Here's my opinion. Just as dirty and nasty as the real thing, and even more costly than the extravagant waste of money that black is. Just an opinion.

Have only used Pyrodex and 777. 777 FFg is an excellent bulk smoky powder that has never given me any issues with corrosion, clean up or small groups. Used it in 44-40 for maybe a decade and thousands of rounds through a Brazilian W92 and Ruger Vaquero. Also used in 12 and 16 gauge trap loads -- even won BP trap shoots a few times. I routinely shot 10s to 100 or so rounds per day in single gun before wiping bore -- cleaned at end of day. Bullets were always soft cast with SPG lube. All bores remain in excellent condition.

For my uses it was equal to Swiss in performance and cheaper in these same guns and shooting conditions, cheaper mostly because about 20-30% less weight of powder used.

Some 25 years a or so pretty much retired my modern shotguns in favor of a 12 ga double barreled percussion shotgun.  Dumb but happy I switched to Pyrodex after a year or so shooting ffl.  I never noticed in my 50 caliber percussion rifles but swinging on dove and quail there was an obvious delay between the percussion cap firing and the main charge going off with Pyrodex.  If you didn't follow through with the swing you shot behind every time.  I went back to ffl and never looked back.  Always shot duplex in cartridge rifles to keep fouling to a minimum.  Tom

Historically the substitute for black powder is the semi-smokeless and early smokeless powder of the day. That is still the best substitute for black powder. 
Lee

I wholeheartedly agree with KAF.

Schuetzenmiester wrote on Jun 17^th, 2018 at 2:20pm:


Back when Bill Knight was actively testing and doing chemical analyses of real BPs and the then available smoke-making substitutes, Pyrodex was best of the bunch but suffered from having to use less than adequately pure components, especially potash for cost control. This resulted in some batches being more corrosive than others because of greater amounts of Na perclorates. Expose most any of the low corrosion-resistent, cheap steels often used in replica muzzle loaders and cartridge guns, especially those from Italy, and shooters that did not immediately fully clean bores of those guns reported "ruined" guns and often complained loudly. Those of us that used guns with modern, usually much more corrosion resistant steels, had happier experiences. My TC muzzle loader, Brazilian W92 and Ruger Vaqueros and Husqvarna hammer doubles had NO corrosion issues with Pyrodex with daily cleaning after shooting, and repeat, often more through cleaning next day.

As satisfactory as Pyrodex was for me, 777 is a much better powder, both as regards fouling, group size and need for immediate, through cleaning at end of each shooting day.

If one does not mind me asking why would one look for a substitute when BP is still around what is it that I might be missing?

JLouis