Black Powder Question...

[mtodriscoll]

Has anyone used Fg powder for their rifle?

Goex recommends Fg for muskets, FFg for rifles and FFFg for pistols. I typically use Goex FFFg powder.

Here's why I ask...

I found this business on the web that is selling "Skirmish Powder Fg", for $7.80 per pound if purchased in 25lb. lot. That price includes hazmat fee and shipping to your door. I looked online to see what others thought of the "Skirmish Powder" and they said the grains are not glazed and it includes some fine powder. This makes it unsuitable for competitive shooting, but perfectly serviceable for re-enactors. They sell the same powder in FFFg for $9.80 a pound - also shipped to your door.

So before I purchase 25lbs. of the stuff, I was wondering if anyone else had used the "Skirmish Powder" and if anyone is using single Fg powder, what results they were getting, drawbacks, etc...

Trying to decide if I should get the Fg or the FFFg.... It's a $50 difference.

Thanks,
Matt O'Driscoll
KY Volunteers, 1st Regiment, Co. E

[mtodriscoll]

My apologies, I should have searched the forum before posting. There was a similar post in January/February '08 timeframe on this very topic that answered my question on the "Skirmish Powder" issue.

Matt

[Frenchie]

Nowadays I shoot live far more often than blanks. FFg is all I've ever used, from .58 caliber rifle-muskets to .36 caliber Colt Navies. I think of Fg in cannon mostly, but if I had a really big musket like .75 caliber, or a 10 bore shotgun, I think Fg would probably work fine.

I'd hesitate to use FFFg in anything bigger than a .32 caliber. The smaller grains burn faster. OTOH, if you're only shooting blanks, FFFg ought to be great, nice flash and bang.

Oh, yeah, Fg is harder to ignite than smaller grains.

[mtodriscoll]

Thanks for the extra input. I have noticed my loads look/sound better than some of the other re-enactors. Probably due to the smaller grains at the same load amount (equaling more powder...)

Maybe I'll stick with the FFFg rather than the Fg since it's what I know works in my rifle.

BTW, I use an 1861 Springfield, .58 caliber.

Matt

[Slickrick214]

I've used FFg and FFFg for re-enacting and so far have not seen any problems with it. I don't know about using FFFg in live firing with a .58 cal I never tried it before.

[Frenchie]

I've used FFg and FFFg for re-enacting and so far have not seen any problems with it. I don't know about using FFFg in live firing with a .58 cal I never tried it before.

I wouldn't try FFFg in a .58 caliber, unless it was a junk gun and I had it set up on an old tire and fired it from a distance with a string just to see what would happen.

[JWSmith1836]

Our unit has been using the "Skirmish Powder" for about 4 years now, and for the price, we find it a good deal. The only thing that we have found is that it seems to leave a little and I mean a little more fowling in the barrel after a days fight.
When we use up our last of the Fg we are going to order some of the FFFg to try, but this is mainly because many of our guys also hunt with blackpowder and the Fg doesn't do so well in our flintlocks.

Jno. W Smith

[RedkepiWA]

I have used 3fffg in my Parker-hale musketoon...the English one, since 1974 when I bought it new. I use 55 grs for everyday shooting. Jan. 2007 I used 70 grs of 3fffg and the same Prichett style minnie ball, also used since 1974 to take a buffalo in WY.

I think the fear of using the smaller grs. in muskets is over rated. Just cut back the doseage a bit.

[jurgitemvaletem]

I wouldn't try FFFg in a .58 caliber, unless it was a junk gun and I had it set up on an old tire and fired it from a distance with a string just to see what would happen.

I think you are being a little over dramatic here. In the 6 years I have been reenacting and shooting other blackpowder firearms I have never used anything but FFF(3)G. Normaly in my .577 enfield I use 60 grains and in my .69 I use 90 grains. I have never, ever, ever had a problem with it. I have never even had a misfire.

As to the original post, I was once given 1 lb. of F(1)G blackpowder. Being that I had no other powder on hand and it was a couple days before an event I went ahead and made up 40 rounds, packaged them, through them in the carty box and forgot about it. Until saturday afternoon the day of the event and I loaded and when the order came to fire I got a small snap (the cap going off). I tried a few more caps with the same reults. I then tried dumping the powder out and trying another cartridge. Nothing. I borrowed a cartridge from a nearby comrade to see if the trouble may have been with my powder. Fired perfectly. I then took a hit and went down.

Needless to say, no, F(1)G powder just doesn't seem to work, at least not for me.

[bob 125th nysvi]

I wouldn't try FFFg in a .58 caliber, unless it was a junk gun and I had it set up on an old tire and fired it from a distance with a string just to see what would happen.

for both blank and live rounds. Hundreds of them and my gun ain't junk.

In fact my unit buys FFFg in bulk so we are firing thousands of fffg rounds every year with no problems and no mishaps.

Personal preferance is one thing.

Gross blanket mis-statements are another.

[Slickrick214]

I wouldn't try FFFg in a .58 caliber, unless it was a junk gun and I had it set up on an old tire and fired it from a distance with a string just to see what would happen.

I usually agree with you but this is one time I'm going to have to disagree. While most of the time I use Goex FFg powder there have been more then a few times I've used FFFg. As I mentioned earlier I saw no real difference between the two and it didn't cause any health or safety risk. Yes the grains are smaller so they'll burn faster but it still went boom and made a lot of smoke. My gun didn't blow up or break and everything went on just fine. If I had to use FFFg powder again I would. If some one doesn't like it then don't stand next to me when I'm shooting.

