Goex vs Schuetzen

[Morgan]

Goex is the  only black powder I have ever used, but my son-in-law picked me up a couple of lbs of Schuetzen 2f yesterday.

How does it compare to Goex?  It will probably be at least a couple of weeks before I get to make smoke with it.

Morgan

[Loyalist Dave]

The Swiss stuff is fine.  I know folks who rave about it.  I too prefer Goex, for not only does it work, but it's the easiest brand for me to find, and I will buy Goex to keep them in business, to ensure as far as economics is concerned..., Goex will continue to be in business and be able to provide a good supply.

LD

[Uncle Russ]

I too use only Goex but that is mostly because that is what I have available.
Having said that I would also add that the Swiss powder should be expected to be at least as good, if not better, than Goex.

A few years back, I decided I simply had to try that Swiss powder...well, here we are a couple of years down the road, and I still don't have any...not that I have really needed powder, but mostly because every time I read a passage about that "Fine Sporting grade Power", Swiss powder seems to come to mind.

It seems to depend on who you are talking to regarding opinions on today's available powder versus powders of the 1800's.......Some folks, and I guess I am part of this crowd, believe that today's powders most likely exceed the quality of the powder available 200 years ago.
Others believe there was something almost magical about the powders of 200 years ago, and that the "Fine Sporting grade Powder" of the day was far superior to anything we have today.  

I used to shoot a bit with old Doc Hastings, when I lived in Shelton, WA, and this man was quite likely one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met when it comes to Powder and Muzzle loader performance.
His belief, which he often said was shared by the majority of shooters at Friendship, was that the then new Swiss powders would soon dominate the markets world wide, "because many people felt it performed much like the powders of years gone by".

So, there we go again, another statement to the effect that the older powder is often perceived as a better quality powder....and it is perception, not actual performance, that sells "stuff".

Well, that has been a few years back and although the times have changed quite a bit, It seems Goex is still holding their own.

All this ramblin is not an answer to Morgan's question, but it might serve to point out that there is no total agreement on what the best powder is....or even the best application of grain size to caliber, for that matter.

"Vermont Freedom" has performed some rather extensive comparison testing of Goex vs Swiss, and I'm sure he has developed a more profession opinion of both the pro's & cons.
There is a good probability he will come along here shortly and help us all out.


Uncle Russ...

[vermontfreedom]

And here I am...thanks for the intro, Russ.

I did quite a bit of testing with a chronograph of several major brands back when I got my custom .54 about 5 years ago.

I tested same volume, ball size, patch combo for 2F of Swiss, Schuetzen, Goex, Elephant and, more recently, KIK.

My take of the Goex vs Schuetzen is that they're essentially identical. Most shooters won't notice any difference unless they're chronographing loads.

I expected Schuetzen to be superior, because it's made by the same company that makes Swiss, which is superior in every respect to all other powders (except price - it's expensive!).

However, Schuetzen underperformed Goex in velocity by <5%. Fouling was basically equal, with Goex maybe being maybe a touch dirtier, but again, almost no discernable difference.

Here's a quick run-down on velocity from 80 grain FFg loads behind a 0.535 ball from my 44-inch Rice barrel (as always, "your mileage may vary")

Elephant     1528 (at 90 grains) very dirty
Schuetzen   1489 clean
Goex            1550 clean
KIK               1633 clean
Swiss            1770 very clean


I bought 50 pounds a couple of years ago and haven't bought any since, so I can't tell you how prices differ nowadays, but back then, Goex was a dollar or so cheaper per pound than Schuetzen.

Should you resort to buying in bulk on line, I highly recommend KIK. I found it actually superior in velocity to both Schuetzen and Goex and it fouled about the same. AND it was cheaper than both.

Not sure what you're shooting, but if you normally shoot 2F, consider going to 3F and drop your charge volume by about 10% (experiment, though) and you'll get the same performance with a little less fouling for the same $.

[BEAVERMAN]

Ive used both, seem to be the same stuff, shoots the same and no diff which one is the dirtiest

[snake eyes]

I've tried just about all the rest and always return to Goex......
Main reason being becauce of availibility.....another being it is
American made.