A Dangerous Thought... (???)

[Old Ironsights]

If Trail Boss is used to simulate BP loadings by keeping the Powder Volume to Pressure ratios similar to that of FFF...

Wouldn't it work reasonably well/safely in a C&B gun? [smilie=1:

Not much chance of overloading somthing that fluffy compared to say... almost everything else. Just don't compress it...

[MtGun44]

I'd call Hodgdon and ask. They know what the pressures are compared to black, since
they make Pyrodex, so should be able to give you the straight story.

I don't think it was intended to relate to BP in any particular way, but to work well in
large volume pistol cases for very low power loads and avoid the possibility of a
double charge.

Bill

[jhrosier]

...
Wouldn't it work reasonably well/safely in a C&B gun? ...

No!

Trailboss will not do anything that real BP or one of the approved substitutes won't do better and safer.

Trailboss has a "funny" pressure curve and is not a good powder to experiment with.
It goes from dirty and inaccurate to dirty and not terribly accurate to flat out dangerous without much warning. Stay with published data.

I have had very good results with real BP in my 1860 Army and good results with Hodgdons triple seven in a couple of cartridge guns.


Jack

[mooman76]

Trail Boss is only made to come close. It does not duplicate BP or else it would be marketed for BP use. It closes some of the gap for cowboy shootin between smokeless and BP.

[Jaybird62]

Good advice on the caution about pressure curves. I use it frequently for subsonic loads in a .308. It does a good job of filling the case to prevent detonation.

[Lloyd Smale]

do tell anyone and id never give out the load but i used to occasionaly shoot unique out of my old army. Granted its a very stout black powder gun. Accuracy was never as good as black though. As a matter of fact the substitutes never did as well as real black.

[HWooldridge]

It's relatively easy to get straight BP to shoot accurately and cleaning up afterwards is just part of the fun - so I'd agree with everyone else and recommend not trying it.

[405]

I think the reason the CAS folks use it a lot in cartridge guns is that the exterior ballistics of cast bullets can be loaded to match BP loads with a very bulky smokeless powder. As others mentioned, it is so bulky it is usually impossible to double charge therefore a little safer in that regard. I've tried it in many different applications. I've found it is BEST suited to the highest expansion ratio cartridges like the 45ACP, 38-40, 44-40 and 38 SPL. Even in the 357 which has a little lower expansion ratio than the 38 SPL, Trailboss seems to lose its advantage. When looking at the camparative burn rate charts it is right up there in speed with Bullseye, 700X, etc. So, I don't see squirrely pressure curves when loading it but I do see that it is a FAST powder and shows similar sharp increases in pressure as the loads near max.... not unlike Bullseye or 700X. When loaded properly under cast bullets at BP ballistics/velocities in high expansion ratio cases it is superb. Contrary to intuition, the big fluffy fakes meter extremely well with repeatable accuracy. I've found it to be clean burning.

I too wouldn't load it in a C&B any more than I would load Bullseye or 700X in a C&B.

[StarMetal]

do tell anyone and id never give out the load but i used to occasionaly shoot unique out of my old army. Granted its a very stout black powder gun. Accuracy was never as good as black though. As a matter of fact the substitutes never did as well as real black.

I've shot Unique out of my Ruger Old Army. Some of my most accurate loads were with Pyrodex and would rival 44man's shooting. Now I use Triple 7 in it. Great accuracy and extreme velocity!

Joe