Good grief! Cabela’s up here wants $60.00 for a pound of Goex FFFg! Oh, pardon me - $59.95! Arent ya supposed to at least kiss a guy before ya do something like that to him? Sheesh! Gawd, I hate those corporate whores! Shopping around… I can get it for $39.00 lb… but then I gotta tack shipping onto that.
Options might be Pyrodex and Triple 7… $29.00/lb. But gee whiz… I bought my black powder guns because I want to shoot black powder just as our ancestors did. I love the old ways and reconnecting with them is about doing things the same way they did. I like the stink, the smoke and the grime! These cleaner burning ‘replica powders’ don’t cut the mustard!
When I got into this I originally regarded my Spaghetti Plains Rifle and my percussion pistol as toys… but then I began to see what could be done with them and started chewing through my supplies. It’s time to stock up again in a very volatile market these days.
I have about 5 pounds of the Holy Black, and 3 or 4 hundred caps. They are old, but should still be good. That's my fallback for when ammo and primers permanently dissapear - and if you don't think that is a goal of the left, I have news for you.
ReplyDeleteI am hearing that the real keeners in this sport are making their own powder and even the caps... but gawd... it looks like a royal PITA.
DeleteI will do what I gotta do I suppose.
Yeah; I used Pyrodex when I was on Kodiak because black powder was considered too dangerous to ship in. Aside from not being authentic, Pyrodex doesn't light off as easy as black powder does. Too many misfires... Of course, the high prices are all part of the game. If they can't legally rob you of your arms they'll make it too expensive to use them. THAT'S the California way...
ReplyDeleteI have heard that the substitutes don't like compression the way the Holy Black does, or at least according to Mike Belleviue over at Duelist's Den. I have alerted my spies on the rod and gun forums...
DeleteI haven't shot black powder, but I have been shooting Pyrodex in buffalo matches the past three years, for a .43 Spanish rolling block. Don't know if it's cleaner than black, but it definitely leaves a residue. I wipe the bore between shots, and they're definitely dirty. Brass needs to be cleaned the same as black, or it'll corrode in short order. I do know Pyrodex states to avoid more than 10% compression; I think too much compression breaks the particles down, resulting in higher burn rate and pressure. I haven't had any issues with misfires, although I'm using magnum rifle primers. Shooting a minimum of 360 rounds per year in the local matches, plus at least that in practice before supplies got scarce, so it's been pretty reliable. It's a lot easier to get than black around here.
ReplyDeleteMaking your own is totally doable. Check sites like fireworking.com, or youtube.
ReplyDelete