New black powder

[ihookem]

I still have not made any powder. Do you think compressing it is mandatory?

 

[HighUintas]

I still have not made any powder. Do you think compressing it is mandatory?

In a muzzleloader, no. You can mix in a binder, 1.5-2% glutinous rice starch works very well, then screen it while damp and let it dry. It will burn faster than corned powder. A 2f screened might burn like a 3f corned. Not exactly, but that is an example to illustrate the effect

 

[FrontierGander]

I still have not made any powder. Do you think compressing it is mandatory?

If you want powder that's actually consistent, yes. Get your density correct. I've seen those that mix the ingredients then form a ball and push/grade it thra screen. It works but it's weak and does not offer the consistency I am looking for.

 

[HighUintas]

If you want powder that's actually consistent, yes. Get your density correct. I've seen those that mix the ingredients then form a ball and push/grade it thra screen. It works but it's weak and does not offer the consistency I am looking for.

It is not weak. If it is ball milled the same as corned powder and the only difference is screening vs corning, then it is just as energetic by weight. The corning process only changes density and burn rate.

 

[FrontierGander]

80 yards, Ardesa Hawken .54cal, 1:66 twist with 80gr home made 2fg. Shooting a good 6 inches low. I made a new front sight, so it'll need to be filed down quite a bit.

Took another 5 shots and 3 out of 5 hit that same 3 shot group, lower left, one egged out the hole on the far right and then 1 went high as the patch blew out. The other 9 recovered patches were amazing. Only thing I can think, the 20mph wind dried out the last patch strip " cutting at the muzzle" enough to cause it to not hold up.

If this wind calms down this evening " gusts now hitting 30mph" I want to try some 3f.



Also using a factory made short starter that has a little 3/32" nub to start the ball slightly below muzzle. This provided a much more consistent patch diameter and definitely saw a difference in accuracy.

About to go make some fresh powder as well. 1.77 density this time. The new pressure gauge is a huge help in getting consistent puck density, but this will take time to dial in.

 

[HighUintas]

Good shooting!

 

[FrontierGander]

My nephew and I went for a hike then stopped for a campfire. Something we used to do a lot of in our younger years. We both head back home tomorrow so it was an extremely relaxing evening
He took a short video of me emptying out the hawken after our fire time.

80gr 2fg home made.

 

[FrontierGander]

First run with brass ball media.

After 6 1/2 hours of polishing

 

[FrontierGander]

Polished in the blue bowl, unpolished in the orange scoop. Notice the color difference.

 

[BBob]

Polished in the blue bowl, unpolished in the orange scoop. Notice the color difference.
View attachment 860462

Been following this and know absolutely nothing about the process but it’s pretty cool seeing what you’re doing. That said, what is the purpose of polishing?

 

[FrontierGander]

Been following this and know absolutely nothing about the process but it’s pretty cool seeing what you’re doing. That said, what is the purpose of polishing?

Removes sharp edges and makes the granules more uniform so it measures consistently. 80gr volume drops 76gr weigh, so we're very close to where we want to be. Gently tap the powder measure, top it off and you hit the 80gr weight perfectly. As a hunter, 4 grains will not make a difference, but it's still awesome to fine tune and learn things like this.

It's an extremely time consuming process, but so worth it in the end!

 

[FrontierGander]

I have a couple videos but won't bother. Tested powder that was milled with lead balls and powder milled with brass balls. Brass ball mill powder was so much faster! We can not wait to try it out and see what kind of numbers we get. More importantly though, how accurate it is.