powder recommendations

[Dutchman]

virginias limit is 25 lbs without permits for the home.... of course thats if they know about it. Got two replacement 1 lb cans of Goex f last week for $36 in Richmond as thats all they had on hand and I only pay cash. Hampton Roads seems to be hit or miss on availabilty. Funny thing, I stopped by the fire house and was talking with a friend (yes I have some) when he saw the cans. He just shook his head and told me if my house ever cought fire they were going to let her go- too dangerous to enter. The station Lt. just looked at him then reassured me they would do everything possible to save my property. *Snicker* I'm not sure if the Lt. ever found out why they really should let her go.

[Commodore Swab]

My favorite was when a friend of mine ordered powder.

On the day it was suposed to be delivered the UPS truck came and went, no package. Upon calling UPS with the tracking number they informed him that the package had been delivered

Upon telling them that he did not have the package and if it had just been delivered it meant that somebody else had just received 25 pounds of powder. There was a bit of a stir on the other end of the phone and they request that they call him back while they tried to track it down. 10 min later the truck showed up at his door . ..

[callenish gunner]

If folks need powder for Hampton or beyond let me know I have no problem picking it up. My local shops always seem to have quite a stockpile of it ...just checked the other day and it has gone up recently for $22 per pound. I have 5 pounds of ffffg and 8 of fffg and 8+ of ffg .....I may order form TotW m'self to stockpile a bit extra

[silas thatcher]

goex is pretty much unavailable here in st. louis... everyone is sold out of it and not much hope in getting any of it soon...

i have seen prices of 13$ around town, and at columbus, i noticed the 24$ price tag !! ouch !!

You found Goex in Columbus? Where?

The week before the event I searched all over for it, my normal source (who sells it for about $22/pound) was all out, so I had to drive an hour and some north of the city to find it... Where I did find it had it for $16/pound, but the drive...

it was the price tag on one of the cans we were using to load cartridges...

[LadyBarbossa]

Local laws vary considerably about black powder (and many other things). Keep in mind that sometimes asking the authorities can open quite a can of worms, and possibly put you in the "spotlight".

.......... Properly warned, sez I.

Ye be correct there, Cascabel. I've been incredibly apprehensive in getting any gunpowder cause of said reasons.

~Lady B

[michaelsbagley]

goex is pretty much unavailable here in st. louis... everyone is sold out of it and not much hope in getting any of it soon...

i have seen prices of 13$ around town, and at columbus, i noticed the 24$ price tag !! ouch !!

You found Goex in Columbus? Where?

The week before the event I searched all over for it, my normal source (who sells it for about $22/pound) was all out, so I had to drive an hour and some north of the city to find it... Where I did find it had it for $16/pound, but the drive...

it was the price tag on one of the cans we were using to load cartridges...

That makes sense... I guess my normal local source charges me $24 and not $22 like I thought, so it might just be worth my time to make the hour and a quarter drive up north to save about $6 per can. As long as I buy at least 3 cans, and drive our small car, I will be saving money.

[gunner Gordon]

Goex is all I use. 3f works in muskets too, and often you don't need to prime as the 3f will spill through the vent and prime from the inside. Less to carry too. Also, invest in a .50 cal. ammo can to keep it stored in. safe, waterprooof, and spark resisitant. Holds four or five one-pound cans.

Bo

Quite true !!! A lot of the "generally accepted wisdom" about black powder shooting is geared toward the firing of live loads with ball, and competition shooting, rather than firing blank loads.

I use 3f in ALL calibers for blank loads, except for cannons. Works just fine, and is fairly clean burning. In the larger calibers, (above .50), tests have shown 3f generates higher pressures than coarser powders when using ball, but for our purposes with blank loads, it's not an issue.

For priming, use of 4f is entirely unnecessary. 3f works just fine, so you only need to carry one grade of powder. For competition shooting, where milliseconds in ignition time count, 4f is a good idea. It has a marginally faster burn time than 3f, and ignites slightly easier. For shooting blanks, it won't hurt anything to use it, but it's really not needed.

>>>> Cascabel

plus, the larger grain powder is less likely to leak out of the pan with a less than perfect fittibg frizzen. On some of my larger calibre weapons I have enlargened the vent slightly so as to keep the vent from becoming fouled with powder residue from the firing of blanks that may not always burn as cleanly without the help of a ball to compress the load.