Black Is Beautıful

[m24]

Source: G&A

By Garry James

It’s dirty, smoky, smelly and a pain to clean, but here’s why black powder is the author’s preferred propellant.

Recently, Hodgdon purchased Goex Black Powder, a move I couldn’t applaud more, for I am a blackpowder junkie. At a recent shooting session after which I emerged with blackened face and hands, begrimed shirt and scorched eyebrows, G&A editor and long-time friend Jim Bequette furrowed his brow, looked at me quizzically and asked, “Just why do you shoot blackpowder?” Seemed like a reasonable question—and an excellent excuse for an article—so here’s my epistle.

Now, before I get started, I’d like to make it clear that I love to shoot anything that goes boom, from hand cannons to the most modern polymer pistols and full autos. I even have been known to have a run or two at things that go twang. But, like everyone else, I do have preferences.

Most of my long-term associates humor me, believing that I’d be much happier living in the 18th or 19th century, which is something of an exaggeration, as I do appreciate the fact that hygiene and the state of medicine in those times left much to be desired. Had I developed the cancer that I recovered from some years ago in the 1850s, I would have, to quote Britain’s Poet Laureate of the time, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, most certainly “crossed the bar” much earlier than I would have wished—and pretty miserably at that. Still, there are things that are quite compelling and exciting about the periods, not the least of which was the rapid pace of technological development from 1800 to 1900 brought about by the Industrial Revolution—firearms included.

There was a zest for living that my studies have convinced me really existed—admittedly enjoyed more robustly if you were of the proper class and in the right place on Earth. Then, as now, there was plenty of poverty, disease, ignorance and misery to go around. But one just has to read Fielding, Defoe, Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, Irving, Whitman, Dumas, Conan Doyle, Burton or Twain to see what I’m talking about. Perhaps it was the realization that one’s time on Earth was limited, or possibly it was nothing more than just having to deal with the challenges, pleasures, mysteries and perils peculiar to the Georgian and Victorian eras. Never having to contend with these things on a daily basis myself (except when I lived in South Wales back in the 1960s for three years), I know I’m perhaps taking something of a romantic view, but I can’t shake off the nagging suspicion that there was a joie de vivreback then that is lacking in the 21st century. Anyway, we’re waxing far more philosophically than I intended. Let’s get back on track.

In the great scheme of things, smokeless powder is a Johnny-come-lately. In fact, blackpowder wasn’t even called blackpowder (it was always “gunpowder”) until the French came out with their early smokeless propellant, “poudre B,” in the 1880s (“B” for “blanc,” or white) and then redesignated the older stuff “poudre N” (“N” for “noir,” or black) that gunpowder became “blackpowder.”

There now seems to be little doubt that gunpowder first appeared in the east—probably China—as early as the 11th century. The Chinese generally used it for pyrotechnics and incendiaries, and there were some early attempts at expelling projectiles, though it is not entirely clear whether this came before or after the Europeans had achieved success in this area.

Blackpowder is made of three substances charcoal, potassium nitrate (though sodium nitrate could also be used in a pinch) and sulfur. To make something burn requires oxygen, fuel and heat, and gunpowder was a prime example. When the mixture was ignited, the potassium nitrate, or “saltpeter,” provided the oxygen and the sulfur and charcoal, the fuel.

It is a bit cloudy when gunpowder first came to the West, but alchemists, philosophers and tinkerers were messing around with it—and similar mixtures—certainly as early as the 13th century. In fact, the English scholar Roger Bacon wrote about gunpowder in 1267, so it must be assumed that it had been around for a time prior to that.

At first, gunpowder was nothing but a mechanical mixture of the three substances, called “serpentine.” Proportions were played around with to get the maximum effect for the desired purpose—propellant, fireworks, etc. These early mixtures worked, but they were inefficient and sometimes dangerous. And it wasn’t long before “corned” powder appeared on the scene. Corning powder involved nothing more than wetting the mixture. Water was the norm, but there were those who thought bishop’s urine gave the best performance. It was then either pressed into cakes and left to dry to be broken down or milled later, or forced through a sieve or similar contrivance to produce granules of the desired size. This made the powder less susceptible to moisture, gave more consistent results and made transportation much simpler.

Various granulations could be achieved for different purposes—large for cannon, small for “handgonnes.” It must be remembered that the finer the powder, the faster the combustion, for the simple reason that there is more surface area in a given space and, as blackpowder burns from the outside in, ignition will be more rapid (the same goes for smokeless powder, too).

At the start, there were many names for different powder sizes, but by the early to mid-1800s, designations from Fg to FFFFg, from the coarsest used in muskets to the finest for priming or use in small pistols, became standard. The F’s, by the bye, refer to the screen size used to prepare the powder.

Originally, blackpowder was used strictly in externally primed muzzle and breechloading firearms, but as soon as the first self-contained cartridges came along, it was adapted to this more convenient setup.

Nitrocellulose (non-black) propellant first appeared on the scene in the 1840s with the invention of guncotton, which involved treating cellulose (cotton) with hot sulfuric and nitric acids. It was powerful and burned cleanly, but was somewhat unpredictable. Though experimented with—especially in Britain—it never achieved widespread popularity.
Chemists kept working, and by the 1880s there was little doubt that the more sophisticated smokeless powders being developed were the wave of the future. Gradually, they began supplanting blackpowder as the preferred propellant for military and sporting use.

Blackpowder continued to be used side by side with smokeless for a time, but until the resurgence of retro muzzleloading shooting in the 1950s, it became relegated, for sporting purposes, to the back burner.

