favorite muzzleloading powder ?

[DRH1175]

What is your favorite powder and why. I am looking at picking up a rifle and doing some shooting before the season starts. What should I start with? I was thinking 777 or jim shockey gold and loose since I have heard the pellets are incoincistant and it will be in a CVA .50. Also ffg or fffg?

[eagle_3464]

I have never used anything but pyrodex loose powder for most practice and pyrodex pellets for hunting. I have had great success with both. Powder is much cheaper for practice but I like the convenience of the pellets for hunting. I also use the patch and ball method for practice and just swab the barrel after every couple of shots. I have found better groupings after "seasoning" the barrel with about 75 rounds fired.

[eagle_3464]

BTW, I would recommend pellets for hunting purposes. The loose powder is more likely to attract moisture resulting in a fouled shot. As long as you pull the primer you can legally keep the barrel loaded up as long as it is cased. I have done this for over a full week with pellets and still had no problem in making a clean kill. A trick to this is to not subject the barrel to rapid temperature fluctuations causing condensation. The only problem I have ever heard was someone putting the pellets in with the wrong end first.

[HunterLee]

I use Pydrox loose powder. I use 120 grains and shoot sabots. Shoots great. I leave it in for few days or a week at a time and it still goes bang. Loose is better for tinkering with loads, my load shoots flat out to 150yds and open sights at 100yds i get a small fist size grouping. Never tried it with a scope, but i bet it would tighten it up considerable.

[Code-Man]

777 tablets 100 grains hard to beat. Play from there with what your gun likes

[hookset]

Anyone try the new stuff yet that is suppose to be real clean?? I think it is called pioneer?

hookset

[Whoaru99]

This is the first year for me and I'm going with 90gr (loose) of FFg 777 under a 250gr Barnes Expander MZ.

I'm hoping for a bit less fouling and as much or more velocity than 100gr of 777 pellets.

FFFg loose should be reduced by about 10% to 15% from what I've read to get the same outcome as FFg. So, about 85gr of FFFg should send the bullet about the same as 100gr of FFg - at least from what I've read on some muzzleloader websites.

[wplatehunter]

I also use pyrodex powder. I have found and have been told that shooting the pellets you don't get as good of a grouping when target shooting. Its good to hear people have not had problems after leaving the powder in for a week. The longest I have left it in is only a couple of days, and never had a problem.

[Hines R]

Triple Seven loose is 15% stronger with the FFG as well.

I switched over to shooting 90 grains of FFFG Triple Seven this year. I don't think it's rated as being that much more powerful than the double FF powder but it has a faster burn rate(because it's smaller) and therefore does produce more velocity by the time it reaches the end of your barrel.

I wonder if the guys that reload have as much fun as we do with our muzzleloaders? So much stuff to talk about and so much stuff to learn.

Ryan

[TUMBLEWEED]

FFG 777 & 100Gr Patched round ball is my mainstay.

I also use those easy loaders where you have

two end caps, with your patch and ball in one end

and the powder in between. This is a great way

to go to the range or woods. I have weighed up

several of them, used one or two for my hunting

situations, and found them to still fire fine

when I go back to the range. A little less crisp

and power but still one cap, and off it goes.

I wouldn't try using old loads for hunting

the following season, but they work fine

for seasoning up your smokepole!! Don't forget the

bore butter. It is the best stuff out there.

I use those Remington gold balls and the real

tuck patches. Oh man can't hardly wait!!