Muzzleloading Powders: Does Powder Get Too Old?

I know I’ve read articles about people finding some VERY OLD black powder that will still go off but how far should we really trust it?  Would you really want to trust something like old gun powder to your hunt?  The answer is no of course, but how old is too old? 

As you can see by the looks of this can of Pyrodex, it’s been around a while. 

I can’t tell you for sure how long, but my Uncle Don passed this one down to me somewhere around 1980, just a few years after I started muzzleloading (around 1977).  He said something like, “Try some of this new-fangled stuff.   I don’t like it, I’m sticking with my black powder”. 

Well he was one of my hunting Heroes and taught me everything I knew at the time, so the can is still pretty much full. 

In my opinion, it’s too old for me to trust to a hunt today, but it will probably still go off.



I believe powders today can last several years if stored properly.  But if just set on a shelf, moisture can become it’s worse enemy.  Age itself can also take its toll on most any black powder substitute.

Moisture is, without a doubt, the biggest problem-causer of all gun powders. In the case of the Hodgdon line of powders it’s the sneaky little moisture called humidity. If you’ve ever picked up the powder you used last year and noticed that it’s in a clump, humidity has taken it's toll.

I use to use a screw driver or a pocket knife to break it up and go on to the range as usual, but not anymore because here’s what happens:  the moisture (which is what causes it to stick together) causes the granules to swell, just like moisture does saw dust.  So now that the granules are larger, you’re getting less powder in your loads. 

Last year I compared some old T-7 against a fresh can and the old powder was consistently 20 +/- fps slower than the fresh stuff.  Less powder, less speed. 



This however does not seem to be the case with Blackhorn 209.  BH209 is just different, you can tell by looking at it and loading it, it’s a very hard powder that I’ve found not to be as prone to becoming contaminated by moisture. 

Another selling point as it does cost a little more, but it will last longer on the shelf.

Here’s a few tips to help you with getting a little longer life out of your powder between seasons: 

If you use one of the pour spouts that screws on top of the cans like I do, make sure you remove it and screw the factory lid back down tight between trips to the range or between seasons. 

If you have a gun safe with a de-humidifier, store your powder there with the cap on tight.


As far as how to stop or slow the aging process, I can’t help you with that any more than I can help stop it for you or me.  Black powder substitutes are in their own category; they will age faster than smokeless or even black powder itself.  It’s a chemical compound and it will start breaking down at some point, I can’t tell you when, but it will happen.


Another housekeeping matter you may want to think about would be to keep track of when you buy your powder in order to know how old it is.  When you get it home, take a sharpie and write the month and year on the can before putting it away. 

My recommendations would be to shoot up last years powder before this years season, then practice the last few times before season opens and hunt with this year's fresh powder. 

But if stored properly, shoot T-7 2 years and BH209 for 3 years.  After that, burn it on the range during practice. 

This may sound a little too conservative or maybe even over-kill to some, but as we all know, we can’t always buy ourselves out of problems on a big game hunt, but in this case we can.


And while we are talking about powders, I want to thank the owner of Western Powers (manufacturers of BH209) Doug Phair and Chris Hodgdon of Hodgdon Powders for the support they've shown by providing fresh powder for all of MAX’s Load Data Books. 

I wanted fresh, right-out-of-the-factory-door powder for that project and they both jumped on board in a very generous and helpful way.  As best I can figure, over 2500 shots were fired to get that data over the past two and half years; both BlackHorn and Hodgdon supplied every last grain.  Thanks to you both.

I do know now, from a lot of experience that fresh powder is accurate, reliable and deadly powder, I’m just saying...................

Quick Release Breech Plugs: the Fire Channel & the Transition Area

Continuing our breech plug discussion, the next topic in this series will be on the Fire Channel and the Transition Area.  Both work together (or should) so I couldn't really talk about one without including the other and really, they should be considered one in the same.

What I mean by "one in the same" is that I believe the Fire Channel should be just that, a channel to carry the fire all the way down the channel and into the Flash Hole.  But as you'll see in this article, on the most part, they are two separate things:  a Fire Channel and a Flash Hole. 

