Powder Oddity

[robin_du_bois]

I have of late been plagued by something I cannot resolve.  I have a Chamber’s Fowler that Allen Martin built with a 46” rifled octagon to round Getz barrel.  The gun was finished for me last January and I have since put several hundred roundballs through it using Goex or schuetzen 2f.  My loads vary from 75 – 100 grs.  Simple enough and the rifle performs beautifully, allowing me 5 – 10 shots before things get stuffy enough that I want to run a wet patch or two down the barrel to ease in loading.  That is until I use Swiss 1.5.  Though all else performs as expected, I cannot load a third ball without running into an almost insurmountable crud ring 4 – 5 inches above the breech.  A wet patch puts all to right for another two shots but that is all I’ve ever been able to get away with without running a patch down the barrel.  Has anyone ever encountered such a puzzle?  Goex and schuetzen leave the normal fowling throughout the barrel.  Only Swiss leaves me with the ring.  Any help would be … helpful.

Thanks :?

[Ramrod]

It just may be that the Swiss is too hot. It is what is known as a "sporting grade" powder. A fowler is usually better served by a "musket grade" powder. Note that this nomenclature has nothing to do with granulation. It is about powder composition, and burning characteristics.
Look up some articles by Bill Knight, AKA Madmonk, I learned an awfull lot from his writings, and conversations with him on other boards a few years ago.
Here is one...
http://thunder-ridge-muzzleloading.com/Bill%20Knight.htm

[dodd3]

i have had the fowling with swiss seems to be beter with more compresion.igot rid of that ring.
bernie :grin:

[robin_du_bois]

Thank you, gentlemen -- I belileve you have answered my question.

[dlemaster]

Just to illustrate that in learning black powder shooting smomethings are just not consistant. Shooters shooting Swiss in Black Powder Cartridge guns find that Swiss fouls less with less compression. Goex generally likes a fair amount of compression to burn clean, while the same amount of compression on Swiss causes inconsistant accuracy and increased fouling.
Go figure!

Regards, Dave

[Will Bison]

Someplace in my office I have the exact mixtures/chemical composition of most of the commercial black powders. They have higher/lower moisture contents, different amounts of the three basic ingredients, slight variations in granulation size and other variables.

Given the above, the burning characteristics will be different from brand to brand. It's probably not fair to say that powder x is better/worse than powder y, but rather just different.

Swiss may simply burn drier and thus produce harder/drier fouling (potassium carbonate).

[dodd3]

robin just a thought maybe the swiss one and a half is leaving a lot of solid in the barrel when you run out of your  one and a half f wy don't you try swiss 2f, this mite also help you no what they say every gun is a law unto its self. you never no nothing ventured nothing gained good luck.  
bernie :-)