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Don't use smokeless powder in your black powder gun.

4K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  howlnmad 
#1 ·
This guy lost a couple fingers, this picture is from, Indiana DNR. The outcome could've been a lot worse.
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#2 ·
I wonder why he went and did that? Maybe he has a buddy with a Savage that can actually use smokeless and he figured it would be okay in his. Maybe he was just to stupid to read the owners manual or the safety warning stamped on the barrel?
 
#3 ·
Another Darwin candidate. What part of Black Powder does he not understand? Does he just look at the color and think "it looks black so it must be OK?"
 
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#9 ·
Kind of interesting how as an explosive black power is more powerful than smokeless powder, but as a propellant it's the opposite. I do know that there are muzzle loaders out there that are meant for smokeless powder, but obviously they don't hold nearly as much powder as they would if it was black powder.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Knew a judge back in New York who insisted on using smokeless in one of his repro cap and ball Colts - an 1851 Navy as best I recall. He'd load the powder into gel capsules which would fracture as the ball was seated. Despite his best efforts at causing a kaboom he was still intact at the time of his death several years back.
 
#15 ·
I hear or read things like this from time-to-time. If you are shooting a weapon clearly designed for black powder, why on earth would you insist on shooting smokeless powder charges from it?

To the guys who do it: IF the manufacturer clearly lists a safe, tested load for something other than black powder, I suppose that is one thing. You must have great faith/confidence in them, or they must have really great lawyers and VERY deep pockets. But to experiment on your own is crazy (Spelled NUTS). Don't know about the rest of you, but I fully intend to exit this world with as many of my original attachments just where the Good Lord put them.
 
#16 ·
I'm not sure who exactly that post was directed at but, the Savage 10 MLSS is designed for smokeless powder. I choose to use it because I don't have to wait for the smoke to clear and I feel more comfortable doing quick reloads. I'm not a traditional muzzle loader hunter/shooter, I prefer modern weapons and meat on the table.
 
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#17 · (Edited)
Blown up guns make good print. They are kinda like Columbine for purists.

But ideology kills facts in more than politics. And it does so without saying much about forensics. Was there an obstruction, was there a double charge, was it an uneducated charge of fast powder, was the receiver cast or forged? Or was the rifle just beyond its serviceable life.

Old rifles come apart! And they do it under Black Powder as well as Smokeless loads. I know a gent who has had two blow under Black... but none so far of those he reserves for Smokeless.

Sherman Bell took considerable trouble in demonstrating with pressure equipment and careful testing, with even more careful selection of smokeless powders, and showed that BP velocities can be achieved with less overall pressure as well as less drastic pressure spikes. His work is not as sexy as pictures of blown up rifles but it's "data". If the Oehler equipment that Bell uses is wrong then he could be wrong. But he uses it more than I use my chronograph so I'm banking on him. And if some of the cartridge historians around, the ones who dredge up some of the smokeless loads generated by the manufacturers to bridge the gap are wrong, then I'm marching towards Armageddon along with them. But at least I tried.

I'll concede three things about the BP vs Smokeless debate: 1st - you better know "which" smokeless powders are appropriate for approximating original Black Powder pressures; 2nd it's obviously much easier to double-charge with smokeless; and 3rd - you better know what you are doing when selecting not just your powder but know that demarcation where loads will exceed BP velocities and by how much. Those calculations, and taking measures to safeguard against double-charges, are the responsibility of each shooter - no different than any other safe practice in loading and shooting.

The pictures of these blown up guns could just as easily be used by the anti-gun lobby in saying "there those dumb shooters go again" (and maybe somebody WAS dumb; they had three significant opportunities for error), but like 20 second soundbytes on the news, they really don't tell the whole story or say anything useful!
 
#18 ·
I have a Uberti reproduction .44 cal Remington Army. I have a conversion cylinder that allows it to be fired with .45 Colt cartridges, cowboy action loads. Such cowboy loads are made with either black or smokeless power. I use Magtech .45 cowboy action loads with smokeless powder. No problem.
 
#19 ·
The 'Bad Bull' .45 cal. smokeless uses between 130-140 grains of IMR 4350! WoW!!
Propels a 275 gr. bullet @ 3100 FPS for over 6,000 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle! WoWEE!
Costs nearly 4 1/2 THOUSAND DOLLARS !!! Ouch!!!
Don't know if that was recoil or my wallet biting my ass!
Phenomonal none the less. Absolutely awe inspiring ...
Someday if I win the lottery.
http://www.badbullmuzzleloaders.com/index.htm
 
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