There really is no Transition as I see it, and I hope I can do a good job showing why I say this with my arts & crafts skills....

First, the Fire Channel.

As I talked about in my last post QRBP: the Length, today's breech plugs are longer.  But they all seem to lack having any noticeable Transition Area.  Because of this, there are three areas for us to take note of :  Diameter, Transition Area and the Cleanliness Factor.

Diameter:
The only two diameter's for Fire Channels that I've found on the market are 3mm and 1/8 inch.  Here's pretty much how you can tell (besides measuring) the difference:

American made = 1/8"

Foreign made = 3mm

1/8 inch is larger and delivers hotter and higher quality fire down the Fire Channel to the Flash Hole.  (So in this case, size does matter!)  The extra space has more oxygen and therefore allows the primer to burn better, providing more fire.  This is one of the problems with the CVA Quick Release Breech Plug (QRBP) design, which is of the smaller diameter.

Cleanliness:
The next issue that has become more pronounced with the added length is carbon build-up.  It was always there, just not to the degree we are seeing it now.  There is now a lot more surface area for primer and powder residue to hang it's ugly head.

If the Fire Channel is not properly cleaned after a trip to the range, or if it is an extra-long range session, you can have hang or mis-fires with the new longer plugs. Just a few shots can cause immediate problems with the CVA QRBP.  But be no mistake about it, if you fail to clean this Fire Channel in a timely manor, or if you don't clean it properly, you could experience problems with any powder.

The reason it causes us muzzleloader's such a headache is because it significantly reduces the diameter of the Fire Channel with it's hard, baked-on surface.   As many of you have already been been doing (from what I'm seeing on Facebook and in the forums), guys are using the proper-sized drill bit's to remove this carbon build-up. Not only are they experiencing how  hard the build-up is, they are also seeing how much residue is removed when the breech plug is cleaned out with a drill bit.

In the photos below, provided by Doug Phair, CEO of Western Powders (owners of Blackhorn 209), you can see how restricted that area becomes and just how much build-up gathers in the Fire Channel. 

The photo on the left is a clean breech plug.  On the right is the same breech plug after 10 shots with Triple 7.  (!!!)  Be sure to notice not only how restricted the Fire Channel is, but how "clogged" the Flash Hole is.

Unbelievable!  As it's been said: A picture is worth a thousand words.

With all the best logic applied, the only reason I can see why a rifle can keep firing with this kind of blockage is because the force from the primer is knocking the carbon build-up from the Flash Hole area.  ...not good....

Second, the Transition Area. 

What I call the Transition Area, Blackhorn is calling it the Flash Cone.  In reality, it barely exists in any manufacturer's breech plug!  With my crude, but (I think) effective visual aids below, you can see the area I'm talking about.

I got to give you a little explanation as to how I came up with the NOT TO SCALE angles I'm showing below. 

Originally, I wanted to make a cast of the inside of a Fire Channel to get a better idea of what might be causing the problems inside there.  I just had to find a way.  Well, after the internet search from H-E-double-hockey-sticks (!!!), I found a liquid rubber compound that I thought would work.  It was kinda costly, but as it turned out, very useful to me in finding one of the culprit's causing problems inside the Fire Channel.  Below you can see the castings I made of various breech plugs, and if you look at the angle of the Transition Area leaving the Fire Channel and going into the Flash Hole, you'll see where I got the models for my visual aids below.

The models below show my findings:

First is a fair look at what a CVA Quick Release Breech Plug Transition Area would look like according to my cast.

Next is a Thompson Center Speed Breech XT model according to the cast I made of that breech plug. 

As you can see, the Thompson Center is a little steeper, but not by much. But again, "not much" really matters.

 

The last model shows a much steeper Transition Angle.  As you can see, there IS a cast, so a plug MUST exist....

....and it does. 

  

This is the inside of the breech plug that CEO Doug Phair and his team designed, and will be available sooner than expected!

I just used common sense to draw my simulated "fire" going down the Fire Channels and into the Transition Area, then on into the Flash Hole.  I'm quite certain y'all all get the picture, I sure did once I saw my castings.  

