Rossi Rifleman

aragornelessar86 wrote:

jdb wrote:

Ohio3Wheels wrote:I wonder what the muzzle loaders in Kalifornia are doing.

And I don't know man. Is black powder and lead projectiles still even legal in Commifornia? ;~)

Our glorious and benevolent rulers (see what I did there?) don't seem to be interested in BP just yet, so we're doing just fine, thank you very much.

LOL, well, I'd still not get to complacent. You've still got governor Moon Beam to deal with for a couple more years. The day ain't over. Won't be long till he runs out of other things to tax out of the state and his attention may well turn to front stuffers. ;~)

Moonbeam signed 4 of 6 more gun control bills by the retards who can't even spell gun this go around three of them in the past couple days.

I bought a Thompson center arms Cody scout carbine when they were introduced 15 or so years ago. They have a good reputation and lifetime warranty so I was hooked. My absolute first ever BP (actually Pyrodex) shot was a buck so I thought life was great. Next time I went hunting with it I sat in a tree stand for the morning hunt, came in to camp for lunch, and decided to target practice (why not) only 1 shot to my name. It wouldn't fire at all. Next work day I called TC arms and told story. He suggested I change to BP as lower ignition temperature or at least prime the pyrodex with about 20 gr BP.
Anyway got me thinking since that is a duplex load, what about mixing 5- 10 grain slow-burning rifle powder in the mix?

Yikes! I don't think that is a good idea. When .454 Casull factory loads were first released, they used a triplex load and strongly recommended that no one try to duplicate it. Shortly thereafter, more suitable powders were released and the hybrid loading was no longer needed.

I few threads brought me back here to share this. Ive had a T/C 50cal Hawkens in the safe for awhile now. Have never fired it but as of today looked on the T/C site for information. Here are two things i have learned. In its owner manual, it clearly states not to mix smokeless with BP. (More on that later). I called customer service today as well to get a manufacture date based off the serial number, i was told they had a fire in 98 and all records lost.
Reseaching the use of BP and its substitutes in cartridges, i read how early on, handloaders were encouraged to add a small amount of smokeless first then toping off with BP for a little extra kick. I dont own any disposable firearms to test this out and wouldnt encourage it.

NavyDoc76-80 wrote: Reseaching the use of BP and its substitutes in cartridges, i read how early on, handloaders were encouraged to add a small amount of smokeless first then toping off with BP for a little extra kick. I dont own any disposable firearms to test this out and wouldnt encourage it.

Please, please, please don't. You don't have any disposable body parts either. Back when all I shot in the Sharps was black in cold weather I would sometimes add about 10 grains of 4Fg to the case before dropping the main charge of 2Fg in. On cold (below freezing) wet days at the range it seem to get the fires going better for more consistent performance. There was a school of thought at the time about using duplex smokeless/black loads, but they weren't allowed in competition and I never knew anyone who experimented with them that had much success.

Make smoke,

Zippidydoodah wrote:......Anyway got me thinking since that is a duplex load, what about mixing 5- 10 grain slow-burning rifle powder in the mix?

That would be an exceedingly bad idea unless you're equipped with a big honkin' test barrel and receiver set up for measuring the peak pressure similar to the setup used by powder and bullet makers such as when they develop the loading data for us.

Pick the wrong powder or even a powder that doesn't play well with BP or Pyrodex and you're likely to get a massive pressure spike that turns your barrel into a daisy like sculpture.

Great thread here folks, and couldn't just let it hang.

There are lots of reasons for the duplex loads... when done by professionals with testing equipment it might even be safe if proper procedures are followed... hell I even have books with published duplex loads in them for many cartridges... but it doesn't make it safe, and it doesn't mean you're going to duplicate the environmental and other Exact circumstances that enabled the previous guy to walk away with "well this worked for me."

for an off the record reply to why it's not allowed in bpcr... it reduces fouling and thus is seen as cheating, doesn't go along with the "spirit of the game," and potentially is easier to goof up, goofing up ends badly. plain ole black is safer. cleans easier than pyro, and has much better s.d. from shot to shot (read consistency here and therefore accuracy potential)

Pyrodex... well it's easier for John doe to find at a hardware store due to the DOT saying it ships easier. and usually cheaper of the substitutes.