Hello all-
Please excuse me if this doesn't fit perfectly squarely in the niche of this particular discussion forum of DGS - this particular lane of traffic gets seen the most though and I want as complete a slice of your's all experience as I can get.
Most of what I shoot are early to mid-late ninteenth century cartridge guns - also some caplock and flintlock stuff, but mostly early cartridge guns.
When I'm lucky enough to find period text on loading and running these old guns I often see reference to Curtis and Harvey no.6 powder. Also, I know that today's powders aren't what the good old black was in a number of ways, most notably power (efficiency) and fouling.
For the most part I just grin and bear it, choosing to run Goex FFg and whatever wad/bullet/patch lube I'm working with that particular season and increase the load till I get shotgun patterns or rifle groups that work for me at velocities that are appropriate for the game I'm hunting.
With the double rifles this can end up kind of cheating me of velocity, as if I'm increasing the powder charge weight to get the barrels to print together, depending on the rifle or the bullet (or ball) weight, I could end up getting lower velocities (not as good of performance) at my 'regulation load' for the reason that I'd have to increase the load mass (and initial weight of ejecta inside the barrel-time part of the ballistic life of the charge)
Short of just going with FFFg powder (and risking excessive presures in some of the guns) does anyone here know of a new modern powder that has been shown via such efforts of Bell and Amburst to duplicate the performance of C&H no.6?
I'm very much interested to hear what you all have to say.
My interest is around anything from wee little .410 2-1/2" 7/16oz loads through 28b blackpowder shotshells to bore rifles from 20b on up as well as the big bottleneck BPE 450 Express cartridges.
What's the latest news?
--Tinker