As you can see, most of the fire in the CVA plug is hitting a (pretty much) solid wall.  A little more fire is getting to the Flash Hole in the Thompson Center plug, but not much.  And again, I can't stress how much "not much" matters in this case!

You can see what a difference the new Blackhorn plug will make in fire delivery to the powder, not with just their powder, but with all powders.

Looking at my models, you can tell why just drilling a Flash Hole from .026 +/- to .035 +/- will really only give you an increased "fire stream" going into the Flash Hole of about .009.  In this case, "not much" really doesn't matter much at all. As some of you know, a bigger hole does not always fix the CVA QRBP problem.

In my opinion, this little Transition Area correction alone could fix a lot of our ignition problems, all by itself. 

My pick, until Western Powders new plug is on the market, is still the Thompson Center plug.  The larger diameter Fire Channel and slightly increased Transition Area angle makes it currently the most reliable breech plug on today's market - for all powders. 

And don't forget:  Clean, Clean, CLEAN.  It's a big factor. We have a very effective breech plug cleaning process worked out with some recommend products that we will be telling you about soon.

Next up in this Breech Plug series, I'll be talking about the Flash Hole and the Face Of The Breech Plug ....watch for it in the next few days!


***I want to give Doug Phair a special thanks for allowing MAX to use the before and after photos of the inside of the breech plug.  They have an extensive test lab and I think the photos go a long way in proving just what is going on inside our breech plugs!  I'd also like to commend Western Powder for jumping in to correct a problem that didn't belong to them, or to us muzzleloaders, with the development of the new and improved breech plug they've designed.  I'm hoping to go back to Montana this spring and get a look at some of the other projects they are working on, first hand. 

Powder Ignition & Breech Plug Maintenance: MAX Q&A

MAX QandA:  your questions from email and facebook

There are some good questions out there.

Some are from folks who are new to muzzleloading and some are from guys who've been doing this a while, but sharing information is what I'm all about, so I'm posting the questions I get, along with my answers.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Accura Video!

Russell
Purchased your video and learned more in a couple of hours than I knew before. Purchased my first muzzle loader a year ago. Have been using Triple 7 pellets and Hornady bullets. Never considered using Triple 7 powder because as I didn't want to mess with the measuring, etc. Purchased Blackhorn 209 and the Winchester Blue Box Shotgun 209 Primers. Went to the range and the primers wouldn't ignite the powder. The primers were probably old as I borrowed them until my new ones get here. Soak my breach plug in CVA parts solvent and use a brush to clean the holes. Could it be possible that the primers are old and lost their power. Did dry fire a couple to make sure they were firing. Any ideas?

Where do you get the caps for your BlackHorn or is that one that came off a 777 bottle.

Thanks Randy

 
Subject: Re: Accura Video! 
Randy,


Sorry it took me a few day's to get back to you, It's been getting hard to stay caught up. Fresh primers will help, but what will help more, is to make sure that the breech plug is CLEAN. In order to get it real clean, you will need a #32 or 3mm drill bit for cleaning the long channel in front of where the primer fits, and another small bit (I don't know the size) or a welding torch hole cleaning set from a welder supply store to clean the small flash hole where the fire comes out. Soak the breech plug first and then use these tools to clean these areas, dry out with canned air. You will be surprised at how dirty these things get and how hard they are to clean without these tools. Try this and see how it works.

The cap for the powder can that I use is made by T/C Arms. They are pretty easy to find, cost less than $5.00 and will fit any muzzleloader powder can.

If new Winchester primers don't help, try the CCI 209 M, that is what Blackhorn is now recommending, and they do work.

Hope this helps and if not, email me a phone number, and we will talk on the phone.

Thanks for your business,


Russell
 
 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Fwd: Accura Video!
 
Russell: Must of had some old primers as when I used CCI primers the rifle performed well. Is was very windy \but had some nice groups at 115 yards . Waiting for a calm day so I can get comfortable at 150 and 200 yards. Use the 250 Grain Hornady SST bullets. Any data you have on them would be much appreciated. Thanks again for all your help. Love my Accura. Let me know when I can purchase the data info. 

