I'm sure a lot of you out there have tried Hogdons new blackpowder replacement. I meant to but when I struck out on the muzzleloader deer tag that I normally draw I let the muzzleloader gather dust and bought a bow. I'm kind of curious though, what are the pros and cons of this stuff? Is it as accurate as Pyrodex? Do you clean between shots? What do you use to wipe the bore with?

Migra

From what i can tell it: is clean, has higher velocities, accurate. the only thing that i see wrong with it is that its more expensive. Thats why i like Goex FFg, ignites easily, sounds good, offers a smoke screen to move behind, can't beat the aroma therapy, allows me to have a lot of time with my Renegade, and accurate.

cyberhick

I just did a product review article on Hodgdon's Triple Seven for my on-line e-zine. Rather than going into a long, drawn out deal here, let me give you the url to my on-line magazine and let you read there... http://www.accs.net/users/drquick/hfhonlinemagazine.html However, I will go so far as to say that 777 has put the FUN back into blackpowder shooting for me...

its cleaner than pyrodex is. shot side by side its 10 times cleaner.

In all the guns I have tried it in, two .45's, two .50's, and two .54's, 777 has consistently left enogh MORE fouling in the barrels that cleaning has been required to continue shooting, as opposed to Pyrodex. (Maybe it is cleaner than Pyrodex, but leaves more of the fouling in the bore???) In addition, it is enough more powerful that the guns performed very differently! Over-powder wads were requires, even with patched balls!! Points of impact moved UP several inches or more, and this with power charges that had been reduced significantly!! THE ONLY REAL ADVANTAGE I discovered was ease of cleaning after a day's shooting. It truly does wash out easily with just plain water (just like Clean Shot and ClearShot!!)

I like 777. Used it my ZAR Martini. I was able to push most fouling out with a dry patch. I will never use GOEX again as long as there is Swiss 1 1/2 and 777.

Here's the results of it in the field.



DD

I just read David Quicks article and after shooting 21/2 cans of 777 this summer
makes me wonder what he was using, he states he used the same patch to clean barrel
between shots for 20 shots and he still didn't need to change patches,this is not like the 777 I tried,mine left the barrel with so much residue that I had to clean between each shot to get the next bullet down the barrel,( usually lick a patch run it down the barrel turn it over and round it in and out again between shots anyhow) but the patch I used between each shot was so black I sure didn't want to use it for 20 rounds.
At 100 yds I didn't get a decent group using ffg or fffg and many bullet combinations at all.I didn't get any blow back in the chamber because I was testing with an encore,just dusty around the firing pin.
After trying all of these loads I went back to the pyrodex select or pellets.
I will try it again this summer because I have a 1/2 can left.

Black?

The patches I ran down the bore came out dry sooty gray.

I didn't actually clean the barrel until I got home from Africa.

DD

owensby, my experience with this stuff parallels yours exactly!! I have gone back to Pyrodex and Clean Shot for hunting loads!!

In a previous post, OWDNSBY writes:
"I just read David Quicks article and after shooting 21/2 cans of 777 this summer
makes me wonder what he was using, he states he used the same patch to clean barrel"
I was using exactly what I stated in my article. 100 grain (equiv.) of Hodgdon Triple Seven FFG and a T/C sabot with 240 grain XTP bullet and #11 caps... I had the same results that MOST others are having and was really excited about the prospect of shooting black powder guns without all the mess, plus a noticeable increase in accuracy and consistency over the chronograph...nothing more, nothing less... My feeling was exactly what I stated. "It put the fun back in muzzleloader shooting for me".

I wonder if the fouling problem you Muzzle stuffers are having might be related to the need for a different kind of lube with 777. I am using a big grease cookie behind my slug in my 577/450.

The fouling in my bore is fairly loose and is easily pushed out with a dry patch. It does take a little effort to push that patch down the bore. The fouling is dry to the touch and feels a little gritty. There is a definite difference in the "feel" from black powder. The black powder fouling is greaser.

It only takes me one patch to clear the 777 fouling in my cartridge gun and several with GOEX.

I have to yet try Swiss,I have heard it is significantly cleaner burning that GOEX.

DD

[ 12-05-2002, 05:20: Message edited by: Double D ]

I too have experienced fouling in my muzzleloader with 777. My experience has been, shoot half dozen shots, then it takes significant effort to push the sabot down the barrel. Last Saturday, after about 15 shots, I had to clean it. Yes it did clean up with water, but I have never had to stop and clean with Cleanshot. What a pain.

The patches were black. heavy black. It took several to clean the barrel and much flushing with water.

My main reasons for wanting to switch to 777 from Cleanshot is shelf life and perhaps higher velocities.

Mark.