Pyrodex RS

[mroliver77]

I bought a bunch of Pyrodex RS on clearance from one of the chain stores last year. It was too cheap to pass up and the world was very scary place for a handloader. Anyhow I dont shoot very much ML and would like to use this stuff in my 45-70 roller or 38-55 Marlin. Maybe a revolver or two . The label says to use as 2f black by volume. Question, should it be loaded like black with some compression? What lube do you all use? I have read it is hard to ignite, do I need mag primers? Wads, fillers or lube cookies? Any advice is appreciated.
Jay

[mnzrxer]

I've used the stuff in my ML, 30-30 Model 94, 45 Colt Vaquero and 44 Mag Vaquero and it performs just fine. What I didn't like about it was the residue left behind seems drier and harder than when I use BP and it was harder to clean out of the barrel. To be fair I was shooting plastic sabots in the ML and some of the difficulty cleaning that one may have been plastic residue. I used standard #10 caps on the ML and regular LP or LR primers as appropriate. I never used wads, fillers or lube cookies, but a good lube cookie may help keep the fouling softer.

[Captain*Kirk]

Hodgdon used to make a Pyrodex powder specifically for cartridge reloading....Pyrodex CTG. Not sure if they still do. I was always told NOT to use RS in cartridges.

[Don McDowell]

I haven't shot any Pyrodex for alot of years, but when it first came out it needed the snot compressed out of it to shoot worth a hoot in cartridges.
Use a good bp lube, and a fiber wad under the bullet is usually advisable.
Magnum primers probably aren't needed, but won't hurt to try them if you got them.
Just be sure to treat your guns and empty cartridges just as tho you had shot black in them as Pyrodex is every bit if not more so corrosive than black.

[NickSS]

I have used Pyrodex RS, that a friend gave me, in my 45-70 Shiloh Sharps. In fact I loaded 65 gr by volume (not weight) with a .030 card wad and a Lyman 405 gr FP bullet cast from Range scrap lead. The load was compressed about .3". I got some of the best groups I ever fired with that rifle with that load. I used my home made black powder lube. The thing I did not like was that the gun was much harder to clean than with straight black and when I looked at the rifle a few days later I had to clean it again as there seamed to be some more residue showing up. I only had a pound of the stuff and used it all on the one batch of ammo I loaded. I would use that load again if I had to but I prefer straight black powder.

[mnzrxer]

As Don McDowell noted I also thought the Pyrodex RS (and Triple Se7en for that matter) seemed to corrode the brass faster than just BP.

[mroliver77]

Thanks all y'all. I did find a small pamphlet in a Pyrodex kit(powder, bullets, caps, measure and patches in a plastic wrap) that I also bought in the clearance pile. It states that RS can be used for cartridge loads but no load data.Looks like I got around 20 lbs of this stuff so I will work on some loads with it.>literature states to drop fired cases in a water vinegar solution. I wonder if it leaves an alkali residue. I also have some Tripler 7 and Goex Pinnacle to play with. I made up a batch of "Emmerts" using el cheapo shortening that is part animal fat, cooking oil and beeswax. It works well in the muzzle loader so I will try in cartridge.I am so used to not having to clean shooting cast that the thought of it makes me cringe!;)
Thanks again.
Jay

[Taylor]

Hogdens has loads for RS and 777 for pistol and rifle.I have loaded 6 rounds of 30 grains volume(25 grains weight),just playing, haven't shot them yet.I'm still doing my research on this kind of thing.Doe's(I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong) anyone think that using a uniflow for pyrodex or 777 would work.
45 Colt:
30 grains by volume --777
37 grains by volume --RS

[mooman76]

Treat it just like regular BP and you'll be fine. It is not as sensitive as regular black but it ignites just fine for me with regular caps which aren't as hot as a rifle or pistol primer. Use a BP type lube.

[Captain*Kirk]

Hogdens has loads for RS and 777 for pistol and rifle.I have loaded 6 rounds of 30 grains volume(25 grains weight),just playing, haven't shot them yet.I'm still doing my research on this kind of thing.Doe's(I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong) anyone think that using a uniflow for pyrodex or 777 would work.
45 Colt:
30 grains by volume --777
37 grains by volume --RS

I would not use Pyrodex in a Uniflow. Not sure where I read that.....perhaps in the same place I read NEVER to use BP in a conventional powder measure, as it can detonate. Anyway, they measure weight rather than volume, so you won't be accurate anyway.

