I've allowed myself to get into a running discussion concerning the attributes between BP and smokeless and some of the hows and whys behind reloading for same.
So I would like to hear whether my take on some aspects is correct or flawed.
What they say- magnum primers should be used in loading BP because it is SLOW burning compared to smokeless and it needs the extra heat to make sure it goes off correctly.
What I say- Any primer will set off BP and it isn't slow burning. But it is inefficient and leaves a lot of residue. Magnum primers help burn that leftover residue and may give a bit of boost to the load.
And after all, magnum primers were designed for modern magnum cartridges with slow burning SMOKELESS powders, not BP cartridges.
What they say- Smokeless powders burn faster than BP and that is why they generate more pressure and need heavier chambers than BP guns.
What I say- Smokeless generates more pressure by nature of it's chemical makeup, not just by it's burn rate alone.My impression is that smokeless can generate 3 times or more pressure as BP on a volume for volume basis.
So, am I close to being on target ??