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Pyrodex powder in 38s


Irish Pat

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One of my friends that does not reload or cowboy shoot offered me that powder from his muzzleloader hunting days. Has anyone ever put that in 38 specials for SASS? Would you be a black powder shooter if it worked?

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Pyrodex is treated as real black powder for CAS shooting.  It will work if you use bullets lubed for black powder.  I have shot Pyrodex in shotgun shells since a BP lube is not required in them.  Pyrodex is hydroscopic and will make squibby ammo if not protected from humidity.  I stored my ammo in a dry box with a big dessicant pack and shot the ammo the day I removed it from the box.  I had to clean my shotgun the day I shot it to protect it from rust.   There are other BP subs that are not as readily affected by humidity, don't require BP-lubed bullets and don't promptly rust firearms.  Pyrodex is not a favored BP sub.  APP and Triple Seven work fine with cast bullets lubed for smokeless powder.

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I've heard it makes good fertilizer.  If you want to shoot it, I suggest in the shotgun.  You will use it up quicker that way, and shotgun is easiest to clean.  Clean it right after shooting and check it again a few days later.

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31 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

I've heard it makes good fertilizer.  If you want to shoot it, I suggest in the shotgun.  You will use it up quicker that way, and shotgun is easiest to clean.  Clean it right after shooting and check it again a few days later.

I used it whenever I found it at a shoot. Back in the day it was a popular door prize and very few shot any sort of BP categories. Thus it would always end up on the sale table for 7 or 8 dollars. Used exclusively in the shotgun as it was bulkier, there for more loads per pound. Real BP with my 43b bushing would load about 110 rounds per pound, Pyrodex loaded about 135 to 140 per pound. As Abilene says, clean right after shoot. I cleaned my SG when shooting any kind of black before I even left the line. Hose down the bores good with Windex, wait a few minutes, then fire two smokeless rounds down each barrel. Hose down again, this time with Ballistol, and shove a wadded paper towel down each barrel. Finish off with Ballistol on the exterior of barrels and receiver. Finished in less than 10 minutes.

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2 hours ago, Abe E.S. Corpus SASS #87667 said:

Keep in mind that black powder ammunition may be used in any category.

 

But if it is used in a 'smokeless' category, your ammunition is subject to power factor and not the smoke standard.

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  Pyrodex works with standard lube bullets. If you care much about accuracy you'll find standard lube bullets attain very good results with pyrodex and triple 7 . The bore and chamber must be thoroughly cleaned of all smokeless residue first no matter what though as the interaction of the pyrodex and smokeless residue gives something like diamond hard build up. I've used pyrodex in .38 special cases for many decades.

  Black powder lube bullets are a must for real black.

  I did a lot of ammunition and target testing in the 1980's and 90's. Fill the case near full and put a bullet on that pyrodex and meeting power factors won't be an issue.

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I used to used it in my shotgun with no problems. I have tried it in my pistolas and rifle and it was fine. I had to clean them immediately after. In fact I swabbed down my barrels after every other stage.

Then I wised up and went smokeless!:P

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On 3/24/2021 at 12:09 PM, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

I've heard it makes good fertilizer.  If you want to shoot it, I suggest in the shotgun.  You will use it up quicker that way, and shotgun is easiest to clean.  Clean it right after shooting and check it again a few days later.

This. 

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While real BP is my first choice with 777 coming in second, I'll shoot Pyrodex as a third choice.  It's cheap, meters well, and smokes.  I've never had rust issues but I run my BP irons wet with lube.  If I can't clean the guns right away, I spritz them down with Ballistic and clean them when I can.

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