Randy

 
-------- Original Message --------

Subject: Accura Video!
Randy,

Glad everything worked out OK. Thanks for your business and for putting your trust in us. We will do a blog post when the data books are ready.


Thanks again,

Russell

 
 If you've got any good questions, email me at sales@maxmuzzleloader.com or send them to me by posting on the wall of the MAX Facebook page. I'll keep everyone's last name out of it, but if you include what state you are in I'll add that info.




 
 
 

Muzzleloading Powder Manufacturer Visit - Western Powder

I had been trying to get to the Western Powder Facility that distributes Blackhorn 209
for some time and I finally made it!  On the 19th of September I left the 97 degree heat of South Carolina and arrived in the cool climate of Miles City, Montana.


After checking into my hotel I had a few hours of daylight left so I headed out to see what I could see!  I drove around the alfalfa fields and river bottoms of the Yellowstone River, finding hundreds of deer – both whitetail and mule – as well as tons of antelope.  Montana is a beautiful state with a lot of game.

Upon arrival at Western Powders’ facility on Monday, I met with Don Luhr, who oversees their ballistics lab.  I first met Don at the 2010 Shot Show, and we’ve been talking on the phone ever since.  Arranging a meeting had been something we’d been discussing for quite a while and I was excited to finally be there.


After meeting the staff at Western, we went to the test lab, which is truly something to see! Western Powders also owns the brands of Accurate, Ramshot Powders and Montana Xtreme (their gun care product line). So their test lab does a lot more than just test Blackhorn 209, in fact Blackhorn a small part of what they test.


I loved talking to Don and Keith for hours on ballistics. These guys are, without a doubt, are at the top of their profession in the ballistics field.  They weren’t “know-it-all” guys, but they certainly did know it all!

As there were talking me around the lab, it was hard to take it all in! Having been a life-long handloader helped a lot to understand what they did and how they did it. I can see now where all those numbers in reloading manuals comes from!

It is a handloaders dream to walk into this place as you can see in the photos!

Once we got down to shooting some muzzleloader loads in the test barrels, the light bulb really came on as to what kind of information and data I was going to get to see and bring back to all of you!

Here is basically how things work in the lab: You have a test barrel, which are rifle barrels, but a lot different. These barrels are mounted on a receiver and have a port drilled into the chamber which has a transducer that screws into it.  The transducer is the device which sends the pressure data into info-gathering equipment through a wire. Once the data has been analyzed it can be read on a computer screen in terms us normal humans can see and understand. What it shows is the pressure curve (PC). The other info that shows up that is very critical to us as shooters is the muzzle velocity. This information is sent to the computer by the use of a chronograph that is located in the lab tunnel.

Ok, so the funny thing is that if you’ve ever read my stuff or seen my videos or talked to me at all, you know that I don’t care (at all) for pellets and why. With that said, guess what the first test shots were with?  Yeah, uh huh, pellets. Pyrodex 50/50  pellets.


Actually, it was perfect. Shooting the pellet loads was a way for me to completely and scientifically verify all my findings: pellets will not, cannot, produce consistent velocities. Inconsistent velocities mean you can’t consistently shoot a tight group. A test lab proved this without question.


What the results showed as you can see in the graph below, is that while loading pellets, if you crush, crack or break a pellet in any way, the pressure curves (and therefore the velocities) are very unpredictable.

This first graft (above) shows a pellet test where the bullet is loaded very softly, being absolutely careful not to break the pellet in any way.  The chamber pressure in this load is about 28,000 pound of pressure.

The second graph (above) shows the pressure curve and velocity of a pellet load that is loaded normally, which can break (or even just crack) a pellet.  The approximate pressure with the same load is now over 34,000 pounds!


As you can see, the first pressure at 28,000 pounds of pressure and the second was over 34,000 – just from cracking or compressing the pellet!

