.308 Norma
Member
Just remember one thing. If you're going to load black powder you need a black powder powder measure. Standard powder measures shouldn't be using with black powder.
Why?
Long before lawyers got involved, standard measures were all that were used.
Kevin
The thing to remember is that smokeless powder is measured by weight; black powder is measured by volume.
By weight, by volume, whatever - when you are loading black powder cartridges with black powder, the method(s) used for measuring it isn't nearly as important as making sure there's no dead air space in the case once you seat the bullet.
"THERE SHOULD NEVER BE ANY AIR SPACE BETWEEN THE BASE OF THE BULLET AND THE POWDER BECAUSE A RINGED CHAMBER COULD RESULT. ALWAYS TOUCH THE BULLET'S BASE TO THE CARD WAD." (Quoted from Mike Venturino's and Steve Garbe's SPG Lubricants BP Cartridge Reloading Primer)
I use black powder exclusively in my .45-110 (2 7/8" case) Sharps. I drop 95 to 98 grains (by weight) of Black Cartridge Rifle Powder through a 24" drop tube in order to compress it slightly before I seat the bullet and wad. When I seat the 500 gr bullet and vegetable fiber wad, the powder get compressed a little more - maybe 1/16". I can measure the black powder by weight because years ago I figured how much black powder (by weight) it takes to fill a .45-110 Sharps case to a certain level. Of course that depends on the granulation of the black powder. I only use Black Cartridge Rifle Powder, and I don't know how its granulation compares to Fg or FFg.
From what I've read, and this is just reading I've never tried to find if anything actual occurred, the worry is that a standard powder measurer may set off the powder. By spark, or crushing granules, I dunno.
I weigh my charges of 777 (converted from volume) for my muzzleloader, my thrower won't reach the charge weight I want accurately. I've used measured charges as well, and do if I manage to shoot all the reloads my buttcuff carries. But my velocity is more consistent if I weigh charges, which could be my measuring equipment....
LoonWulf, I also have heard that about static electricity in a standard powder measure setting off black powder. And I've also heard that the theory was debunked, but I don't care. I keep black powder away from plastic. I'd hate to be the one to debunk the debunking of static electricity being able to set off a powder measure full of black powder.
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