[Frenchie]

We're talking FFFg, three (3) Fg, very fine powder usually used for priming flintlock pans and loading small-caliber pocket pistols, right? I'll bet using it regularly to send a .58 caliber blue pill down range will work just fine 99.98% of the time. It's that 0.02% of the time, added to a little bit of air gap between the powder and the ball, or the bore is really fouled, or Mercury and the constellation Draco are in an unlucky alignment, or whatever - that's the time I'm talking about.

[jurgitemvaletem]

We're talking FFFg, three (3) Fg, very fine powder usually used for priming flintlock pans and loading small-caliber pocket pistols, right? I'll bet using it regularly to send a .58 caliber blue pill down range will work just fine 99.98% of the time. It's that 0.02% of the time, added to a little bit of air gap between the powder and the ball, or the bore is really fouled, or Mercury and the constellation Draco are in an unlucky alignment, or whatever - that's the time I'm talking about.

Actualy I was under the impression that FFFF(4)G was the common for flintlock primer, an impression I am almost certain is correct.

Having both FF(2)G and FFF(3)G in front of me as I type (going to roll up some cartridges with a few comrades tomorrow) I can say that there is little difference, the grains of FFF(3)G maybe at most 1/3 times smaller than that of FF(2)G.

Like I said, 6 years of firing the stuff, both live and blanks with all sorts of black powder weapons and never had the first inkling of a problem.

By the way, my company is split about 50/50 with half using FF(2)G reguraly and the other half using FFF(3)G reguraly.

[Poor Private]

Personally I use ffg in my muskets/rifles, and fffg in all handguns. And was under the impression by flinters that you use ffffg in the primer. and fg is for cannons.
And the fffg I use in my handguns is the synthetic type Hodgson's tripple 7. I belong to a muzzleloading forum and this seems to be the way to go.

[Frenchie]

Know what? I'm an idiot (Chorus: "No!", "You don't say!", "Do tell, I want to know!" To this I have one reply: Shuddup...)

I seem to have suffered an attack of intelligence and realized I was thinking of the wrong granulations. I kept looking at "FFFg", for example, and seeing "FFFFg". I am sincerely sorry for inflicting this (hopefully) temporary mental aberration on the membership. I blame the recent lack of "trigger time". I will now break out my gun cleaning kit, take deep breaths of the holy Ballistol's fragrance, and sprinkle a pinch of black powder in my coffee. I should be right as rain in no time.http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m274/Darkfold_2006/Emoticons/bliss.gif

[jurgitemvaletem]

Know what? I'm an idiot (Chorus: "No!", "You don't say!", "Do tell, I want to know!" To this I have one reply: Shuddup...)

I seem to have suffered an attack of intelligence and realized I was thinking of the wrong granulations. I kept looking at "FFFg", for example, and seeing "FFFFg". I am sincerely sorry for inflicting this (hopefully) temporary mental aberration on the membership. I blame the recent lack of "trigger time". I will now break out my gun cleaning kit, take deep breaths of the holy Ballistol's fragrance, and sprinkle a pinch of black powder in my coffee. I should be right as rain in no time.http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m274/Darkfold_2006/Emoticons/bliss.gif

Frenchie, you are forgiven. (takes a soot mixture of water and blackpowder and with thumb draws a cross on Frenchie's head)

As to the use of F(1)G blackpowder, I have no clue. In my estimation it has no use in muskets/mustket rifles and almost every artillery unit I know uses a type of powder known as "cannon grade" which is even more course than F(1)G.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Yes, "4F" is the "classic" for flintlock pan priming. However, it is something of a Modernism or Reenactorism as musket powder is typically closer to "2F" and fine rifle powder closer to "3F."
So, a so-called "Bess" or "Charleville" was primed from the FF cartridge.
And, by and large, a rifle was primed from the FFF horn. (4F primng horns come way later..)

On the other hand, the U.S. Muzzleloading Team was experimenting with 8F powder for speed of priming... ;) :)

As an aside, in 17 years of N-SSA shooting, I always used reduced charges (for optimum accuracy) of 3F in rifle-musket, rifle, or carbine for a total of over 20,000 live rounds sent downrange...
1F we saved for the 3 Inch Ordnance Rifle...

CHS

[Duff]

Guys,

He just said that he mixed up FFFg and FFFFg, so just apply everything he said about FFFg to FFFFg and be done with it. Its not a big deal.

[Iron Jim Rackham]

I'm a skirmisher and use 3FG in all my .577 rifles and carbines. I shoot a Lyman 575213 510 grain minie ahead of 43 grains of 3FG, and obtain X ring accuracy at 50 yards and about a 2" group at 100. I've used it as a hunting charge as well and have harvested several deer with this combination.

I also obtain very good results with 45 grains of 2FG, but find I get less fouling with 3F, and so prefer it for skirmishing.

I shoot a flint fowler and use 3 drams of 2FG behind 1 1/8 ounces of #6 for both trap and pheasant shooting. I carry a small priming flask which dispenses a few grains of FFFFG powder into the pan. I use 2FG powder when loading a long land musket from paper cartridges, and ignition is quite good.

20 years ago I received a deal on FG powder, and found it performed acceptably in an 11 gauge fowler.

[Frenchie]

Guys,

He just said that he mixed up FFFg and FFFFg, so just apply everything he said about FFFg to FFFFg and be done with it. Its not a big deal.

:confused: I don't think they're making a big deal out of it, Duff. They're just adding their own comments, talking about what they use.

[RedkepiWA]

and Frenchie is no Idiot! He has great taste in shoes!

Howdy Frenchie!

Pat Hillock

[Frenchie]

Pat, those are the gol-dangdest most comfortable pair of brogans I can remember. I wear them whenever I have an excuse, and you had them so well-treated with mink oil that I think they're nearly waterproof. Thanks again for a great deal!