doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Double Rifles, Paradox Guns & Gauge Rifles @ doublegunshop.com nitro-for-black

For those of you who shoot BPE doubles, besides loading nitro-for-black, do you actually load blackpowder cartridges?

If so, what brand powder do you favor and what grade (FFg, FFFg etc)do you use?

I have 2 I shoot BP in and have had others. I have never been able to regulate a BP double without resorting to duplexing. Perhaps some have but not me.

Having said that, if I were to acquire a new to me double in a BPE cartridge I'd have to try BP again.

A 5% leading charge of SR-4759 or 2400 with a commensurate reduction in BP has often done the trick for me.

Supposedly Swiss is the fastest but it wouldn't regulate for me. I almost got Olde Eyensford to work in a 43 Mauser....almost. I might revisit that powder as the weather warms. Fffg is faster than Ffg but I always start with Ffg....then try Fffg...then duplexing.

I have an abundance of Schuetzen BP and it works as good as any others when duplexed.

I'll be very interested in other replies.

I have 9 black powder double rifles. Of the powders available in the US now, I use, and I believe most others also use, Swiss 1.5 and 2Fg.

My smallest bores are 360EX, 2.25". One of these, a Watson Bros from 1905, loves NfB loadings of smokeless powder and jacketed bullets. Another, a GE Lewis from 1873, hasn't regulated yet. Another smaller bore, a 450/400 2 7/8" Purdey self-opener, is super accurate with jacketed bullets and 2Fg Swiss, and worked perfectly with almost no trial and error (sometimes you get lucky.)

The 450 3.25" doubles generally like 1.5 Fg Swiss and cast bullets. One, an EM Reilly, does really well without patching. The John Dickson is still a work in progress, but is okay both with and without patching, using black powder.

I have 3 500 BPE rifles (3" cases) and I've only gotten one of them, another Dickson, to shoot quite well. That required patching and reducing the black powder load significantly from what you often hear (down to 110gr)

I've not yet tried smokeless loads in my 450 or 500 rifles. I've only just started messing with fillers (kapok) in a German 9.3x72r rifle. That's showing promise, and significantly reduced variations in velocity. I will next try fillers in the 360s and then one of the 450s.

I've not tried duplexing yet.

PM me or ask here if there's anything I can help with. I'm still learning, but happy to share what has worked for me.

I’m enjoying this thread, although I don’t understand all the terms. Can someone explain what duplexing is?

Loading a small amount of smokeless powder first and then loading black powder on top of it.

When you’re loading with black powder, case volume is often the limiting factor on how fast you can drive the bullet, and if your rifle needs more velocity to get both barrels to hit at the same spot, then duplexing is one option, as you’re substituting a small amount of more powerful smokeless for the black powder. That smokeless charge goes in first and has the benefit of better ignition of the BP, plus helping that black burn more completely and leave less fouling in the barrel.

I’ve not tried it yet but that’s the gist of it.