Manual

Understanding Black Powder And

Black Powder Substitutes

Make no mistake about it, Black Powder or a recommended Black Powder

Substitute are the only propellant powders that are safe to use in a muzzle-

loading firearm. Oh, you will hear, or possibly read, advice to the contrary but don’t fol-

low it for you will never hear such advice from a competent source.

The reason for using a low yield powder such as Black Powder or Pyrodex is quite

basic and it is related to firearm design. When used as a propellant, Black Powder or

Pyrodex generates a relatively low breech pressure. Muzzleloading firearms, even those

with modern steel barrels, are not designed to withstand the high pressures produced by

a Smokeless Powder charge. Think about it for a minute and you will understand why. The

ignition hole in a muzzleloading firearm is a direct port into the combustion chamber. This

port is sealed only by the thin metal of a shotshell primer or percussion cap. In the flint

lock design this port is not sealed at all. The high pressure of a Smokeless Powder charge

would destroy this ignition system and the gun itself.

To avoid any misunderstanding on the part of the reader let us explain further why

Smokeless Powder cannot be used in a muzzleloader in any quantity. People who become

interested in muzzleloading tend to research and to seek out some of the early journals

which describe loading implements, components and powders of yesterday. Reading

these old books can be pleasurable. Never assume, however, that obsolete

printed material has a safe application in today’s world.

In the early days of the breech loader there were powders manufactured which were

called “Bulk Smokeless”. These powders were measured by the volume and used inter-

changeably with Black Powder in early cartridge firearms. Even in their time these pow-

ders were never used in muzzleloading firearms.

Early “Bulk Smokeless” powders are not available today and, even if they were, their

erratic performance (extreme variations in pressure) would not meet current industry

standards. By modern standards, such early bulk powders were unsafe, even in the days of

their use. The same type of misinformation exists concerning “duplex loads” or the mix-

ing of Smokeless Powder with quantities of Black Powder. This practice was popular in the

days of the early breech loaders. It was dangerous then and it is even more dangerous now

for modern Smokeless Powders are far more complex in their composition.

All presently available Smokeless Powders are designed for use with

metallic cartridges and shotshells in strong modern breech loading firearms.

They should never be used in a muzzleloading firearm of any type. Some of these

powders are “Black” in color making proper identification extremely important. It is the