What powder should I use?

  There are so many different kinds of powder, that picking between them is almost a nightmare.

  First we must understand what the different powders are:

FGGGG  (1F)
FFGGG  (2F)
FFFGG  (3F)
FFFFG  (4F)

    The lower number of "F"'s the following will be true:

1.  The slower the powder will burn.
2.  The lower the barrel pressure (if the projectile leaves the barrel!!!!)
3.  The slower the rise of the barrel pressure.

1F - Used for cannons and heavy projectiles.
2F - Used for 50 cal and above.
3F - Used for 50 cal and below.
4F - Used for Pan Primer on Flintlocks.

  If you notice, 2F and 3F are both used for 50 cal.  PLEASE NOTE!! that the manufacture (if they allow 3F in their 50 cal guns) will ALWAYS say use about 15 percent LESS of 3F.  So, if you shoot 100 grains of 2F, 85 grains of  3F is the equivalent.

  We now know about the "F"'s and the speed of the powder, but what kind of powder should we use?

   First off, choose the speed of the powder to fit your gun.  My rule of thumb is: Safety is first and always foremost. This means I will never use 3F in a 50 Cal.  That extra little "Poof" 3F gives, is not even close to worth the extra money, speed, or safety.  Go check out the charts at Hodgens if you do not believe me.  Check out the speed difference between 2F and 3F with the same loads. . .you are already traveling at 1500 FPS, that extra 100 FPS is negligible.  At 100 yards, that projectile will not get there that much faster. . .

1500 FPS =  .2 secs to travel 100 yards
1700 FPS =  .176 secs to travel 100 yards.
Difference =  .023 secs difference.

  That is 23 thousandths of a second.  Is this extremely short bit of time worth the extra money? Is it worth the extra stress on your equipment?  Is it worth the extra kick on your shoulder?  In my opinion, it is worthless. AS a hunter you can't tell the difference.

  So, we have our new 50 cal gun. . .We have decided that 2F is just fine. (And yes, 2F is fantastic in pistols too!) What kind of powder should we buy?

1.  Pyrodex R/S
2.  Pyrodex Select
3.  Pyrodex Triple 7
4.  GOEX 2F
5.  Swiss stuff?
6.  All the other brands out there like Clean shot etc.?

   Each of these powders have their own bragging rights. There are two kinds of powders.  REAL black powder like GOEX, and (lets say) Artificial powders like Pyrodex.  Pyrodex is made to be used exactly like real Black Powder, grain per grain.   Black Powder is very very dirty, while Pyrodex (Artificial Powders) are not quite as dirty.

The rule of thumb is:  The more you pay for Artificial powder, the cleaner it is.  It may pack a "little" (emphasized as LITTLE) more punch, but it also brags on being cleaner. But we must also remember, that "little" extra punch is really not that big of a deal.

   So what is the big deal about that extra money?

1.  It is REAL black powder.
2. It is a cleaner Artificial black powder.

   One other thing. . .Our stupid government reclassified REAL gun powder (powder made with SCKNO3) as an explosive.  It is much more difficult to get now, that means higher prices.

   So you now have different kinds of powder you can use.  You know that real black powder is more expensive, yet the most dirtiest of them all.  You also know that the more you pay for artificial powders, the cleaner they usually are.   So, what should you buy?

  I have found through the years, all the powders are just as accurate as the others. Real black powder stores much better than artificial black powder, and that artificial powders have a fairly long storage life by themselves.   Now it boils down to prices vs cleaning.

  Lets face it. . .You GOTTA clean your gun,  if you think 6+ dollars more per pound is worth that little extra time you clean a dirty gun, then go buy that expensive stuff.  If not, then enjoy shooting for 50 percent less money, and spend another 3 more minutes cleaning your gun.

   Another thing,  If you are going to any of the Muzzle loading competitions, you MAY have to  use real black powder.  Some may not allow Artificial powders.  One such organization is: NMLRA  National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association.  They allow both REAL and Artificial powder, and they shoot throughout the USA.