Author Topic: Pyrodex question (Read 1946 times)

Prof. Fuller Bullspit · « **on:** December 23, 2003, 06:30:04 AM »

All I can seem to find here in Southern California is Pyrodex. What are your experiences with Pyrodex for cartridge guns (.45LC) and for cap and ball pistols?

howdy doody · « **Reply #1 on:** December 23, 2003, 02:26:13 PM »

Sure I have used plenty of it in the past. I especially liked the pyrodex select. It is very consistant grains and meters well through a measure. Grain for grain load it the same as Goex or any other black powder.
Do not confuse subs though. 777 is way powerful stuff and I tried it and it was too much for me in handguns, but I still shoot it in my 45-70 and 38-55.
These days I have been sticking with APP and I like it the best of all subs. After all it smokes the most and is just fine for CAS, but I had no luck with long range with it myself. In short Pyrodex is fine and a perfect sub for true BP. There are loading charts on Hodgens website for Pyrodex too. :grin:
Load up and smoke it.

Cuts Crooked · « **Reply #2 on:** December 24, 2003, 01:49:40 AM »

's good stuff and as close to BP as ya 'cn git, without actually being BP.

Singing Bear · « **Reply #3 on:** December 24, 2003, 12:05:31 PM »

I used to use CTG in all my cartridge loading when I first began way back when. CTG is no longer available, so I now use RS whenever I'm out of Goex. Select is good, but found it to be a little on the hot side for the same loads. Over here, Pyro is twice the price of Goex so it's no longer cost effective to use all the time.

Prof. Fuller Bullspit · « **Reply #4 on:** December 25, 2003, 08:43:04 PM »

I'm going to try to load some .45 LC cartridges tomorrow. I'm going to melt the blue lube out of some 250 grain bullets and replace it with toilet ring/crisco lube and put it on top of about 30 grains (volume) of Pyrodex. I know not to allow any airspace so if I have to I'll go with more powder unless anyone has good advice about a filler with Pyrodex. I'll shoot these rounds as a test this Saturday so wish me luck!

Roy Cobb · « **Reply #5 on:** December 27, 2003, 03:56:08 AM »

You could use the round foam material from the hardware Caulk something or other.....

Or you could use a felt wad or cardboard or cornmeal or cream of wheat or whatever to make sure there is no air space and also make sure you have a light compression on the pyro.

w30wcf · « **Reply #6 on:** December 28, 2003, 04:21:59 PM »

Prof.,

Hopefully you will find that Pyrodex is a good b.p. replacement. I have used 40grs. by volume of both the RS and P granulation with good results. Compression on a settled powder charge is .19" in modern brass with either the Magma or Lyman Cowboy bullet (.35" seating depth).

This is the same amount of compression using 40 grs. of Goex FFG in old balloon head cases and the 457190 bullet seated to .40" in depth.

In the .45 Colt and .44-40 I have found that smokeless lubricant works fine. I'm using Tamarack which is the NRA 50/50 Alox/Beeswax formula.

.45 Colt velocity in a 24" barrel is 1,210 f.p.s.

Hope that helps.
w30wcf

Prof. Fuller Bullspit · « **Reply #7 on:** December 31, 2003, 07:37:36 AM »

I did indeed find that Pyrodex is a fine substitute black powder. What fun! I loaded up three sets of test loads:

30 grains (as thrown by a black powder measure) of Pyrodex and a 250 grain bullet lubed with crisco/toilet ring.

30 grains (as thrown by a black powder measure) of Pyrodex and a 250 grain bullet lubed with olive oil/toilet ring.

? grain (dipped with a Lee dipper 3.2cc if I remember correctly) with a crisco/toilet ring lube cookie and a 250 grain bullet with blue smokeless lube still in the groove.

I shot the crisco bunch first. I have to say that my smile was pretty big as I touched off that set of loads. I was shooting at a rock or big dirt clod against the berm about about 100 yards and had no trouble hitting it at all. The recoil was different than smokeless powder and I loved the boom!

Next I shot the lube cookie loads. These were weak in comparison as they didn't have as much powder. The boom wasn't as satisfying and accuracy was not as good (subjective impression). I didn't find a good lube star at the barrel even though I was sure I would get one with the cookie.

Last was the olive oil set and it was the same as the crisco set. Great boom and good accuracy.

When I cleaned up I found some fouling, but not too bad. I had shot this same rifle in an 8 stage match just prior to the black powder experiment so I know the barrel was somewhat dirty prior to the black powder. There was some pretty stiff fouling at the middle of the barrel.

I used Windex with vinegar to clean the gun and ended up using a bit of steel wool wrapped around my brass brush to get it out.

I'm going to try some more loads with Pyrodex using a lubed felt wad between the powder and bullet next time. I think I could shoot any of the previous loads in a match if I swabbed the barrel between stages. I hope to find a load that would let me shoot 4 stages (40 rounds) before I had to swab.

Thanks to all who provided support and information!

R J Talley · « **Reply #8 on:** October 17, 2004, 03:05:38 AM »

Hey Prof, tell me wht city you live in and I'll tell you where to buy BP..provided you live in LA county. There are more places than you would first think.

IntrepidWizard · « **Reply #9 on:** October 17, 2004, 04:25:19 AM »

As a quick filler I have used Corn Meal and also ground Walnut shells .

jeff · « **Reply #10 on:** October 20, 2004, 04:10:39 PM »

Why would someone want to use pyrodex instead of BP? Is the any advantage other than getting to pay more for pyrodex?

T.J. McSuds · « **Reply #11 on:** October 21, 2004, 01:02:49 AM »

IMHO, the advantage of Pyrodex is that it usually available where real BP is not. I have to make a 220 mile round trip to get my BP at an affordable price. The two dealers that carry BP around here (one 30 miles away, the other 60) get $18 per pound plus tax.

leverfan · « **Reply #12 on:** November 06, 2004, 07:22:19 PM »

Quote from: jeff

Why would someone want to use pyrodex instead of BP? Is the any advantage other than getting to pay more for pyrodex?

Pyrodex is more widely available. Since Pyrodex weighs less than an equal volume of black powder, and you load by volume, you get more loads from a pound of Pyrodex. Pyrodex fouling is not usually as thick as black powder fouling, especially after a long string of shots. The reason that Pyrodex is widely available is that it's safer to ship and handle than black powder. Black powder is an explosive, while Pyrodex is a less dangerous flamable solid. In some areas, Pyrodex is cheaper, especially when you figure how many more loads you're getting from that pound of Pyrodex.

I guess those are some of the main reasons.