Muzzle Loader Question - Blackhorn powder

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retrieverman

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A jug I want to say I paid less than $25 for was sticker priced about $83 last year. Insane. I’ve got enough to last me several years.
That’s about what I paid for most of mine, but when it got hard to find a while back, I got scared (or greedy) and bought some off here for $50/canister and felt like I got ripped off. That seems like a bargain now.
 

dennishoddy

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Is there a way the OP can take that 90 grains straight from the bottle in that loading tube and get a weight? Then let it expand and put a sabot or something into the tube to compress it like a load would be after seeing the expansion and get a new weight? I suspect it would be the same.
I'd shoot it.
 

retrieverman

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I measure by volume, not weight. I do not have a scale but I might need to buy me one.
Ok, I figured that. To know how much you’re actually shooting, multiply the volume by .7, and that should be the actual weight. Your 90 grains by volume should be 63 grains by weight, and even if it’s 98, that’s still only a little over 68 grains. Neither is a dangerous load.
I’d definitely recommend buying a scale if nothing else to test a few tubes to make sure they’re marked right.

I’m an oddball when it comes to powder measuring, because I use Lee dippers with all my rifle and pistol handloads (I do verify on a scale every few loads). Yet, I scale measure every single charge for my muzzleloaders. :anyone:
 

rickm

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I have never ever weighted a BP load always go by volume and back in my younger days when i was dumb and ignorant I never even measured just turned the flask up and poured til i got tired and thought it was enough.
 

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Two hypotheses have been presented regarding why the powder changed volume.
Static electricity and moisture absorption.

However, knowing the cause won't tell us if it's a problem.
The real question is will the apparent volume change affect how the gun performs.
If you have access to a chronograph, you can shoot several charges and see if there is a measurable difference in velocity.

Same goes for accuracy - shoot fresh and stored charges and see if anything changes.
If the range is long enough and you use matched targets from a rest, you will know if your point of impact changes enough to matter.

If it's not broken, do not try to fix it.




If you just have to know what happened:
If its static electricity - dissipation of the charge should do the trick.
I would leave the vile in the bathroom while taking a long hot shower and see if anything changes.
If the moisture dissipates the charge, it should get smaller.

If its moisture absorption, weight will be the check there.
You will need to weigh a charge, and then expose it to humidify for a considerable time and reweigh it.
The trick will be a scale that is sensitive enough - so you need a powder scale.
 

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