How many grains of FFFg blackpowder are in 1 pound?

Well I stand corrected I just consulted my Black powder loading manual By gun Digest
And Black powder can be weighed Or you can use a volume black powder measure . They used a Uncle Mikes 120 adjustable Powder Measure for all there loads and if done carefully they found no advantage in accuracy weighing every load . But they also stated that Pyrodex must only be done by volume never weight . I have always just used a volume measure and had very good results. Gun Digest also went on to try and see how close the volume measure was to the real weight . when set on 70grs the volume measure they used gave an average weight of 70.1ffg and 72.1`when using fffg. So my apologies Black powder can be loaded by weight .
 
BILLDICK:
"Baribal and Icebox have it right just look up. If you take a black powder measure and put 30 grains in it and then weigh it on a powder scale it will be different. "

Now my old mind is confused even further....

Please explain what happens between the time I put 30 grains in a measure and the point at which I take it out and procede to weight it ??

You say I will have lost some of the weight during that slim period of time ?? How does this happen ??

John
 
Like most black powder shooters I use volume measures either with varying lengths of drop tubes on my flasks or by using a flask with an adjustable drop tube....IN BOTH cases you determine the load with the help of a scale. (NOT electronic).

I have also used adjustable measures, once again you MUST use a scale to arrive at the desired load .

Al least that is how I have been doing it for 50+ years and it also happens to be the suggestions of all the companies that supply us with revolvers, pistols, rifles and shotguns of the black powder persuation....

JOHN
 
You guys are getting a little too tense over the whole issue. Variables with black powder measurements are large and numerous (humiditiy, settling, grain size, amounts of fine dust - both powder and coating, dimensions of the volume measure, etc etc) but in the the scheme of things black is very forgiving.

A 1 grain variance in a 100 grain charge of powder will probably have less affect on the result than measuring one charge on a cold dry day and the next on a warm wet day. I'm not saying that these different measures and variables aren't important but that consistency is a lot more important.

Doesn't matter how you measure it but do it the same every day. You won't have any problems if you scale every charge but you aren't likely to have any if you have a good measure and never scale one. I developed a habit of tapping my measure when loading a ML and know that its a poor habit because you can never tap it the same everytime but as long as I tap it about the same every time the resulting difference will always be way less than I'm ever going to notice. It probably pours a little different if I hold the horn at a different angle anyway.

Same applies when using a bench measure - try to keep the level consistent and throw the charge the same every time. A scale should be more accurate but I'm not sure just how much weight might vary with different humidity. Not enough to matter relative to all the other factors involved in shooting a BPCR is my bet.

Shoot. Have fun. Don't sweat the small stuff (much).
 
100 grains FFG 777 (Volume) is roughly 82-85 grains on the scale by weight. When in doubt, do the comparison yourself.

7000/85= 82 potential shots out of your can of powder.

Like the man said, don't sweat the small stuff, and above all, HAVE FUN!!
 
You guys are all wrong. BP is best measured by mass...not weight or volume, if you want repeatable loads.

A black powder volume charger or dispenser is simply someones guess at the volume equivalent of the grains of powder you would like to load. I often correct chargers by starting larger then dribbling wax into bottom to get to the desired load.

There is no such thing as a volumetric grain unit. It is simply an approximation since carrying a scale would not be practical. That being said I can measure by volume and be consistantly within +/- 0.3 grains. Consistancy is the key with all things BP. Same load...same patch...same compression...same bore cleanliness....same lube etc, ect
 
100 grains FFG 777 (Volume) is roughly 82-85 grains on the scale by weight. When in doubt, do the comparison yourself.

7000/85= 82 potential shots out of your can of powder.

Like the man said, don't sweat the small stuff, and above all, HAVE FUN!!

100 grns of bp is not 82-85...your vol mesure is off 100 grns is100 grns..
 
100 grns of bp is not 82-85...your vol mesure is off 100 grns is100 grns..

Therein lies the rub, innit?

The guy that made any particular volume measure, may or may not have used the same make and granulation of powder, no matter how he tried to be accurate.

So, in real terms, where does that leave a guy, trying to figure out whether he has the right amount of powder or not? Especially in the face of so many writing saying always, "by volume, by volume".

:D
Cheers
Trev
 
As Ben said first, the volume measure is just a convenient way to measure in the field, the true amount would be by weight. As many shooters know if you want more black powder in a case you use a long drop tube, the required measured amount that would usually overflow the case will now easily fit in.
 
A fella can get some pretty good 100 yard accuracy out of a round ball Hawken with thrown charges.
A fella cannot get good 1,000 yard accuracy out of a 45/70BPCR rifle with thrown charges of black - ya gotta weigh it to get there, as Ben Hunchack stated.
Cat
 
100 grns of bp is not 82-85...your vol mesure is off 100 grns is100 grns..


I hope for your safety and those around that you don't muzzleload, because you would surely make the Darwins list.

Take your VOLUMETRIC measurement of Black powder (100 Grains), then dump it into the pan of a WEIGHT scale. Betcha it weight scales in about 20% less.

Please don't contribute when you haven't a clue yourself.
 
I hope for your safety and those around that you don't muzzleload, because you would surely make the Darwins list.

Take your VOLUMETRIC measurement of Black powder (100 Grains), then dump it into the pan of a WEIGHT scale. Betcha it weight scales in about 20% less.

Please don't contribute when you haven't a clue yourself.

Holy crap people are confused around here. The 100 grains you think you just got from your powder measure is a VOLUMETRIC ESTIMATE of the amount of powder that would weigh 100 grains. It is likely deliberately off for liability reasons in case some duface blows his gun up by packing 150 grains into his 100 grain measure
 
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I hope for your safety and those around that you don't muzzleload, because you would surely make the Darwins list.

Take your VOLUMETRIC measurement of Black powder (100 Grains), then dump it into the pan of a WEIGHT scale. Betcha it weight scales in about 20% less.

Please don't contribute when you haven't a clue yourself.

you are confused ...go look it up grain is a measure of weight ..as is a pound or gram or other look at post 1 ....like a said ...what weighs more a pound of lead or a pound of feathers .....a grain isnt VOLUME
 
"...Just divide 7000 by the number of grains of your selected charge..." A pound is a pound, but BP charges are not measured by the weight in grains.
"...since they all have suggested loads by weight..." Lyman's BP loading manual is very adamant about their data being given by volume, not the actual weight.
 
Holy crap people are confused around hear. The 100 grains you think you just got from your powder measure is a VOLUMETRIC ESTIMATE of the amount of powder that would weigh 100 grains. It is likely deliberately off for liability reasons in case some duface blows his gun up by packing 150 grains into his 100 grain measure

Well said, juanvaldez. All they got to do is measure out a 100 grain charge in the black powder measure, and then weigh that charge on a powder scale. Divide 7000 by that wieght and the resulting number is how many 100 gr. by volume charges your going to get from a pound of powder.:rolleyes:
 
+1 with johnone. I've been at it for over 30 years and still have all of my digits and eyes intact. Black powder is loaded by weight. Reproduction black powder (read that as Pyrodex, Triple 7, etc., etc.) is loaded by volumn equivalency. You'd better do your homework before you give some one some wrong information and cause a catastrophic failure.
Jon

+2 with jonone.
Weigh your black powder charge, establishe the volume of each weight and use that to calibrate the numbers on your powder measure. Some powder measures just have numbers.

Keep in mind that a given volume of Goex will weigh differently than the same volume of Curtis and Harvey, Elephant, or Swiss - but not by very much.
 
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