black powder brands

[RobD]

thinking of trying a different brand for the pedersoli flintlock, what's yer fave - goex, schuetzen or swiss?  why?

[R.M.]

Goex has always worked for me. I do have a bunch of Graff's house brand, but haven't tried it yet.

[RobD]

does anyone find a specific brand/granulation that delivers better or more reliable ignition?

[rollingb]

thinking of trying a different brand for the pedersoli flintlock, what's yer fave - goex, schuetzen or swiss?  why?

I use Goex, and have been happy with it for many many years in all sorts of muzzleloaders and black powder cartridges,.... what are you using in your Pedersoli, and why are you thinking about trying something different?

[ridjrunr]

Goex only  , some guns like one or the other a little better,either 2F or 3F.
My CVA Mountain (.50 cal.) rifle does like 2F better and that is what was in my horn when I went to sight in the Pedersoli.
That's one of the fun parts of a new arm, learning and testing different loads to see what does best. Have fun!

[RobD]

thinking of trying a different brand for the pedersoli flintlock, what's yer fave - goex, schuetzen or swiss?  why?

I use Goex, and have been happy with it for many many years in all sorts of muzzleloaders and black powder cartridges,.... what are you using in your Pedersoli, and why are you thinking about trying something different?

good ol' goex.

... but the grass always seems like it might be greener o'er the next hillock ... ?

just wondering if i'm missing something with those other flavors.  

[rollingb]

thinking of trying a different brand for the pedersoli flintlock, what's yer fave - goex, schuetzen or swiss?  why?

I use Goex, and have been happy with it for many many years in all sorts of muzzleloaders and black powder cartridges,.... what are you using in your Pedersoli, and why are you thinking about trying something different?

good ol' goex.

... but the grass always seems like it might be greener o'er the next hillock ... ?

just wondering if i'm missing something with those other flavors.  ,..... you had mentioned "reliable ignition", so I thought you might be having trouble with that.

I doubt if any of the other brands are easier to "ignite" than good ol'  Goex, but I've never done any actual experiments to see if such was the case.

[Bigsmoke]

Been burning GOEX since back in the 70's.  I see no reason to change.
I only use Ffg, but I don't shoot any of the baby calibers.  When I get up to the big guns (8 and 4 bore) I switch over to Fg.
I tried Swiss but wasn't impressed enough to pay the extra price.  Have tried some of the others, but didn't care for them enough to buy more of it.
I find the synthetic powders not worth shooting.  With Pyrodex, I cannot help but get hangfires, even with musket ignition.
John

[Roaddog]

Some say that Swiss is a cleaner birning powder. I have always used Goex and I gess I always will since I have plenty to last me the rest of my life.

[Uncle Russ]

Some say that Swiss is a cleaner birning powder. I have always used Goex and I gess I always will since I have plenty to last me the rest of my life.

I suspect that's me too.

This is an interesting thread, simply because the Grass is indeed always greener on the other side of the fence.

I'm a fan of Goex, not just because I have a lifetime supply of it, but because I can't find a lot of fault in it.
Some folks do rave about the Swiss, and maybe rightfully so. Same with some other powders including Graf.

Others try to split some pretty fine hairs when it comes to their choice of BP, but I haven't been able to find those distinctions.

In fact, there was only one Black Powder that I have ever used that I felt was well below standard and that was a particular lot of Elephant FFg that I got In Golden, Colorado, at a Coor's Schutzen Match, about 15 plus years ago, I paid $20 for five 1# cans, and I ended up dumping every bit of it....Goex was about $7.00  a pound back then.
I have heard praise for modern day Elephant Powder but I haven't had the opportunity to check it out.
I have to think that any powder, being currently manufactured in today's market, has to meet a pretty high  standard amongst the shooters, or it just won't sell, period.

Thanks to Captchee, Beaverman, and the guys at Green River Mountain Men, It will be a good while before I ever have to think about buying powder again...I still have several cans marked $8.95, but from there some goes to over $20.
It is $26.95 a pound at High mountain Sports, when they have it, and it's even more after driving 100 miles to find it in Wentachee or Spokane.
I don't think I would able to afford to shoot much at all, if I had to pay today's prices. In fact, I suspect I'm quite thankful for the little stash of powder I do have.

Uncle Russ...

[RobD]

i just ordered another 5lb of goex from mainepowderhouse for $119/shipped ... nearly $24/lb, and you might think "too much!", but for me that's actually cheaper than i can get it in person (meaning, a long driving distance).  gone are the dayze of the local gun store or sport shop within easy reach and all loaded with good reloading supplies.  heck, none have any selection of commerical ammo as of this week.  the times they are a'changin' ....

[rollingb]

i just ordered another 5lb of goex from mainepowderhouse for $119/shipped ... nearly $24/lb, and you might think "too much!", but for me that's actually cheaper than i can get it in person (meaning, a long driving distance).  gone are the dayze of the local gun store or sport shop within easy reach and all loaded with good reloading supplies.  heck, none have any selection of commerical ammo as of this week.  the times they are a'changin' ....

I fear the price of ALL types of powder,.... will do nothing but "RISE" in the foreseeable future.  

[sse]

I have never used Swiss, but it does burn hotter and the accuracy fanatic guys (translation, better shooters than me) say it is cleaner as well...

[No Rod]

I use nothing but Swiss... Tired Goex and Elephant and both were much dirtier than I cared for. The Elephant was unshootable. It was more the pan than the barrel that I had problems with. Have a large supply of Shutzen that I will get into when the Swiss runs low but that is going to be a good long while.

[Loyalist Dave]

I shoot Goex in my hunting guns, and Diamondback in my muskets for blanks.  

Goex has one more advantage over the other powders..., it's not imported, and you never know what the UN will come up with when it comes to export/import of gunpowders, but inside the USA is more secure.  I figure if the company goes under because I'm using all imported powder and everybody else does so too, if those supplies are curtailed then who will produce powder for the American market?  

LD