The third graph (above) shows a 120 grain load of Blackhorn 209. As you can see, the pressure curve is not as steep; it is more gradual in nature. This is what makes Blackhorn more predictable and lets us know what we can expect from it.  As you add to or subtract the amount of powder from a load of Blackhorn 209, the pressure curves are very linear, their rise is not steep but goes up at a slower, steadier pace; the pressure curve is very gradual and predictable.


According to the same testing, the loose powder of Hodgdens Triple 7 is somewhat like Blackhorn in it’s pressure curve shape, which is good, but has other concerns that must be dealt with (moisture absorption, cleaning issues). Even with those issues, it’s way better than pellets.


I learned a ton of information from my trip to Western Powders: info that will be added to my knowledge base for future equipment testing; info I will use to further my research; info that will be passed on to my customers in all my written and video materials as I continue to learn more and share what I learn with everyone.



The CEO of Western Powders, Doug Phair, has a top-notch facility, product, and a great team of folks to make it all happen.  They are working daily in beautiful Miles City, Montana to provide us all with a high-quality product.  They have the knowledge, the experience and are not sparing the expense to do so.

I had a great trip and I thank Doug and his team for opening their door to me and the great hospitality they all extended to me, and all MAX customers: you – the consumer!  I will continue to use the knowledge I gained there to bring you the very best information possible to make your shooting experience as accurate as it can possibly be.

3 Muzzleloading Components for Your Big Game Load

While hating to start off with the same line of options, options, options…I can’t help it, it’s even more true with load components than anything!

1. Bullets, 2. Powder, 3. Primers…within the categories, the choices are endless. In this post, I want to give you a few things to think about that will help you find loads that will provide you with consistency, accuracy and big game performance. Let’s start with bullets and what to look for.

BULLETS - First, lets talk about bullets that will hold up while shooting big game. The main thing here is to look for a bullet that will maintain most of it’s weight after impact and while penetrating the game. A bullet that comes apart on impact will not have much of a chance of penetrating in one side and exiting the other; not giving us the chance of having two holes for leaving a blood-trail out both sides.

Second would be a bullet with a good ballistic coefficient or BC. As most of you know, this factor is a number based on a few things: weight, length, shape, etc. Most muzzleloader bullets have a BC factor of between .180 to .240. Some muzzleloader bullets go over .300, but not many.

The BC factor gives us an idea as to how well a bullet will overcome the urge to decelerate due to air drag while in flight. The higher the BC factor, the better the flight we can expect from a bullet. What this comes down to is this: the higher the BC Factor, the flatter the flight path.

Flat flight path = less bullet drop = what you want.

There are a couple of things that really affect muzzleloader bullets and keep their ballistic coefficient low:

          1. bullet weight
          2. diameter
          3. length

In other words, they’re heavy, fat and short.

These things are a fact, it’s science. There is nothing we can do about it, so we just have to deal with it and compensate for it.  It’s not a problem but these factors, along with slower velocities, is what restricts and limits the range of even modern muzzleloaders.

In our testing, I’ve always opted to pick the higher BC Factor bullets and that will provide less drop and deliver more controllable and predictable flight paths at a range of 250 yards, and in some cases, 300 yards.

The bullets that will provide these results on a consistent basis are 250 to 270 grains, usually have a ballistic tip and have a BC Factor of .210 to .240 (with the right velocities).

This is a big subject, and I want to get into it much deeper, but it will have to wait for a future post. In the meantime, just keep a couple of brands in mind: Barnes, Hornady, Parker, PowerBelt, Precision, and Thompson Center.

POWDER - The next big factor in a load is Powder. Again, a lot of options. But in the case of powders they have been the easiest to figure out which ones are worth spending money on. What we look for in a powder is one that will have:

          1. reliability to ignite
          2. produce good consistent velocities
          3. resistance to moisture

After testing all the powders on the market (and I do mean ALL), the only two we trust for our hunts at this time are Blackhorn 209 and Hodgden Triple 7.

We recommend no one, ever, use pellet-type powders (another complete topic for another day).

