Originally Posted by
yulzari
Cheap black powder is musket quality powder, better modern powder is of rifle powder quality. Swiss is the only major black powder of sporting quality. It is made with the same care and ingredients as old time sporting powder and in the same manner except for production improvements with roller pressing and machine corning. No graphite is used, despite which it is shiny and silvery in colour. The differences vary with the comparator but about 15% stronger than musket and 10% than rifle powder. It also differs from the other powders in having a higher potassium nitrate proportion which provides a lesser quantity of gas but at a higher temperature. The nett result is a higher expansion to propel the bullet and the higher temperature allows more of the fouling to be expelled from the barrel and not condense on the barrel wall.