US Army practice for powder magazine inventory was to periodically restack the powder kegs by upending them. The premise was that vibrations from transportation, handling, and ground tremors had created powder dust, which tended to settle to the keg bottom over time. The upending was to allow the dust to migrate back through the keg to prevent high concentrations of faster burning dust. When annealing larger quantities of brass cases, you can stand them in a flat pan with water to just below the anneal zone so it needs only tipping the case over into the water for cooling. Enjoying your video lessons.
Once my cases are fire formed I simply weigh the powder, drop tube it, add wad, compress and finger fit the 530 gr Postell (45-70 Sharps). No need to anneal as after fire forming I don’t use either sizing, belling, seating or crimping dies.
Awesome video, thank you. I have watched several of your videos and picked up something from each. It is amazing that powder that old even still burns. As someone else replied the manufacture of black powder then was a science. I have seen other statements about the variation in the granule size. It almost seems like the more modern production powder is smaller for a given size. It would be interesting to see British and US made powders from the 1860s. That might be wishful thinking though.
BP, so long as it doesn't get wet, virtually lasts forever. That's one of the big reasons BP cartridges stuck around when smokeless had been developed (NC based smokeless degrades within a few months, depending on the humidity and temperature (without a good stabilizer)). Early Smokeless formulations either didn't have stabilizers in them, or the stabilizers they were using were not very good for the task (smokeless production had issues with finding affordable, effective stabilizers up into the 30's).
Effective immediately, Hodgdon announced the closure of the GOEX blackpowder manufacturing facility in Camp Minden, La. 200 Year old American company gone in an instant, this feels to me like being gag balled and passed around a bed and breakfast with votive candles. I am more than angry.
Who makes the black powder measure? I've been loading 44 Wcf and I use a Lee 2.2cc scoop. This gets me to about 32 grain. Consistency has been Ok with goex 2f from 31.4 to 32.2, not great but OK. The downside of the scoop is it's slow. A powder measure would ideal.
We know that 19th century powder was better than Goex, but similar to Swiss. Swiss made of alder buckthorn charcoal will give *exactly* the same velocity from an Enfield as recorded in the 1860s, 1265 FPS, give or take 2%. Goex is made for the US military for use in artillery systems, not as a rifle propellent, velocity with it will be around 100 FPS slower. I suggest watching "Everything a Muzzleloader Shooter Needs to Know about Black Powder" on the Paper Cartridges UA-cam channel, it's really informative.
They really had better powder back in the day, it’s all they used, they had it perfected, maybe even enhanced, to many regulations and laws in these days.
Richard, I was loading 86 grains of Fg powder and used a magnum primer due to the volume. I get a more complete burn that way with the coarse powder. I don't think the 38-55 needs a magnum primer, but try both and see which one performs better. There could be a significant difference. Thanks for commenting, Todd
Dan, I'm not the end all, be all on the subject, so gather several opinions before making a purchase. A lot of it is personal preference. Here's some basics: 38 caliber - lighter recoil, but you may be disappointed in the knock down power for silhouettes at the longer ranges. It won't matter for paper targets. 45 caliber: heavier bullet for down range silhouette, seems like a great compromise because it's in the middle, but some of the long cartridges can be tricky to load consistently. There's a tall column of powder in a 45-110 or longer and it takes practice to get the compression consistent. 50 Calibers: will knock down any silhouette with a 675 grain bullet or larger. Down range energy is substantial, but recoil gets annoying if shooting a lot. The recoil of a large 45 is no slouch either, but the 50s are worse. No big deal until you shoot a long match and start to anticipate the recoil. I love my 50-90 Sharps, but it's not an all-day shooter. Great to have you interested to get started. Todd
It takes a great deal of experimenting to get the components balanced correctly. In my 45-110 my first several dozen were pathetic. 25 yard groups of over a foot. Finally, got her to 4-6 inches at 100 yards. Still, it can be better.
@@frontierwesternheritage1356 Ok good. I think traditional lube is not that difficult or expensive. Do you do home made or spg ? Do you cast or buy bullets? Thanks 👍
I mostly buy bullets for my cartridge guns and cast conicals for my percussion revolvers. I use Vigilante Bullet Lube on Facebook. It's the best stuff I've used and saves me the frustration. If you can't find it, try Vigilante Candle Company on Facebook - same outfit.
