To sift or not sift that is the questiion?

[jackley]

I've read about sifting the black powder to get the fines out. This it makes sense but is it worth the effort? How many of you do it? With what result? And what size screen do you use?

Thanks

Jerry

[Kenny Wasserburger]

I have never sifted a can of powder since I took up BPCR in 1994.

The Results speak for themselves.

KW
The Lunger

[218bee]

I have only been shooting Black for a year or two in Trapdoors and Rolling Block so I definately do not have all the answers and am not a "competitor" in serious matches so take what I have to say with a grain of salt (or BP). I would think it a waste of time. Also the "fines" would it seems to me better help fill in voids in the powder column to help with eliminating any air gaps?? maybe?? Thats how I see it...I'm sure more will chime in

[e15cap]

I will take a new can of Swiss 1.5 and dump it into a coffee can. Then I shake it and roll it around to re-incorparate the fines back into the powder as evenly as I can. That powder was shipped from a long way off before it hit my place and had plenty of vibration to settle out the fines.
Best, Roger

[hiram]

I don't know how much of a difference it makes, but I didn't buy a bp sifter. I use a powdered sugar sprinkler. it works. The fines are probably different in size from a bp sifter, but it sifts.

[John Boy]

Jerry, the majority of the BPCR shooters don't sieve cans of powder to remove the fines. I don't sieve either but ... I 'sock' all brands of powder to remove the fines which is primarily graphite except for Swiss. Graphite is an inert mineral.

All vendors of black powder put graphite in with sporting powder during the polishing process. It serves 2 purposes: (1) to help create the glaze on the powder and (2) provide for the powder to meter better when charging the cases.

Swiss polishes their powder for 24 hours to reduce the moisture content from 8% down to about 1.5% and create the hard glaze on the 'rounded' grains. Because they run the barrels for 24 hours, there is not much free graphite in the finished product. So, I shot Swiss straight from the can with no socking.

Now, for the other manufacturers, they don't polish their sporting powder for 24 hours. As a result, if you look closely, the grains are angular not rounded. And the graphite has not all or nearly all been hardened into the glaze of the grains. What are called 'fines' for these vendor's sporting powder is primarily ... graphite. Again, an inert mineral and why I sock every other brand of powder except for Swiss.

What's the effect? It reduces SD's of the velocity averages

Graphite, an allotrope of Carbon - Flammability Rating: 0 - None = Inert (does not burn)

[NickSS]

I don't sift my powder and my loads generally shoot better than I can hold so I am happy. You might ask how I know that they shoot better? I have a friend of mine shoot my rifles at the monthy matches I go to and he invariably beats me with my own rifle and loads. I was out trying a new load today in my 38-55 c Sharps high wall at 200 yards. I put 25 out of 25 in the 10 and X ring except for the first two shots which were out and I had to adjust my sights. This was the first load using a new case of Shutzen powder I opened for the first time.

[1874Sharps]

John Boy,

Very informative and interesting post on the making of Swiss BP. In pouring Swiss 1.5 FG from the can into the hopper of the measure I can see how little dust is stirred up in comparison to standard GOEX or KIK. I have not tried the GOEX Express, so I cannot compare this powder, but I would expect that the fines are minimal in this premium powder. For the informal multi-shot string target shooting at hunting ranges and the hunting I do, I doubt if removing the fines would make any difference.

[Southern Son]

I use Wano FFg (very little choice here abouts). I have found that if I sift that powder with a fine strainer, I get about 100 grains of "fines" out of a 1kg bottle (these "fines" are powder, just a great deal smaller grains).

I got some Wano PP (supposedly Wano's higher grade powder, but still FFg granulation), when I sifted that, I got almost no fines (same strainer). I also got a bottle of FFg Swiss (a long time ago now, should have bought several bottles). There were even less fines to sift out of that stuff.

I have not done any chronographing, but I figure that if there is only 100 grains of fines in a 1 kg bottle, then there will be little to be gained from sifting. Even less if you use good powder like Swiss (can't comment on Goex, the last tin I saw of that was when I bought my muzzle loader in 1993).