Pyrodex Question

[ejh69]

I would like to hear your ideas about pydrodex loose powder, pyrodex pellets and triple 7 pellets. Which one might be better, expected shelf life, is one better burning, etc.? Thanks

[fishhawk]

Mine is I will never use any of them. If you can use true BP

[OverMax]

Loose is always better. Because it can be measure [+] more or less [-] so to give your weapon its best groupings & accuracy. But loose powder is not as convenient as pellet. With pellet use as far as tight or not groupings the trade off is "you make do with what you see." Don't know about their shelf life. Aren't they all made by the same company?

[Maven]

I've used Pyrodex RS & P (loose powder) for 20+ years in my cap locks and inline because real BP is not available locally. In fact, I'm still using Pyro. P, which is at least 10 yrs. old, in my [BP] revolvers with no problems to speak of. Ditto for the RS. I.e., accuracy is the same as with BP, but I can't vouch for velocity as I've not chronographed either granulation against FFFg or FFg. However, regardless of what Hodgdon claims, you DO have to swab your bore, perhaps every other shot, if you use conical CB's (Maxi-Balls, REAL's, etc.); and it is more corrosive than BP. That means you have to make sure your bbl. is pristine and treated with your favorite rust preventative before you store the piece. As I also have flintlock guns, I've bitten the bullet and paid the Hazmat & shipping fees and ordered a case of BP and will not replace the Pyro. P once it's gone. Can't help you with the pellets, though as I've never used them.

[mooman76]

I also have used Pyrodex loose RS and P with no problems, some well over ten years old. The pellets can be a little harder to ignite, you are stuck with whatever amount(grains) you buy and usually are less accurate. I have 777 but have not used it yet so I really can't comment. The pellets are better suited for convenience when hunting and probably those unmentionable guns.

[johnson1942]

you will find that blackpowder is consistantly very very accurate. last forever and is not as corrosive as pyrodex. pyrodex is spongy. you have to very carefull on how much pressure you seat your bullet on the pyrodex or it will affect the accracy. if you can put a 209 primer set up on your rifle then black horn 209 powder is very good also. cleanest of them all and very accurate.

[Theditchman]

Hodgdon also make Pyrodex Select which I have found as good as BH 209 and a lot cheaper

[John Boy]

I don't shoot it be look at at Blackhorn 209 ... http://www.blackhorn209.com/specs/comparison/

[slumlord44]

I have been using Pyrodex and then Triple Seven for many years. Triple Seven is hotter than Pyrodex and black powder so you have to us less for the same velocity. 70% as I recall but check the instructions on the container to be sure. I have actually found it to be less corrosive than black but it is still corrosive so you have to be careful. I have used some very old Pyrodex in the paper containers and it seemed to work fine. Killed a lot of deer with both Pyrodex and now with Triple Seven.

[fouronesix]

Make no mistake, the fouling of most common subs are as corrosive if not more so than real BP. Some have a fairly short shelf life- if not chemically then hygroscopically. BP has a shelf life of at least a few hundred years. Some subs tend to clump up into a very hard mass after the slightest exposure to humidity. Pyrodex however does not seem to suffer that problem while some others do. Most all subs are harder to ignite than BP with some much harder to ignite than BP. Many leave very hard fouling and require, by necessity, swabbing between shots for loading if the load is a snug fit. Pelletized subs are usually harder to ignite than if in granular form. Almost all subs are more expensive than real BP but some subs like Pyrodex are usually available at wallyworld. But hey, what's not to like about subs!

[Bent Ramrod]

Pyrodex was formulated to have a higher ignition temperature than black powder so it could be shipped and stored as a "flammable solid" like smokeless powders rather than the "explosive" classification that black powder had back in those days. Also added to the formula is a deterrent to fouling build up so multiple shots can be taken without swabbing or other fouling control. I've used Pyrodex Ctg, RS and P and they've always performed well for me in muzzleloaders, cap & ball pistols and cartridge guns, except for the most critical target shooting at distances. I've never noticed that Pyrodex or Triple 7 needs more extensive or more thorough cleaning than black powder, or any other substitute for that matter. I always use water based cleaners for all such propellants anyway.

I've also used Triple 7 in muzzleloaders, cap & ball pistols and cartridge guns. In the latter, it works especially well in very small calibers like the .32 Long, giving some of the slugging up effect of black powder on the boolit without crudding the barrel up for following shots.

I've never used any pellets. They don't show up often around here and when they do they're never in the right caliber.

