Pyrodex

N

Newton24b

Moderator
Why is it that if pyrodex is ONE chemical formula, why do they tell us that each 'type" is not to be substituted for the other?

ie, dont substitute FFg "Pistol" with FFg "Rifle" "RS"
 
Pyrodex "P" is the equivalent of FFFg, "RS" is like FFG. "Select" is "RS" with more consistent grain sizes.

Like black powder, the difference is in the grain size.
 
why do they tell us that each 'type" is not to be substituted for the other
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Like black powder, the difference is in the grain size....
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....and the burn rate. Don't play games with pressure curves unless you're a rocket scientist & you really understand them- use the recommended Type for the application that you are performing.
 
The size of the grains determines the burn rate of both Pyrodex and black powder. Big grains have less surface area than small grains do and thus it takes longer for the coarser grained powder to burn up in the gun.

You can shoot Pyrodex P or fffg black powder in rifles but the maximum loads will be lower. What the mean by "don't substitute Pyrodex P for Pyrodex RS" is that the published maximum loads are no longer valid.

I haven't used Pyrodex in a long time but I commonly switch from ffg to fffg when loading lighter plinking loads in a rifle.
 
I generally reduce the volume of equivalent loads of Pyrodex RS by 10% if switching to Pyrodex P, i.e. - load 90 grains of P instead of 100 of RS.

But IMO a gun would need to be in very marginal condition safety wise for P to create a risky situation. Not that it couldn't happen with a very old or worn out gun but the warning seems to be written by lawyers for product liability reasons.

For practical purposes though the volume is reduced for velocity reasons.
I personally wouldn't worry about mixing the two granulations to experiment with mixed loads, but taking the warning into consideration and doing so only at the user's own risk of course.

I think this because even a container of black powder contains different granulations in it. There's a percentage of ffffg in every container of any granulation of black powder, and that percentage can be considerable. So the uniformity of the granulation of black powder is not nearly as consistent as Pyrodex P seems to be, which is very uniform.
Since Pyrodex is said to be a direct replacement for black powder, IMO the warning is something to be aware of but not something to be overly concerned about, at least not anymore than if switching between Goex black powder and Swiss black powder for instance. :)
 
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"Why is it that if pyrodex is ONE chemical formula, why do they tell us that each 'type" is not to be substituted for the other?

ie, dont substitute FFg "Pistol" with FFg "Rifle" "RS" "

They have lawyers writing the labels!
 
interested in what is safe to use in a muzzleloading pistol. local dealers refuse to get anything other then the stuff marked for rifle or shotgun.
 
interested in what is safe to use in a muzzleloading pistol. local dealers refuse to get anything other then the stuff marked for rifle or shotgun.
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Yes, it's safe. Using ffg or Pyrodex RS in a pistol only results in lower velocities and pressures. It's safe but not the optimum powder for pistols.
You can always safely substitute RS for P. It's substituting P for RS where you might get in trouble.
 
See, this is why I joined

I will definately up my shooter's IQ here. Thanks to BLE, Arcticap & all.
 
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