Can You Load Blackpowder Into Modern Bullets/Loads?

Since it is less energetic powder you probably could but why? With reduced loads of H4895 or Trail Boss you can have the same power level at the same cost without having to clean you rifle , bolt , and action with hot water or some other such material to get the hydrophyllic byproducts out.
 
I would be surprised if you would get more than about 1500 - 2000 fps out of a 300 mag loaded with black powder. Most black powder cartridges run in the 12- 1400 fps range

cheers mooncoon
 
Black powder in smokeless

One thing to keep in mind - pressures may not be sufficient to expand the shell and seal all the gases. This shouldn't present a safety hazard, but it does mean you'll have to completely strip your rifle to get at all the BP residue. It'll likely get into the bolt, firing pin, trigger, etc. Major hemorrhoids if you ask me.
 
I think it's more likely that this guy was using a black powder substitute like Pyrodex or Triple Seven to make reduced loads rather than actual black powder. I don't see any point in using black powder for reduced loads when there are plenty of perfectly good smokeless powders that can do the same job with less mess.
 
I would be surprised if he were loading a .300 win mag with a case full of blackpowder. This would be getting into a dangerous area with such a large case volume and a small bore. It was done with cases such as .303 British, and can be done with the .30-30, but I wouldn't try with the larger .300 win mag.
 
I have to say, it would make one hell of a practical joke. I always wanted to load a round or two of 9mm with some holy black and switch it out on an unsuspecting victim. :evil: Then be there to laugh and clean my mess up like a responsible prankster.

Never tried it, but even the 30-30 has too much overbore for black powder. And I have bandied around the idea of stuffing mine full of FFFg. .303 British was originally a BP case, and I've known some guys to have not bad luck with it iin that capacity. The .303 used a solid black powder pellet with a hollow in the middle (sound familiar?) that was inserted into an unformed case, the neck and shoulder were formed around it. Much like the cordite load.

The .300 Mangle-um on the other hand. Well you might get one round down the pipe, but the bore might be plugged solid with fouling. Don't worry, there would be good gas seal. All of my BPC stuff (.45-70, .45-90, .44-40, .44 Russian, .32 MH, etc...) all looks shiny new on the outside after firing. Encrusted with filth on the inside.

I'd definitely wipe between shots. No room for blow tubing there.

In short... from this point forward, take all stories from this guy with a BIG grain of salt.
 
Well a friend of mine was looking to even the score with her fiance. They are always pulling jokes on each other. I told her to get me 3 rounds of his practice ammo. He used to work at Brinks. I'd load two of them up with BP using the third to set my dies. Then it occured to me he may not know how to clean the crap out of the gun after he cleans his pants. And his nice shiny Glock might get ruined. So we called it off.
 
BP in 300 Win Mag

Short Knife Johnson said:
I have to say, it would make one hell of a practical joke. I always wanted to load a round or two of 9mm with some holy black and switch it out on an unsuspecting victim. :evil: Then be there to laugh and clean my mess up like a responsible prankster.

Never tried it, but even the 30-30 has too much overbore for black powder. And I have bandied around the idea of stuffing mine full of FFFg. .303 British was originally a BP case, and I've known some guys to have not bad luck with it iin that capacity. The .303 used a solid black powder pellet with a hollow in the middle (sound familiar?) that was inserted into an unformed case, the neck and shoulder were formed around it. Much like the cordite load.

The .300 Mangle-um on the other hand. Well you might get one round down the pipe, but the bore might be plugged solid with fouling. Don't worry, there would be good gas seal. All of my BPC stuff (.45-70, .45-90, .44-40, .44 Russian, .32 MH, etc...) all looks shiny new on the outside after firing. Encrusted with filth on the inside.

I'd definitely wipe between shots. No room for blow tubing there.

In short... from this point forward, take all stories from this guy with a BIG grain of salt.
Click to expand...

You're probably right about the cartridge sealing the bore. I hadn't thought about the 45-70. I have an original trapdoor and it does seal well. I was just thinking about some light cast loads I've tried in other calibers that would end up being smoked because the cartridge didn't seal. Mind you, that was using mild smokeless loads.
 
well, the 45-70 was originally designed for black powder use when the cartridge first came out.
i know of many shooters that still load the 45-70 with black powder.
i have tried it in the past as well but i didn't like the cleanup afterwards so haven't gone back to it since.
 
The burning rate of BP is what gives the great seal. It in essence goes off all at once. You get a faster expansion of the cartridge due to much quicker and higher pressure generated in the same time as a smokeless load. Now the smokeless may reach a much higher pressure, but it does so over a longer time frame and the gases do manage to bleed around to case mouth and leak back a bit (or a lot). The faster pressure peak also makes the softer alloys used in BP loads to obturate or swell to fit an outsize bore or chamber. This is best illustrated in paper patched bullets that are patched to bore diameter and then swell up to grip the rifling upon ignition. It literally gets the base end of the bullet moving sooner than the nose - like Wile E. Coyote on an ACME rocket.

Clean up is actually easier than a smokeless firing rifle. Tight fitting patches soaked in Windex with Vinegar, and when the fouling is gone, a layer of Ballistol to keep the rust demon out. Revolvers and lever action rifles are a bit more involved, but still tons of fun.
 
You could make ammo that would work, sort of, but the rifling is not compatible with black powder and even plinkers would be no good after 5 shots. Use medium pistol power like Trail Boss or Unique.
 
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