Whenever I do this sort of thing, I always go in alphabetical order, so let’s start with Blackhorn 209. Blackhorn has been on the market for 3 years now and it is my powder of choice. It provides very consistent velocities, packs in the barrel very tightly, burns extremely cleanly, holds up very well against moisture, ignites very well, has an almost indefinite shelf-life and best of all, numerous shots can be fired without cleaning between shots without any loss of accuracy. It is best cleaned up with normal solvent-type barrel cleaners, which are much better on your rifle than water-based cleaners. And it cleans the other parts of your rifle much faster than any other brands, to include the breech plug and frame. About the only problem you can have with this powder is having to wait between shots because you can re-load and fire so quickly your barrel will heat up and affect accuracy.

Hodgdens Triple 7 is another good power. It provides great, consistent velocities and ignites well. It is lower in price than Blackhorn 209, but can clump up in the can during the off-season, so it does not provide as good of results the next year, so the lower price is a trade-off. We always replace Triple 7 while testing if the powder sits around for several months between our testing sessions. This tells me that is does not resist moisture well. Triple 7 is a mess to shoot, it leaves a lot of residue behind, however, it does clean up well with water-based cleaners. The barrel must be cleaned between shots to get consistent velocities and it is also very hard to load a second shot on top of a dirty barrel without swabbing because of the crust ring left behind in the breech after firing. This is not a problem on the range, but could be a real problem in a hunting situation.

PRIMERS - Primers are often over looked as being a solution when accuracy problems occur, but are most likely the culprit. We have a standard primer test we conduct on all primers before we ever use it to work up a load.

Our testing has shown this: for Triple 7 Powder, use a low impact primer such as the Winchester Triple 7 Primer or, my favorite for Triple 7 powder, the 209 by Fiocchi. Both of these primers will provide good results. The problem with the Fiocchi primers is they are super hard to find.

For Blackhorn 209, a higher impact primer is needed, or per Blackhorns manufacturer recommendations, a full-strength 209 shotgun primer, such as the “Blue Box” 209 by Winchester or the one Blackhorn themselves recommend (and per my findings, I have to agree), the CCI 209M.

So, there are the components that have proven, in our testing, to provide the requirements we demand: consistency, accuracy and big game performance.

As mentioned before, I’ll be posting on the some of the individual bullets and how they performed for us. But my next post will be on my recent trip to Miles City, Montana to visit the Blackhorn 209 facility there. You are going to be surprised at what I found! (hint-hint: powder vs pellets)

Muzzleloading Powders - Reviews from the Shot Show

There were quite few companies at the Shot Show 2010 with new powders, and now I have my work cut out for me for testing them. (not that I’m complaining!)

One company that was there, that I guess you would say is producing a relatively new and great powder, was Blackhorn/Western Powders. I was able to spend over an hour with Don Lhur, their Ballistic Lab Manager, and let me tell you, this company has done their homework on Blackhorn 209!

Don shared a lot of information on their testing of Blackhorn and their further plans that will cater to the modern muzzleloading hunter. They are very much on track with consumer needs and wishes.

If you’ve watched my Precision Fire Inlines DVD or talked with me at a show or on the phone, then you know I have personally shot a lot of Blackhorn 209 with great results. I must say that although Blackhorn is a little more costly than the other powders, it will take it’s share of the black powder substitute market. The people at Blackhorn are very in-tune with customer satisfaction and seem to be a very transparent company with no hidden agenda. All you have to do to fall in love with this product is try just one can and you will be hooked forever!

Another product I ran across was a powder called Black Mag. While talking with Al Raychard of the company, he assured me that Black Mag XP will be an up-and-coming product because of it’s reasonable cost, low corrosive properties and it’s ease of ignition. This product can also be used in side-lock rifles. Black Mag XP is a product that we are not familiar with, but are looking forward to testing this summer.

The only other powder I found at the Shot Show 2010 that I have not had any experience with is a new powder coming out from the American Pioneer Company called “Super Powder”. I was told by Brett Epstein with American Pioneer that this powder will be available on the market in late February. He was very knowledgeable, and proud of this new product. Brett claims the powder to be clean burning, easy to clean up, gives good velocities and ignites well. We look forward to testing his claims and will be evaluating it along with the Black Mag XP this summer. for information regarding our results around August 2010.