If you get into black powder and shooting the old muzzle loaders, SAFETY is a must.
1. Use black powder or Pyrodex (black powder stubstitute) only. Never, never, never, never use smokeless powder. Burn rates and pressures are NOT the same and you could do damage to a fine gun or physical damage to yourself. Black powder is measured by weight (grains), while Prodex is by volume. In either case, if the black powder charge is 60 grains of FFg, then set your powder measure for 60 for the equivalent in Pyrodex.
2. Muzzle loaders load from the muzzle and they are dangerous because of this. For flintlocks, the priming powder is the last thing that goes in the priming pan. For percussion or caplocks, the cap is the last thing that goes on the nipple.
3. Black powder guns use a propellant that is not very efficient and that means they leave a lot of residue behind when you shoot them (sometimes as much as two-thirds of the load). This residue contains salt and is highly corrosive. All traces of black powder residue must be removed from your firearm before you put it away. One of the best cleaners is hot, soap water and a lot of old fashioned "elbow grease." Make sure you dry all the parts and then give them a light coating of oil when you put the firearm away.
4. When loading the firearm, make sure the muzzle is away from your face and other parts of your body. For long guns, make sure you seat the ball or bullet with the ramrod using the hand over hand technique. That way, if you had a smoldering ember in the chamber that ignited the charge, it will blow the ramrod and bullet out and you'll just suffer some burns. If you put your hand over the ramrod, you'll have the ramrod and the ball or bullet go through your hand. You might loose the use of your hand permanently or your hand all together.
5. Unlike smokeless powder, black powder is sold in bulk -- rather than loaded into cartridges -- and storage is a primary concern. Black powder must always be stored in a cool, dry place and in air-tight metal cans or conductive plastic containers. Black powder will go off if exposed to direct flame, high heat, and static electricity -- hence, the need for static disharge or conductive plastic containers. When compressed, black powder detonates instead of burning like smokeless powder. That is why there are storage requirements for certain amounts of it. A gunsmith that stocks 25 pounds or more of black powder is required by federal law to have a powder magazine. However, there may be local restrictions on the amounts of black powder you can store. Rule of thumb, if you have under five pounds, it's usually not a problem. A good storage container for black powder (besides the container it comes in) is the G.I. ammo can. Depending on the amount you have, you'll want a .50 caliber or larger. These cans are air and watertight. Black powder and Pyrodex absorb moisture. That's why it's important to keep them in air and watertight containers. Black powder is made from a mix of charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter. Milling or grinding these componets in the correct amounts is very dangerous and should not be attempted. Many of the earliest experimenters with black powder had accidents (sometimes fatal) when milling black powder.
6. Also, unlike smokeless cartridges, black powder loads have to be measured. Always use a powder measure. Never, never, never, ever pour powder directly from a powder flask into the firearm! For long guns, always start with a black powder charge that is equal to the bore diameter of the gun when working up your best load for it. Therefore, if you have a .50 caliber rifle it's 50 grains of FFg powder; if it's a .58 caliber, go with 60 grains. For pistols, you start with HALF the bore diameter. So a .44 is 22 grains of FFFg powder or a .36 is 18 grains. Powder measures are usually calibrated in 5 grain increments, so you round up -- in the case of the .44 it's 25 grains and for the .36 it's 20 grains.
7. There are four (4) types of black powder and classification is done by size of the powder grains. Fg is the largest and is sometimes called "cannon powder". This powder is used for muzzle loading cannon. FFg is the next size below Fg and is used for all guns with bore diameters above .45. FFFg is finer still and used for all guns with bores below .45. FFFFg is priming powder and used in the priming pan of flintlocks ONLY. It is not a propellant and will blowup a gun if used this way.
8. For black powder rifles amd smoothbore muskets, you typically "work-up" a load for the most accurate combination of powder weight and bullet. This is done in 5 grain increases. Shot groups will start out large and decrease in size as propellant size goes up. Once the optimum point is reached, the shot groups will start to get larger again. The optimum powder charge is what you should use in this gun with this bullet. Example: a .58 caliber rifle starts with a 60 grain FFg charge. You work-up to the best group and find that the most accurate load is 90 grains of FFg with this particular kind and weight of bullet. You only do this with long arms, not with pistols (see para. 6).
9. With black powder revolvers, never put any part of your body in front of the cylinder. Always rest the hammer between the capped nipples when carrying. NEVER carry the revolver a half-cock or with the hammer down on a capped nipple. The reason never to put part of your anatomy ahead of the cylinder is a phenomenon called the "chain fire." This sometimes happens to revolvers when the flash of a cap also causes adjacent cylinder to discharge. This is very dramatic when it happens. I once saw a film of a six-shot pepperbox pistol do this and it was very impressive (and totally unexpected by everyone involved).
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
Black powder guns can make an interesting supplement to the survival arsenal because of their very simple ammunition requirements. These guns often do not require any products of modern industrial society to deliver full performance. Ammunition can be made from scrap lead with simple tools and limited resources and it is even possible for the wily survivor to manufacture black powder. Ignition systems come in three types, fuse, flint and cap. Fuse ignited black powder guns are uncommon and usually replicas of Spanish colonial weapons of the early 1600s or are replicas of artillery pieces. Fuses are usually commercially produced and cannot be easily manufactured without special equipment. Fuse ignited guns are not recommended for survival purposes, although they make interesting collectibles. The two most common ignition systems are cap and flint. Flint ignition systems are used only in single shot guns and are not as dependable as caps, but they almost never wear out or need replacement (only the flints need periodic replacement). Flintlock guns do not fire when wet and are vulnerable accidental discharge if exposed to flame or embers (like from cigarette ashes or campfire sparks). Flintlocks may also not fire when upside down or tipped too far to one side. The advantage of flintlocks lies in simple logistics, they only need lead, powder and cloth to be fully serviceable, meaning that they can be kept in service under the most primitive conditions. Replica Kentucky long rifles are accurate to 200 yards and are capable of delivering considerable power due to their heavy, large caliber projectiles. This makes them suitable for hunting and low intensity combat. Flintlock rifles are unlikely to be regulated by restrictive legislation and can be purchased by mail in most parts of the country. Black Powder guns are often so inexpensive new that they are not sold for much less when they are sold used, unless you can find them at garage sales or flea markets.
First 