American Pioneer powder

[gila_dog]

I tried some American Pioneer FFG powder with my old TC Hawken, using CCI #11 primers. It worked about like a flintlock, POP... BOOM! And the BOOM wasn't always the same. Accuracy was awful. Pyrodex just went BOOM! What's the problem here? Does this powder not work well with #11 primers or is there some other problem?

[captchee]

 if your flintlock acts that way then your doing something wrong
AP powder never was worth much  and you see why

[El Hombre]

AP powder never was worth much  and you see why

I have to disagree. I have used AP powder for years, and never had a problem. It is all I use and I shoot everyting from .32 up through .58 caliber. I know others that have good luck with it also.

If you are having delayed or "hang fires", I suspect there is residue in your flash channel, or your nipple. You should try removing and cleaning the nipple, and blowing out the flash channel from the nipple end with some compressed air. (This is assuming your barrel is already clean.) Sometimes oil or "bore butter" settles in the flash channel. the compressed air should clear it. I would also make sure your caps are new. I have had some weird ignitions using older caps. Some people recommend popping some caps in the gun before loading as a method of drying out the oil. I do not recommend this as I have seen paper residue from the cap block the flash channel and cause misfires. This cap residue is not usually an issue when the gun is fired with a powder charge as blowback will usually clear the channel. Good luck & keep us updated.

[captchee]

 the problem is AP is not consistent and its dirty . You may get it to work ok but my bet is if you went to Goex or elephant  or even pyro as a second choice  your would be much happier , your rifle will be more consistent and no more POI that float all over the place ..
 But hay , everyone has their opinion. So  you don’t have to take my word for it .
 Do a google search and see what others say about it
 Good luck with your problem . But I submit that if your gun is going off well with pyro and its not with AP then  dirty flash hole , bad caps  or popping a cap to clear the bore    isn’t the problem ,  it’s the powder

[forest2]

AP only get's good reports from those people that live in the extreme arrid climes of the US. AP IS the most hygroscopic faux BP available to consumers.(.) The charcoal element of AP is burnt/oxidized Orange Peel! It soaks up water like a sponge! A clean dry nipple and fire channel that has been "proven" by fireing a dry cap to clear the channel will almost always have a hang-fire with this stuff in anything above 50% humidity!  I remember as many posters here do, when AP was "clean shot". They got sued in court for making pellets. Now, that corporation is bankrupt and AP is making square pegs for round holes.
 My personal opinion is that Pyrodex is a much better lawn fetilizer than AP powders, it has a higher nitrogen content, greens up faster.
 Now before you think I'm nothin but a trad powder shooter, I use alot of T7,,I really like the "Sporting Grade" quality of it and I can find it almost anywhere. I do use Swiss in my rock tossers.

[captchee]

 yep swiss is another VERY good powder . the use a better grade of charcoal  which produces  cleaner burn and hotter / higher pressures .
 myself i dont use T7 or pyro in my muzzleloaders  but i do use it in my breech loaders  especially my old shotguns  when reloading papers .
 i  get  Goex much cheaper then either of the synthetics and I normal don’t buy them . BUT when a  bottle is left on the  blanket , I pick it up for  reloading

[El Hombre]

AP only get's good reports from those people that live in the extreme arrid climes of the US. 

Once again I have to disagree. I live in Kentucky and hunt in Kentucky and Missouri. I have friends in both states that also us AP and have no problems. I would not consider us to be "arid" climate.

Improper storage of any powder can cause failures. I only know my own experience with AP has been good. I was unhappy with Pyrodex. Seemed very corrosive, especially on cheaper guns (Traditions.) Yes, I clean my guns well. But at that time was living in a home with no A/C or basement. I can gaurantee it was not "arid". I also tried T7 & experienced the "crud ring" it is off my list also. Real black is nice, but harder to get & I enjoy the easy cleanup and ease of loading AP provides.

Another thought, be sure you are cocking the hammer before loading and I always give the gun a "thump" on the side after I dump the powder to encourage powder to enter the flash hole (drum) area.

[El Hombre]

Several years ago I became more interested in the smaller calibers (32,36,40,45) and pistols and started using the FFFG AP. This last fall I found a can of the old Clean Shot powder in FFG that had @ 1/3 of the powder left in it. This stuff had to be at least 10 years old. I broke out one of my 58 cal rifles and spent an enjoyable couple hours. Never a misfire, no erratic flyers. No problems.

Before a blanket statement blaming the powder based only on the manufacture name, I would look at all other procedures that could cause the problems described and go from there.

[gila_dog]

I'm going to make sure the nipple and flash channel are clean then try it again. I sure like how clean my gun is after shooting this stuff. Now if I can just get it to go BOOM reliably...

What about using FFFG instead of FFG?

[El Hombre]

I prefer FFFG, even on the bigger calibers such as 54 & 58. Just cut the charge back @20% for bigger calibers. For 32 to 50 cal  It is definately the best way to go.