black powder question

Out in the open it's scary enough when you are burning off a train of old stuff: it's GONE before you can even get out of the way. Bullseye, for example, is extremely slow in comparison.

Inside a cartridge, I don't even wanta guess.

I have no idea how they do it in the movies. There, they always show a sputtering trail of Black leading to the powder-barrels in the pirate ship or something. In real life, it would be "FFFFfft!BOOM!!!" and the Hero would be looking for a parachute among all those pirate-ship parts surrounding him.

Not even close to true. Mythbusters did an episode on exactly this subject and they found they could easily outrun a trail of burning black powder. Go to 4:40 to see the first run.

[youtube]b-IRI1bA5jw[/youtube]
 
From what i have read and my own experience with these is that replacement(fake) black powders are more corrosive then real Black powder, for the most part, in the old days it was corrosive priming that was the culprit, not the BP. These same type of corrosive primers are used in a lot of current milsurp ammo.
 
the one big issue that I have with using smokeless in a BP cartridge is the amount of empty space left from using greatly reduced loads,and the resultant pressure.
I know folks use cream of wheat etc to "top up" rifle cartridges but to what point does this remain practical?
What amount of case volume can you utilize with a filler and still be safe/effective?
Would say 20% case volume under 80% filler still be a functional load?
Hypothesizing of course.

Personally i don't like fillers. I try to load a powder that will minimum 60% fill the case, and much prefer 80% or more.

Of course some powders - like winchester ball - need to be 90% full or better or they can be dangerous, and you should follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Other powders can work reasonably well when filling a cartridge at 50% or even less - but i don't go there if i can help it. The reason i like 60% or better is that it makes it easier to notice a double charge - if you are loading 60% and accidentally charge a case twice -you will notice the powder spilling out or you will notice the case is full when you try to seat a bullet.

Overcharging powder is a concern in any cartridge, but doubly so when reloading BP cartridges with smokeless. I prep and prime the cases, then i charge each case with powder and leave it in the blocks. When i am done charging I use a flashlight and do a quick visual check that the powder level in each cartridge is where it should be. Then i empty the measure and put all of the powder away. At this point I am confident that there is no almost no possibility of over / double charging and only then do I seat bullets and crimp.
 
Trailboss can in some instances be used in blackpowder cartridges. It is a low density powder that fills cases over 50% quite easily with light loads. The powder flakes look like tiny paper reinforcing rings, including a hole in the centre.
 
777 is my choice as close to smokeless as you can get with a measure of saftey powder should just touch the bullet when seated no compression and no air space use smokless lube on the cast bullets and you're good to go very easy to clean and noncorrosive.
 
Suputin: maybe it works that way on TV but all of us can't run. I certainly can't. Anyone who thinks "anyone can run" should go get themself a case of polio and then try it again.

Width and depth of powder train also makes a difference. Pile it nice and deep and a wide trail like in the movies and almost anyone will have trouble getting out of the way of the blast. It ain't the"Fffffft!" that kills you, it's the "BOOM!" at the end and all that heavy and sharp crap flying around.
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Why not just use the one single powder which was DESIGNED as a Black Powder replacement?

SR-4759.

It's been around for 80 years and folks still haven't caught on.
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Suputin: maybe it works that way on TV but all of us can't run. I certainly can't. Anyone who thinks "anyone can run" should go get themself a case of polio and then try it again.

Wow, talk about wearing a rare disorder as a badge. :(

If you had actually read my post you would note that I used the term "they" Nowhere did I say "anyone".

It doesn't work any different on Mythbusters than it does in the real world. If you somehow think that THEY have special mystical powers just cause they are on TV then you should consider getting out more often.

FWIW and this is more or less moot, I prob couldn't outrun that trail of burning black powder either as I broke my femur last year and am not to the point where I can run at any speed or for any distance. Yet for some reason I didn't take offence to a couple of guys doing just that on TV. :slap:
 
Then let's try it together. I am assuming that you have enough smarts to run perpendicular to the powder-train! When I set off a pound of the stuff several years ago (when I COULD run), I couldn't even duck to one side fast enough to avoid getting burned. And that wasn't just ME: that was the fact that top-gade Black Powder burns really FAST.

BTW, that isn't rare at all. It used to go through Edmonton every Spring like a dose of salts. There are LOTS of people with the after-effects from it.

As to what I said about the blast, did you happen to see the British re-creation of Guy Fawkes' little bomb? Black might be old-fashioned, but it still packs a punch.

Maybe we can get the Mythbusters film crew to sit on top of it and prove that it's all in our feeble little minds. I'll watch from the sidelines; that kind of concussion is rough on cameras.
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