ff VS fff

[viking421a]

What's the difference? Which type should I be shooting with 777? I noticed people here are shooting both. Is it like everything else with muzzleloaders, try both and see what works best?

 

[Admin]

Generally rifles and shotguns .45 cal and larger will use FFG powder and pistols and small bored rifles the FFFG powder. Some people experiment with the FFFG in rifles and find it works better for them. I'd use caution if you try that because the smaller granules burn faster and thus create more pressure.

 

[dwhunter]

You may have back off the powder some on the fff because it's hotter than ff and of course Triple 7 is about 15% hotter than Pydrodex. So if you shoot 100 gr. of Pydrodex use 80-85 gr of T7.

 

[cayuga]

The old rule of thumb used to be .45 caliber and under you went with 3f powders, .50 caliber and larger you went with 2f powders. I used to follow that rule to the letter but have since strayed off the path.

A lot of it will depend on the kind of powder you shoot. Goex Black Powder I find the 3f works best. I use it in my inline rifles, flintlock .50 & .54 calibers, sidelock .50 calibers and even in my .62 caliber smoothbore rifle. 2f powder will also work as well, but I find with Goex the 3f produces less fowling (if there is such a thing with Goex) and a little faster (hate to live on the difference) ignition.

When I shoot Triple Se7en powder I stay with the 2f. I have read posts by some that shoot the 3f but since it has never been offered in my area I have never had the chance to try it.

In American Pioneer Powder and Pinnacle Powder I use the 3f powder in all the rifles. The 2f powder is much to course for my tastes. It is like trying to shoot fish tank gravel. In fact some of it is so course, it will not even pour through the funnel part of my powder measure without some serious tapping on the measure.

They say the 3f powder burns faster and produces a little more barrel pressures. They also recommend to reduce your charge 15% from the 3f to the 2f. Although for instance I shoot a .50 caliber T/C Hawkin Flintlock with 90 grains of 3f powder and the accuracy is outstanding . I have no idea about the speed of the roundball but it must be really smoking.

In some of my light .50 caliber cap locks, I shoot 70 grains of the 3f with outstanding accuracy. When I shoot the 2f I do kick the charge up to about 85 grains and get good accuracy.

I guess what I am saying is you have to try the different ones in your rifle and see what it likes best. It it were a .45 caliber or smaller, then definitely go with the 3f. In the much smaller calibers like the .32 & .36 caliber they fowl out fast enough....

 

[fairchase]

In my Knight Bighorn (22in barrel) FFF is about 50 fps slower on average than FFG. Go figure :?: It also blows away easier during measuring and loading if it's windy.