@@frontierwesternheritage1356 Ok cool 👍. I will start by buying bullets in small quantity until I find what works best for my rifle then I may get a mold and cast them but depends on savings maybe easier to just buy bulk when I figure out what bullet works best. Thanks 👍
I'm new to this stuff so please forgive my question. I understand that the wad is used to keep the powder in place (i.e. compressed) but I am unclear as to whether the bullet is seated in the case exactly the same way every time even if the powder charge is decreased (i.e. there is an air space between the wad and base of bullet). I've read that you don't want a space between the powder and the base of the bullet but does the wad take the place of keeping the powder compressed for safety even if there is a space between the wad and the bullet? Or would you have to push the bullet further down into the case if using a lighter powder charge so that the base actually contacts the wad?
Excellent question on a confusing part of the process. There is some room for experimentation in bullet depth. Personally, I try to stick to the area of the bullet where I can get a good crimp and adjust the powder charge from there. The minimal powder charge is one that touches the bottom of the bullet. More powder simply means greater powder compression. The bullet depth doesn't change. Less powder, less compression. But never so little to cause an air gap. You can experiment with a constant powder load and different compression rates by adding more wads. Again, the bullet depth doesn't have to change - the additional wads are pushed to the same depth and thus further compress the powder. Some powders function well under greater compression while others function better if very slightly compressed. It's part of the load testing process. I hope this helps and doesn't cause further confusion.
@@frontierwesternheritage1356 THANK YOU so much for clarifying this! I had no idea black powder had this feature where it is "adjustable" (at least to some extent) in terms of the space it occupies based on COMPRESSION. (almost reminds me of the characteristics of a gas where it expands to fill the available space though of course the powder being solid it can't expand to the same degree as a gas) There are still some issues re compressing powders since some (like Pyrodex) as I understand it produce variable results based on the degree of compression (I think some people say to not compress it at all but just ensure that there is no air space either). On the other hand, consistent compression might not have this variability in performance. This may be a more complicated topic to explore than I first thought but I'll see about researching (chat groups, etc.) what people have to say about this "compression effect". One thing that has been stated consistently is that you should never have "air space" in a cartridge system using black powder. But once that has been addressed, there still could be additional points to consider, such as the degree of compression. Again, thank you for the info you provided.
Triple 7 is supposed to be bad in cartridges and is also bad to compress. Ive never tried it in cartridges but it does seem to work better when not compressed in my flintlock. The extended hangfire is a bummer tho which is typical in a flintlock with any of the substitutes
Yes! Always! I have NO idea why he was weighing his BP. Also 1 F powder is NOT the correct mill for this weapon. TRIPLE F is more appropriate. Don't listen to this guy he does not understanding the BASICS of PB reloading.
Be cautious listening to this presentation. His granulation are off. Read the manufactures instructions, and do a lot of research. He is using the very best of the Sharps made today.
US Army practice for powder magazine inventory was to periodically restack the powder kegs by upending them. The premise was that vibrations from transportation, handling, and ground tremors had created powder dust, which tended to settle to the keg bottom over time. The upending was to allow the dust to migrate back through the keg to prevent high concentrations of faster burning dust.
When annealing larger quantities of brass cases, you can stand them in a flat pan with water to just below the anneal zone so it needs only tipping the case over into the water for cooling.
Enjoying your video lessons.
Excellent instructional video. Thank you.
Ecellent video, love the outtakes 😄
Once my cases are fire formed I simply weigh the powder, drop tube it, add wad, compress and finger fit the 530 gr Postell (45-70 Sharps). No need to anneal as after fire forming I don’t use either sizing, belling, seating or crimping dies.
Just stumbled on your channel, really like it! Keep up the good work!
Very helpful. Thank you.
I often change granulation size of my powder with a simple mortar and pestle, knowing that can accelerate burning.
Awesome video, thank you. I have watched several of your videos and picked up something from each. It is amazing that powder that old even still burns. As someone else replied the manufacture of black powder then was a science. I have seen other statements about the variation in the granule size. It almost seems like the more modern production powder is smaller for a given size. It would be interesting to see British and US made powders from the 1860s. That might be wishful thinking though.
