIBLE! :shock: Just TERRIBLE....maybe this rifle likes highish velocities...but here are the velocities for all three powders, 85gr:
Swiss ffg- 1676fps
Wano ffg- 1375fps
Goex Express- 1438fps
So obviously NEITHER powder is close to Swiss when it comes to performance. I DID notice that the Goex Express did NOT seem to foul the barrel as much as the other two powders. So I decided to load up a charge that was 20% more than the 85gr. 20% more would be 17gr so I rounded it up to a powder charge increase of 20gr OR 105gr each of Wano and Goex Express to see where THAT velocity would be relative to Swiss..
Accuracy was much, MUCH better! VERY good accuracy with the 105gr loads! Muzzle velocity STILL didn't reach the same velocity as the 85gr ffg Swiss though. Here are the targets:
105gr Wano ffg
105gr Goex Express
Muzzle velocity 105grs:
Wano ffg- 1472fps
Goex Express ffg- 1610fps
So not even 105grs of Goex Express was the velocity equal of 85gr ffg Swiss. Now of course there IS price... Goex Express and Swiss are both $20.00 per pound and the Wano is $12.00 per pound. It is obvious that the Goex Express is the most expensive powder to shoot. BUT...Swiss is really about the same price per shot as Wano when using velocity equivalent loads...
GOEX Express Black Powder is a high-performance, premium black powder made of a careful mix of the finest quality materials manufactured to rigorous and precise specifications for cleaner burning and softer fouling performance. Designed for competitive shooters, GOEX Express provides very high velocities for extreme accuracy at long distances with a low standard of deviation. GOEX Express Black Powder is available in Fg, FFg and FFFg and granulated to provide optimum performance in metallic cartridges and shotgun shells.
So I ordered up some Wano ffg, some Swiss ffg, AND some Goex Express ffg and fffg! It came in TODAY and I couldn't WAIT to try it so I got my stuff together and away to the range!
I figured I'd use the 'ol reliable Lyman Trade Rifle .54cal for a little test. I MAINLY wanted to see how Goex Express compared to Swiss in terms of velocity. So armed with the .54cal Trade Rifle and Swiss ffg, Wano ffg, and the Goex Express I started shooting..
I used Hornady .530 roundballs, Ballistol/H2O soaked T/C .015 patches. and CCI #11 caps thruout the test. Target was set up at 60yds as that's about as far as I can shoot accurately with open sights@ There were no ignition problems with any of the powders..
First up was of course Swiss ffg. My favorite load for this rifle is 85gr ffg Swiss so that's what I started out with. The only thing I did from a spotless/oiled gun was to fire off a cap and I loaded up. I shot 5 times, swabbing after the 3rd shot. The first shot was LOW and the other 4 were awesome.
There is no doubt that I could have put 10 shots thru that group. Muzzle velocity for this load TODAY was 1676fps...that's down a little from the last range outing with this combo but still a smoking velocity nevertheless...
So NEXT up I shot 85grs of both Wano ffg and Goex Express ffg, 5 shots each. I took pictures if the targets BUT suffice it to say that the groups were TERRIBLE! :shock: Just TERRIBLE....maybe this rifle likes highish velocities...but here are the velocities for all three powders, 85gr:
Swiss ffg- 1676fps
Wano ffg- 1375fps
Goex Express- 1438fps
So obviously NEITHER powder is close to Swiss when it comes to performance. I DID notice that the Goex Express did NOT seem to foul the barrel as much as the other two powders. So I decided to load up a charge that was 20% more than the 85gr. 20% more would be 17gr so I rounded it up to a powder charge increase of 20gr OR 105gr each of Wano and Goex Express to see where THAT velocity would be relative to Swiss..
Accuracy was much, MUCH better! VERY good accuracy with the 105gr loads! Muzzle velocity STILL didn't reach the same velocity as the 85gr ffg Swiss though. Here are the targets:
105gr Wano ffg
105gr Goex Express
Muzzle velocity 105grs:
Wano ffg- 1472fps
Goex Express ffg- 1610fps
So not even 105grs of Goex Express was the velocity equal of 85gr ffg Swiss. Now of course there IS price... Goex Express and Swiss are both $20.00 per pound and the Wano is $12.00 per pound. It is obvious that the Goex Express is the most expensive powder to shoot. BUT...Swiss is really about the same price per shot as Wano when using velocity equivalent loads...