Triple 7 is kind of pricey, but not much worse than Swiss black powder. Pyrodex, last time I looked, was no more expensive than GOEX black powder. When you start talking volume for volume per shot, the price differential becomes pointlessly small.

The only reason the substitutes can be called "inferior" to real black powder is that the "real" stuff has about 500 years more RTD&E work behind it than the substitutes do. I look forward to the day that their development finally catches up so this cruel and incessant beating of a thoroughly dead horse can cease.

[triggerhappy243]

If you are shooting a sidelock, pellets are more difficult to light off. I dont use them. I do use pyrodex and have never had a water absorption issue.... always went bang........... or boom, depending on what end of the rifle you are at. I also will thump the breech end of the barrel to shift the powder into the passway by the nipple. it does seem to eliminate the hangfire problem..... At least for me.

And I am very anal about cleaning this rifle. when in doubt do it twice.

[shredder]

I have used and tested them all. I currently use the holy black, but in many many past hunting seasons Pyrodex select was in the barrel. I always preferred loose because in my testing, in my rifle, at the range, pellets never gave me the accuracy I needed. Triple 7 is nice but again Pyrodex set the accuracy bar very high. IMR white hots are the only pellets that I would use as they actually do shoot very well in my rifle.

Pyrodex is known to have storage issues once open and exposed to air. I have seen this first hand and for me, I try to shoot up the can within 6 months after opening it. New hunting season, new can.

This whole thing is pretty subjective and I would bet my next paycheck that your results in your gun will be entirely different. IF you can manage it , get all the powders gathered and get out to the range. Take a trip for each powder if you can. That way you are not confusing results. I have found that loading one powder on another's residue can give you funky results (go figure!) Your particular rifle will likely respond to changes in priming as well so be sure to run the gamut with each owder. Try some 209, some MZ 209(lighter), and anything else your rifle can handle. I use a small rifle primer in a special 209 shaped "cup" that can be reloaded forever with a special little tool kit. They took muzzle loader accuracy to a new place for me. Check out this site prbullet.com

[Charlie U.]

I prefer loose Pyrodex over the pellets just because it lets me use specific loads for specific boolits.

As to shelf life. If you leave Pyrodex out it will absorb humidity and go bad. Under very humid conditions it will be turned into garbage within a few months. On the other hand if you keep your powder containers secure inside an air tight ammo can the shelf life is excellent. I have used Pyrodex from a bottle that had been first opened six years or more ago but was in perfect condition by having been sealed up in an ammo can.

[triggerhappy243]

I went shooting last month with my T/C 50 cal. renegade to try out some more of the LEE r.e.a.l. bullets. and low and behold I had an open can of pyrodex. been opened maybe 6 years and I hit what I was aiming at. But must mention 3 to 5 % humidity may have helped.... just to be fair. going to go out some more and do more experimenting.

[starmac]

I left (forgot about) pyrodex and some lubed boolits in some cheap speed loaders over 2 years and they fired fine. This was in New Mexico with very little humidity, but it seemed like an opened container would have lasted forever.

[dlbarr]

I was once interested in so-called smokeless BP substitutes and bought a couple different brands, pyrodex & triple 7. I found that, rather than being easier to clean up after, they were equally as difficult to clean and, if left to set for a day or two, far more corrosive than the real thing. On top of that, both of these brands had significant ignition problems in my percussion GM-barreled rifles. I finally decided the only propellant I'll ever use in my MLs is genuine BP.

Besides, it smells soooo goood!!

Never tried any of that stuff in pellet form, I can't imagine that I'd had better success with it than the powdered stuff anyway.

[Grapeshot]

I've shot Pyrodex on and off since it was introduced back in 1976. Since I had it pounded into me by my History Teacher to ALWAYS CLEAN your muzzle loader after you shoot it with hot soapy water, I never had a corrosion problem. However, When I tried to use Pyrodex in my Shiloh Sharp's 1863 Carbine, I had a lot of failure to fire problems. I had to use 10 grains of 4Fg against the end of my paper cartridges as a primer charge to set the Pyrodex off. It sure works in my .45-70 and .45-60 rifles.

[Lead Fred]

Its all c rap, dont work in the flinter, nor the BPCR, so got no use for it.
Thats why I keep 10lbs of holy black in the sump most of the time

[oldred]

Its all c rap, dont work in the flinter, nor the BPCR, so got no use for it.
Thats why I keep 10lbs of holy black in the sump most of the time

That's the way it is for me also, just my choice, IMHO the subs are a solution for a problem that doesn't exist.