[Lead Fred]

I have used it in a 45-70, compressed loads for 300, 400, and 500 grain pills.

The clean up isnt fun. Use cases that you dont mind being stained the rest of their lives.

[Old Caster]

It is easy to clean Pyrodex out of cartridges. I put them in a glass stacked as tightly as I can and fill the glass with vinegar. Set up another glass with more in them and in about 7 minutes pour the vinegar in the second glass full of brass. You can do this three or four times with the same vinegar. Rinse off the brass and make a very soapy solution in a cup with any liquid soap. Take a battery drill with a bristle, not brass, brush and dip in the soap and clean the insides and rinse. Blow them dry inside and out if you have a compressor or shake them off and lay by a fan if you don't. Then just tumble them in standard corn cob and they will come out perfect. Easier than this is to use ceramic but it takes a bit to get set up with it. Do not leave the brass in the vinegar longer than ten minutes because it will get discolored and do all of the instructions above immediately following each other or you will have problems. Don't use vinegar in ceramic or to clean your rifle. The dirt will stick in the ceramic and the gun will rust and the bluing will come off or streak.

[montana_charlie]

I would not use Pyrodex in a Uniflow. Not sure where I read that.....perhaps in the same place I read NEVER to use BP in a conventional powder measure, as it can detonate. Anyway, they measure weight rather than volume, so you won't be accurate anyway.
I'd sure like to understand the science behind THAT statement...
CM

[northmn]

I have used RS in cartridges and it does work. The reciped for use with vinegar makes sense as Pyrodex is more corrosive than BP. I measured the stuff in my BP measures and got and average weight for the volume I used and did go by weight but 70 grains volume of BP is something like 58 grains of RS.

Northmn

[Maven]

"Don't use vinegar in ceramic or to clean your rifle. The dirt will stick in the ceramic and the gun will rust and the bluing will come off or streak."

Old Caster, I've been using a variant of Mike Venturino's BP cleaning solution (1 qt. of Windex with vinegar poured into a 1 gal. container + enough tap water to make 1 gal.) and have NEVER had so much as a speck of rust in my bbls. as a consequence (and I live in a humid area) and NO blueing has been damaged. In fact, I used it today to clean the bbl. of my flintlock rifle. It's a fast and effective cleaner.

[cajun shooter]

I use the Windex with Vinegar mix that is sold in stores to clean my cowboy shotgun. When I shoot the BP shotshells that I load with a plastic wad the moose milk will not do a good job. Spray the mix down the bbl and it all comes out the end. You might want to try using the stronger mix of vinegar and windex.

[omgb]

RS grade Pyrodex is perfectly fine for cartridge loading. Pyrodex does need to be copmpressed for maximum accuracy. A standard primer will suffice but I use Fed LR magnum simply out of habit. Cleaning is done with just plaine dish soap and hot water both for the cases and the barrel. I oil with either Rem oil or Ballistol, either are great. I also tumble cases but it's not required. BP lube must be used and a card wad under the bullet helps too.

Pyrodex is much less dense than BP so one must measure it by volume not weight. ANY read that ALL powder measures can be used; Hodgdon's has no restrictions as to type. I use an RCBS uUniflow or a Belding and Mull, both work great.

[Lead Fred]

Oh yeah forgot to mention.

RS is lighter than holy black. 70grs by volume of black weighs 52gr. GS weighs 47 grs.

I had to wad and fill them.

[Yance]

I'd sure like to understand the science behind THAT statement...
CM

There ain't no science behind it. Lyman has been trying to set off black powder with their iron bodied measures since they started making them and hasn't succeeded yet, plus, there has never been a documented case of a measure exploding, of black powder being set off by a static spark.

I use a regular old Lyman 55 for loading my .45 Colt and .45-70 Gov't loads for competition. Why spring for one of those fancy BP #55 measures with the aluminum tube?

[omgb]

I also have an old Ideal #5 I think. It won't drop a consistant drop and can vary by 10 grains sometimes. Kind of frustrating.

[montana_charlie]

There ain't no science behind it. Lyman has been trying to set off black powder with their iron bodied measures since they started making them and hasn't succeeded yet,
That is not what I was getting at.

I would like to hear how this statement works...
"Anyway, they [conventional measures] measure weight rather than volume, so you won't be accurate anyway.

Conventional measures throw a volume of powder. That volume can be adjusted in very small increments, on some.

CM