Thanks Robert. If I ever find more powders to compare, I'll share it. Thanks for watching.
BP, so long as it doesn't get wet, virtually lasts forever. That's one of the big reasons BP cartridges stuck around when smokeless had been developed (NC based smokeless degrades within a few months, depending on the humidity and temperature (without a good stabilizer)). Early Smokeless formulations either didn't have stabilizers in them, or the stabilizers they were using were not very good for the task (smokeless production had issues with finding affordable, effective stabilizers up into the 30's).
Effective immediately, Hodgdon announced the closure of the GOEX blackpowder manufacturing facility in Camp Minden, La. 200 Year old American company gone in an instant, this feels to me like being gag balled and passed around a bed and breakfast with votive candles. I am more than angry.
I just ordered 3 pounds of goex ffg powder yesterday...
Thank you,
Who makes the black powder measure?
I've been loading 44 Wcf and I use a Lee 2.2cc scoop. This gets me to about 32 grain. Consistency has been Ok with goex 2f from 31.4 to 32.2, not great but OK.
The downside of the scoop is it's slow. A powder measure would ideal.
Nice video, keep it up👍
We know that 19th century powder was better than Goex, but similar to Swiss. Swiss made of alder buckthorn charcoal will give *exactly* the same velocity from an Enfield as recorded in the 1860s, 1265 FPS, give or take 2%. Goex is made for the US military for use in artillery systems, not as a rifle propellent, velocity with it will be around 100 FPS slower. I suggest watching "Everything a Muzzleloader Shooter Needs to Know about Black Powder" on the Paper Cartridges UA-cam channel, it's really informative.
Thank you. I will tune in to the Paper Cartridges UA-cam channel. Todd
They really had better powder back in the day, it’s all they used, they had it perfected, maybe even enhanced, to many regulations and laws in these days.
Ok, I am watching this video now. We have mutual friends in VT!
Paul and Lisa? Small world. Trying to get Paul to visit. Lisa has been out here several times.
@@frontierwesternheritage1356 yes, we lived in Bellows Falls for 10 years or so. Maybe 87-97? My wife & Lisa volunteered a lot together in the schools
Why magnum primers? And when reloading .38-55 black powder, should magnum or standard primers be used?
Richard, I was loading 86 grains of Fg powder and used a magnum primer due to the volume. I get a more complete burn that way with the coarse powder. I don't think the 38-55 needs a magnum primer, but try both and see which one performs better. There could be a significant difference. Thanks for commenting, Todd
I'm interested in getting into BP cartridge shooting for long distance. What is the advantages/disadvantages of the common calibers .38, .45, .50
Dan, I'm not the end all, be all on the subject, so gather several opinions before making a purchase. A lot of it is personal preference. Here's some basics: 38 caliber - lighter recoil, but you may be disappointed in the knock down power for silhouettes at the longer ranges. It won't matter for paper targets. 45 caliber: heavier bullet for down range silhouette, seems like a great compromise because it's in the middle, but some of the long cartridges can be tricky to load consistently. There's a tall column of powder in a 45-110 or longer and it takes practice to get the compression consistent. 50 Calibers: will knock down any silhouette with a 675 grain bullet or larger. Down range energy is substantial, but recoil gets annoying if shooting a lot. The recoil of a large 45 is no slouch either, but the 50s are worse. No big deal until you shoot a long match and start to anticipate the recoil. I love my 50-90 Sharps, but it's not an all-day shooter. Great to have you interested to get started. Todd
It takes a great deal of experimenting to get the components balanced correctly. In my 45-110 my first several dozen were pathetic. 25 yard groups of over a foot. Finally, got her to 4-6 inches at 100 yards. Still, it can be better.
WHat is the brand and model of the powder measure??????
@@jason60chev It's Lyman's black powder measurer. I don't think there's more than one model. Thanks for watching. Todd
What are your thoughts on using flash paper over the primer?
