Introduction: At
the 2001 Alaska State Rendezvous we had samples of Goex® ,
KIK® and Elephant® brands of black
powder available for comparison. In order to compare the
performance characteristics of all three brands of powder, we
asked four shooters to fire a string of five shots from each
powder through a chronograph and recorded the results.
Methodology: Our
objective was to obtain a practical comparison of the
performance of each brand of black powder relative to each
other. Because of the limited available supply of Elephant
brand black powder for this test, we limited the number of
test guns to four. Each of the shooters in this test can be
described as an active muzzleloader shooter who routinely uses
Goex® brand black powder in their arms and is
generally satisfied with its performance.
The four test guns are
fairly typical of the historically authentic muzzleloaders
used by rendezvous participants and traditional muzzleloader
hunters in Alaska. The smallest caliber gun tested was .50
caliber, very popular among competitors, but rarely used for
hunting due to regulations requiring a round-ball of .54
caliber or larger when hunting most big-game species in our
State. Since most rendezvous competitors use the same guns
with which they hunt, the larger caliber guns are more common.
Two of the test guns were .62 caliber, one a smoothbore, the
other a rifle. The fourth gun was a .54 caliber rifle.
Each shooter fired three
strings of five rounds through the chronograph using the same
volumetrically measured charge he normally uses in that gun
during competition in rendezvous style shooting matches and/or
while hunting. Each shooter fired one string of shots charged
with Goex® ,
one of KIK® and one of Elephant®
brand black powders. All three brands of black powder tested
were in FFg granulation. For
the sake of consistency, each shooter used the same type of
round ball, patch, lubricant and priming that he normally uses
during rendezvous competition. The only variable between
strings was the brand of black powder with which the rounds
were charged.
Each gun was thoroughly
cleaned between each of the three strings, and three of the
four shooters swabbed the bores of their guns between each
round in the string. The chronograph was placed 20 feet ahead
of the firing line so that smoke, muzzleblast or debris would
not interfere with the measurement of velocities through the
instrument. Weather conditions during the test consisted of
temperatures in the mid-50s (F.), calm winds (virtually still)
and under overcast skies during a period of high relative
humidity. For
each string of five rounds, the average velocity and extreme
spread of velocity was measured by the chronograph. Extreme
spread as a percentage of the average velocity was calculated
later. Theoretically, the lowest percentage of spread should
result in the best potential accuracy for that particular gun,
projectile and powder charge.
Data
Gathered in the Tests: The
table below represents the cumulative averages of all four
test guns:
|
Goex®
|
KIK®
|
Elephant®
|
Average Velocity
|
1324 fps
|
1438 fps
|
1232 fps
|
Av. Extreme
Spread
|
96 fps
|
96 fps
|
132 fps
|
Spread /
Velocity = %
|
7.2 %
|
6.6 %
|
10.7 %
|
Data From Individual
Test Guns: The
tables and text below represent the measurements obtained from
each of the guns we tested.
Test Gun #1 was
a Thompson Center, .50 caliber percussion ‘Hawken’ rifle with
a standard length factory installed barrel, firing a .490"
cast round ball patched with .015 cotton lubricated with
saliva. The powder charge was 70 grains by volume. The gun was
primed with Dixie brand percussion caps.
|
Goex®
|
KIK®
|
Elephant®
|
Average Velocity
|
1292 fps
|
1475 fps
|
1263 fps
|
High Velocity
|
1342 fps
|
1512 fps
|
1316 fps
|
Low Velocity
|
1146 fps
|
1389 fps
|
1153 fps
|
Extreme Spread
|
196 fps
|
123 fps
|
110 fps
|
Spread / Av.
Vel. = %
|
15 %
|
8.3 %
|
8.7 %
|
The shooter: Dick
Underwood.
Mr. Underwood started
each string with a clean bore, but did not swab the bore
between shots.
Shooter’s Observations: Elephant
brand produced heavier fouling than the other powders, making
it considerably harder to load after the second round was
fired.
Test gun #2 was
a Burke Custom, .62 caliber flintlock rifle with a 42" barrel,
firing a .610" round ball patched with .200" cotton duck
lubricated with a three part mixture of Murphy’s Oil Soap,
Isopropyl Alcohol and Water. The powder charge was 100 grains
measured by volume. The gun was primed with FFg (2Fg) Goex. This
is not a misprint.
|
Goex®
|
KIK®
|
Elephant®
|
Average Velocity
|
1335 fps
|
1431 fps
|
1272 fps
|
High Velocity
|
1344 fps
|
1453 fps
|
1346 fps
|
Low Velocity
|
1318 fps
|
1398 fps
|
1224 fps
|
Extreme Spread
|
26 fps
|
55 fps
|
122 fps
|
Spread / Av.
Vel. = %
|
1.9 %
|
3.8 %
|
9.5 %
|
The shooter: Ralph
Burke, owner and builder of the test gun. Mr. Burke started
each string with a clean bore, and swabbed the bore between
each shot.
Shooter’s
Comments: "KIK® produced
less fouling, and less ‘red’ fouling than Goex® .
It also produced noticeably more recoil and the recoil was
uncomfortable, more like the hard, sharp recoil produced by
modern smokeless cartridge guns than black powder
muzzleloaders. Down right uncomfortable to shoot at this
charge in this gun."
