Manual

Understanding Black Powder

And Pyrodex

™

Make no mistake about it, Black Powder or Pyrodex are the only

propellant powders that are safe to use in a muzzleloading firearm.

Oh,

you will hear, or possibly read, advice to the contrary but don’t follow 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 de-

signed 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 foil of a cap and weight of the hammer in

the cap lock model. In the flint lock design this port is not sealed at all. The

high pressure of a Smokeless Powder charge would destroy this ignition sys-

tem and the gun itself.

To avoid any misunderstanding on the part of the reader let us explain fur-

ther why Smokeless Powder cannot be used in a muzzleloader in any quanti-

ty. People who become interested in muzzleloading tend to research and to

seek out some of the early journals which describe loading implements, com-

ponents and powders of yesterday.

Reading these old books can be pleasur-

able. Never assume, however, that obsolete printed material has a safe ap-

plication 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 vol-

ume and used interchangeably with Black Powder in early cartridge firearms.

Even in their time these powders 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 pow-

ders were unsafe, even in the days of their use. The same type of misinforma-

tion exists concerning “duplex loads” or the mixing 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 pr

esently available Smokeless Powders ar

e designed for use with

metallic cartridges and shotshells in strong modern breech loading fire-

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

Some of these powders are “Black” in color making proper identification ex-

tremely important. It is the characteristic of Smokeless Powders to burn in a

controlled manner within a given pressure range. Control of this pressure