GAHUNTER60
Senior Member
First off, I shoot a Kibler Colonial flintlock in .54 caliber. As most on here know, black powder substitutes do not work well in most flintlock rifles due to its higher ignition temperature. But with Goex going down, the real stuff is hard to find
I`m into my last two pounds of Goex 2f, and have about 1-1/2 pounds of Schuetzen 3f on the shelf. My rifle does not shoot the 3f nearly as well as the 2f, so I use the 2f almost exclusively at club matches and when deer hunting.
Unfortunately, my Kibler Colonial likes loads on the heavy side. My best groups are fired utilizing 100 grains of powder, and since I'm a guy with a very competitive personality, this has become both my hunting and competition load. The downside, of course, is instead of getting 140 shots out of a pound of powder (using 50 grains per shot), I only get 70 at 100 grains. That means I use a half-pound, minimum, at a typical club match, and sometimes, depending on the match, more!
You don't have to have my superior Alabama education to figure out that I'll soon be out of powder!
So far, the only 2f I've found in stock online is Schuetzen. My rifle (and me -- or is it "I") don't like Schuetzen. Every time I've used it. it's like someone poured coal dust down my barrel mixed with glue. That stuff is NASTY!
I'd like to try Swiss 2f, but every time I read where someone has some in stock, it's gone by the time I get a bank loan to pay the hazmat and shipping fees. So I've decided to become a powder hoarder until the supply crisis loosens up. This means I'll have to find alternatives to my regular routine if I intend to keep shooting at the pace I have in the past -- and I do intend to do just such!
This leads me to the point of this post. The other day, I loaded up 10 test tubes with 10 grains of Schuetzen 3f, and 10 more with 80 grains of 777 black powder substitute, which is readily available locally. I have always preferred 777 over Pyrodex when using BP substitutes in my percussion guns, as it burns cleaner and seems to shoot more accurately. Of course, there is no way I'd use either one in a flintlock, as they are both very difficult to ignite. I have read right here on these pages, however, that you can drop 5 or 10 grains of real black powder down the barrel as a starter load, followed by whatever BP substitute you want to use, and get acceptable performance. I chose 80 grains of 777 because, in my experience with my percussion rifles, it burns a little hotter, once ignited, than true black powder, and I figured the 80 grain 777, plus 10 grain 3f duplex would give me about the same velocity as my 100-grain 2f load. So I headed to the range to give her a go.
First, I fired a five-shot group at 80 yards (my zero yardage) with 100 grains of my precious Goex 2f. As per usual, I shot about a 3-1/2 inch group off the bench. I then cleaned the barrel and tried the 3f Schuetzen/80 grain 777 duplex load. Upon pulling the trigger, I noticed ignition on par with my slowest pure black powder ignition. My ball, out of the clean barrel, struck the target exactly on the same elevation as the BP load, but was maybe three inches further right. Subsequent shots produced the same result as far as ignition (ever-so-slightly slower than pure black), but the holes in the target mixed right in to the 100-grain, pure black powder loads.
I called the experiment a success!
Next trip to the range, I'll up the BP starter load to 15 grains and lower the 777 to 75 grains to see if the increased volume of black makes a difference with ignition speed. At any rate, my next club match will be shot with duplex loads as I save my true black powder for hunting season -- or the zombie apocalypse -- which ever comes first!
I`m into my last two pounds of Goex 2f, and have about 1-1/2 pounds of Schuetzen 3f on the shelf. My rifle does not shoot the 3f nearly as well as the 2f, so I use the 2f almost exclusively at club matches and when deer hunting.
Unfortunately, my Kibler Colonial likes loads on the heavy side. My best groups are fired utilizing 100 grains of powder, and since I'm a guy with a very competitive personality, this has become both my hunting and competition load. The downside, of course, is instead of getting 140 shots out of a pound of powder (using 50 grains per shot), I only get 70 at 100 grains. That means I use a half-pound, minimum, at a typical club match, and sometimes, depending on the match, more!
You don't have to have my superior Alabama education to figure out that I'll soon be out of powder!
So far, the only 2f I've found in stock online is Schuetzen. My rifle (and me -- or is it "I") don't like Schuetzen. Every time I've used it. it's like someone poured coal dust down my barrel mixed with glue. That stuff is NASTY!
I'd like to try Swiss 2f, but every time I read where someone has some in stock, it's gone by the time I get a bank loan to pay the hazmat and shipping fees. So I've decided to become a powder hoarder until the supply crisis loosens up. This means I'll have to find alternatives to my regular routine if I intend to keep shooting at the pace I have in the past -- and I do intend to do just such!
This leads me to the point of this post. The other day, I loaded up 10 test tubes with 10 grains of Schuetzen 3f, and 10 more with 80 grains of 777 black powder substitute, which is readily available locally. I have always preferred 777 over Pyrodex when using BP substitutes in my percussion guns, as it burns cleaner and seems to shoot more accurately. Of course, there is no way I'd use either one in a flintlock, as they are both very difficult to ignite. I have read right here on these pages, however, that you can drop 5 or 10 grains of real black powder down the barrel as a starter load, followed by whatever BP substitute you want to use, and get acceptable performance. I chose 80 grains of 777 because, in my experience with my percussion rifles, it burns a little hotter, once ignited, than true black powder, and I figured the 80 grain 777, plus 10 grain 3f duplex would give me about the same velocity as my 100-grain 2f load. So I headed to the range to give her a go.
First, I fired a five-shot group at 80 yards (my zero yardage) with 100 grains of my precious Goex 2f. As per usual, I shot about a 3-1/2 inch group off the bench. I then cleaned the barrel and tried the 3f Schuetzen/80 grain 777 duplex load. Upon pulling the trigger, I noticed ignition on par with my slowest pure black powder ignition. My ball, out of the clean barrel, struck the target exactly on the same elevation as the BP load, but was maybe three inches further right. Subsequent shots produced the same result as far as ignition (ever-so-slightly slower than pure black), but the holes in the target mixed right in to the 100-grain, pure black powder loads.
I called the experiment a success!
Next trip to the range, I'll up the BP starter load to 15 grains and lower the 777 to 75 grains to see if the increased volume of black makes a difference with ignition speed. At any rate, my next club match will be shot with duplex loads as I save my true black powder for hunting season -- or the zombie apocalypse -- which ever comes first!