According to some grumps, blackpowder does have its drawbacks. There’s no question it exudes a pungent sulfuric smell (a property that early clerics were quick to take notice of in their condemnation of cannons and cannoneers, equating the reek of brimstone with things diabolical), produces copious quantities of white smoke (a real drag on the battlefield) and leaves considerable fouling, which can affect loading, accuracy and cleaning. Plus, there’s no question that it is a tad on the tetchy side and susceptible to static electricity (sailors in powder magazines in ships of the Napoleonic and later eras wore felt-soled slippers to cut down on this problem), sparks and open flame. Because of this, the early manufacture of gunpowder was always a hazardous business, and more than one powder mill went sky high.

To cut down on these drawbacks, blackpowder substitutes such as Pyrodex and Triple Seven—both also offered by Hodgdon—came on the market. Pyrodex can be used volumetrically, the same as blackpowder, and Triple Seven loads 15 percent less, as it is more powerful.

Now, finally, we come to why I favor blackpowder over the others. Being a firearms historian, I want to shoot period firearms in the manner they were originally intended. I’m more of a gun guy than a hunter, so the interest stainless steel scoped inline muzzleloaders with prepared pellets and plastic saboted bullets somewhat eludes me. Simply put, “primitive means primitive.” Of course, I still regularly listen to pre-WWI cylinder records, read 1800s Punch magazines and enjoy driving horseless carriages, so perhaps this aversion of mine indicates an aberrant pattern and should only be taken at face value.

The experience of shooting an antique or antique-style wheellock, matchlock, flintlock, percussion or cartridge arm, to me, must be complete. It is both sensory and educational. When trying to duplicate the performance of a Hall Carbine, for instance, using modern substitutes tells me nothing. The smoke, smell and fouling are all part of the deal, of as much importance as building the proper paper cartridges and using the correct granulation and charge. Too, in flintlocks Pyrodex and Triple Seven are simply not sensitive enough to give fast, reliable ignition.

Writers and experts opine that you can load and fire a smoothbore Brown Bess three or four times a minute, and they’re right. But they usually don’t mention that after a number of shots the fouling builds up to such a degree that it becomes increasingly difficult to stuff a paper-covered ball down the barrel and makes it iffy to properly seat the bullet. Also, they don’t mention the joy of having to quickly replace a shattered or worn flint in the midst of a battle. This is something the 18th century British soldier would have had to contend with—along with the fact that after a volley or two, it became almost impossible to see the enemy until he was on top of you. That’s something you simply can’t learn by using Triple Seven.

OK, now this is where I become instantly certifiable in most shooter’s eyes. I don’t even mind cleaning up after shooting blackpowder. Often it involves almost completely disassembling the gun, and this adds to my knowledge of the piece and what the period rifleman or musketeer had to go through to keep his firearm in working condition. I still keep boiling water handy for certain purposes, but I must admit to taking advantage of a few of the more modern cleaning concoctions such as the excellent Birchwood Casey No. 77 Muzzle Magic Cleaner. I have also eschewed whale oil in favor of Break Free (my quixotic behavior only goes so far).

Believe me, I’m not such a complete nut that I don’t understand the multifold benefits of some of the more modern substitute propellants. I shoot them quite regularly and do have a lot of fun with them (no time spent shooting anything is ever wasted).

As my time left on this Earth gets shorter and shorter, I realize there are so many things I want to learn about of which I’m still totally ignorant that I have to set priorities. Finding out about the workings of different kinds of older firearms is right at the top of the list. As an added benefit, I truly enjoy imparting what I’ve found out to the readers of Guns & Ammo and viewers of “Guns & Ammo TV.” Accordingly, I do hope you find my maundering at least somewhat entertaining.

And that, Jim, is why I shoot blackpowder.

Favorite Loads
I’ve found that Goex blackpowder can give awesome performances—some at least as good or better than the substitutes. Here are my favorites loads in five of my favorite guns.

• Brown Bess Musket (original India Pattern) A paper cartridge containing a .715" lead round ball and 110 grains of FFg gives enough for priming and a hefty charge.

• M1841 “Mississippi Rifle” (original Remington made in 1853) A .525" lead round ball, 75-grain charge of FFFg, .010" linen patch lubed with Thompson/Center Bore Butter and CCI musket caps. Ball, patch and powder are as per original military specs.

• Model 1851 Colt Revolver (original, made in 1866) A .375" Hornady lead round ball, 25 grains FFFg, .36-40-cal. Wonder Wads and Remington No. 10 percussion caps.

• Pattern 1853 Enfield (original, made in 1856) A .575460" lead Minie cast from a Rapine mold lubed with Crisco/beeswax mixture, 60 grains of FFg and CCI musket caps.

• .50-70 Sharps Carbine (original M1863 Conversion) A .515320" lead bullet (unsized) lubed with a Crisco/beeswax mixture, 55 grains FFg, Dixie Gun Works .50-70 brass and Winchester large rifle primers.

Editor’s Note: With any original period firearm, make sure you have the firearm thoroughly checked out before attempting to fire it.

Regards

[timmy]

Thanks for sharing! I've been reading Garry James and Phil Spangenberger since the 70s and enjoy their articles on black powder very much (along with their other interesting articles on collectible and old military arms)!

For me, there is a lot of fun in shooting black powder, though it is somewhat time consuming. I would highly recommend giving it a try if you ever have the chance to do so.

[MoA]

My Favourite BP load for the .45-70 is a 500 grain Lead bullet over 65 grains of Swiss 3FG.
In my Walker I like a 205 grain round ball over 45 grains of Swiss 3FG.

Goex in my books is not real black powder. It is a BP substitute in line with 777 and Pyrodex.

In particular with the .45-70 what I have found is that shooting a couple of smokeless loads after BP makes cleaning up so much easier.