"Elephant® produced
more fouling than either of the other powders, and the fouling
was thicker, more tenacious and more difficult to swab."
Test Gun #3 is
a 20 gauge (.62 caliber) reproduction flintlock Tulle de
Chasse smoothbore built by Pete Rollet of LaFayette IN. Firing
a .600" cast round ball patched with .010" linen patches
lubricated with deer tallow, and primed with FFFFg (4Fg) Goex® .
The powder charge was 70 grains measured by volume. Each
string was started with a clean bore and the bore was swabbed
between each shot.
|
Goex®
|
KIK®
|
Elephant®
|
Average Velocity
|
1106 fps
|
1234 fps
|
1008 fps
|
High Velocity
|
1153 fps
|
1288 fps
|
1039 fps
|
Low Velocity
|
1048 fps
|
1195 fps
|
944 fps
|
Extreme Spread
|
105 fps
|
93 fps
|
95 fps
|
Spread / Av.
Vel. = %
|
9.4 %
|
7.5 %
|
9.4 %
|
Shooter: Thomas
Swan (known to many of us as "Swannie")
Shooter’s
Observations: In
general, this gun does not shoot FFg black powder well.
Although it rarely misfires with FFFg powder, using the FFg
powder in this test resulted in numerous hangfires and
misfires with all three brands of powder.
Elephant® brand
powder resulting in much heavier fouling that was more
difficult to swab from the bore than that of the other two
brands.
Test Gun #4 was
a Bayha custom built percussion rifle, .54 caliber 36" barrel,
firing a .530 Spear swaged roundball patched with .015 ‘Texas’
teflon lubricated patches. The charge was 85 grains measured
by volume, primed with RWS® percussion
caps. Each string was started with a clean bore, and the
shooter swabbed the bore between each round.
|
Goex®
|
KIK®
|
Elephant®
|
Average Velocity
|
1564 fps
|
1614 fps
|
1387 fps
|
High Velocity
|
1593 fps
|
1679 fps
|
1486 fps
|
Low Velocity
|
1534 fps
|
1566 fps
|
1205 fps
|
Extreme Spread
|
59 fps
|
113 fps
|
281 fps
|
Spread / Av.
Vel. = %
|
3.7 %
|
7
%
|
20 %
|
Shooter: Keith
Bayha
Shooter’s
Observations: The
second shot in the KIK® string
was difficult to load even though the shooter had swabbed the
bore following his first. Thus problem did not subsequently
repeat. This
shooter noted that the Elephant brand powder produced thicker
and more tenacious fouling than the other two brands of black
powder tested.
Caveats and Conclusions: It
should be noted that the data sample on which this paper is
based is extremely small. While the charges of Goex® used
by each shooter are probably the most accurate for each of
these guns, none of the shooters has had an opportunity to
discover the most accurate charge of the other two brands of
powder. It’s quite likely that adjustments in the powder
charges and other components could result in much better
performance than the limited data presented here would seem to
indicate.
Every muzzleloading firearm responds to different powders,
powder charges, projectiles, patches and lubricants in a
unique way. While we can make some general observations about
the performance of the three black powders in a test of this
nature, we can not determine how any brand of black powder,
any powder charge, or any combination of components will
perform in a particular gun. Each shooter must determine the
optimal combination of components for his or her muzzleloader. Perhaps
the most important conclusion that can be drawn from this data
is that further testing is necessary to draw any sort of firm
conclusion. It does show that a shooter may well find it worth
the time and effort to experiment with other brands of black
powder.
In
this test, KIK®
brand black powder produced higher velocities than the same
volume of bothGoex® and Elephant®
black powder in all four test guns. The average velocity
produced by KIK brand black powder was 12.4% faster than that
produced by the same volume of Goex, and 14.3% faster than
that produced by the same volume of Elephant brand. Elephant
brand black powder produced lower velocities than either of
the other two powders in all 4 guns.
One
of the shooters noted that KIK® brand
black powder produced considerably more recoil and the recoil
was more keenly felt as an uncomfortably sharp jolt as opposed
to the ‘pushing’ sensation normally associated with the recoil
of black powder fired through a muzzleloader. That shooter
described the recoil as more consistent with modern, cartridge
ammunition than black powder. He noted that if he were to fire
KIK® black
powder on a regular basis that he would feel compelled to
reduce his normal powder charge in order to do so comfortably.
None of the other three shooters reported any significant
difference in recoil.
In
theory, the powder charge that produces the most consistent
velocity should provide the greatest potential accuracy in any
given firearm. For this paper, I measured consistency as the
percentage of the extreme velocity spread to the average
velocity of each string. The data gathered in this test would
indicate that in half of the guns tested Goex® provided
the best potential accuracy, and in the other half of the guns
tested, KIK® provided
the best potential. In one of the test guns (#3) KIK® provided
the highest potential accuracy, but Goex® and
Elephant® brand
were tied for ‘second place’. In the three remaining guns
Elephant® brand
black powder was the least consistent of the three powders
tested, but this finding might change if the charge were
increased sufficiently to produce velocities comparable to the
other two brands of black powder.
Black Powder Substitute
Powders.