Laurence, I'm not familiar with that technique. I wish I could offer an opinion. Thanks for watching. Todd
Excellent 👍. What is your opinion on Lee liquid alox or powder coating instead of traditional lube? Also do you cast and lube your own? Thanks
I've stuck with traditional lube. I like the authenticity of it. I'm not a great bullet caster, but I'm trying and getting better.
@@frontierwesternheritage1356 Ok good. I think traditional lube is not that difficult or expensive. Do you do home made or spg ? Do you cast or buy bullets? Thanks 👍
I mostly buy bullets for my cartridge guns and cast conicals for my percussion revolvers. I use Vigilante Bullet Lube on Facebook. It's the best stuff I've used and saves me the frustration. If you can't find it, try Vigilante Candle Company on Facebook - same outfit.
@@frontierwesternheritage1356 Ok cool 👍. I will start by buying bullets in small quantity until I find what works best for my rifle then I may get a mold and cast them but depends on savings maybe easier to just buy bulk when I figure out what bullet works best. Thanks 👍
Maybe have to consider the market they sold to. After all not everyone had a cannon in the yard, but they had a long arm for hunting. Just saying.
I'm new to this stuff so please forgive my question. I understand that the wad is used to keep the powder in place (i.e. compressed) but I am unclear as to whether the bullet is seated in the case exactly the same way every time even if the powder charge is decreased (i.e. there is an air space between the wad and base of bullet). I've read that you don't want a space between the powder and the base of the bullet but does the wad take the place of keeping the powder compressed for safety even if there is a space between the wad and the bullet? Or would you have to push the bullet further down into the case if using a lighter powder charge so that the base actually contacts the wad?
Excellent question on a confusing part of the process. There is some room for experimentation in bullet depth. Personally, I try to stick to the area of the bullet where I can get a good crimp and adjust the powder charge from there. The minimal powder charge is one that touches the bottom of the bullet. More powder simply means greater powder compression. The bullet depth doesn't change. Less powder, less compression. But never so little to cause an air gap. You can experiment with a constant powder load and different compression rates by adding more wads. Again, the bullet depth doesn't have to change - the additional wads are pushed to the same depth and thus further compress the powder. Some powders function well under greater compression while others function better if very slightly compressed. It's part of the load testing process. I hope this helps and doesn't cause further confusion.
@@frontierwesternheritage1356 THANK YOU so much for clarifying this! I had no idea black powder had this feature where it is "adjustable" (at least to some extent) in terms of the space it occupies based on COMPRESSION. (almost reminds me of the characteristics of a gas where it expands to fill the available space though of course the powder being solid it can't expand to the same degree as a gas) There are still some issues re compressing powders since some (like Pyrodex) as I understand it produce variable results based on the degree of compression (I think some people say to not compress it at all but just ensure that there is no air space either). On the other hand, consistent compression might not have this variability in performance. This may be a more complicated topic to explore than I first thought but I'll see about researching (chat groups, etc.) what people have to say about this "compression effect". One thing that has been stated consistently is that you should never have "air space" in a cartridge system using black powder. But once that has been addressed, there still could be additional points to consider, such as the degree of compression. Again, thank you for the info you provided.
Triple 7 is supposed to be bad in cartridges and is also bad to compress. Ive never tried it in cartridges but it does seem to work better when not compressed in my flintlock. The extended hangfire is a bummer tho which is typical in a flintlock with any of the substitutes
@@frontierwesternheritage1356 LOTS of WRONG information in this answer. Dangerous misapprehension.
Isn’t black powder measured by volume not weight?
Yes! Always! I have NO idea why he was weighing his BP. Also 1 F powder is NOT the correct mill for this weapon. TRIPLE F is more appropriate. Don't listen to this guy he does not understanding the BASICS of PB reloading.
@@powderslinger5968 Wrong.
One F is for canons.
I have never even SEEN one F powder before. So you own cannons?
1F powder is perfectly suited to larger caliber, longer barreled rifles and shotguns.
Yep.. the larger the bore, the more you need a slower burning powder. Large bullets are not accurate spun too fast!
🇺🇸👍
This is different? This is very old
N.B.P., I think I did this a little over a year ago. Thanks for watching. Todd
Be cautious listening to this presentation. His granulation are off. Read the manufactures instructions, and do a lot of research.
He is using the very best of the Sharps made today.
Yawn