I am an old shooter, but new in BP. I obtained a couple of sifting screens from an English source, for FFG and FFFG. I sifted a pound of Old Eynesford FFG and was shocked when it sifted 60% FFG and 40% FFFG. I haven't sifted anything else yet. Is this a known occurrence? Comments?

All of my lots of OE powder have been like that.  Lots of fines.  However it does work quite well in some of my rifles.  I do primarily use Swiss 1.5.  It is far more consistent in grain size.

Chris.

I have to agree with Don. I like the OE powder and it shoots well for me. I also have Swiss and it shoots very well also.
Below are some workup powder load targets That I tested with OE and KIK yes the range was only 135 yards in my back yard and when I get new lots of powder I use my range during calm days to eliminate wind errors and get a good sight picture and from there I extend the distance for the final load tests. 
When the OE shoots this tight of a group it shoots well.
But I will say that I never shot a group this tight at 135 yards with Swiss but I still use it when I have it.
Kurt
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) by (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links), on Flickr

Lead Pot,

how are you lubing your PPB's and loads?

You are shooting them dry? Dry paper is very abrasive.

What about a lube cookie?

Swabbing the bore after each shot?

SchwarzStock wrote on Oct 11^th, 2023 at 10:31am:


Yes I shoot them dry and yes paper is abrasive and why add another variable that is not needed shooting PP when you swab the bore after every shot fired.
I like the abrasion of the PP bullet  when it cleans the bore like in the photo's
I kept track of the rounds fired in this rifle by numbering the primer bricks I just used in this rifle and the count was over 21 from primer shortages in the past that I had to use them for other rifles.
Those pictures are from a new unfired rifle to well over 21,000 rounds through it. 
I like the way the paper laps the bore 
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) by (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links), on Flickr (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) by (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links), on Flickr

John Boy made a post on screening powder a few years ago with Goex powder.

Goex Express FFg– (02/17/05DE12B) 
12 mesh – Trace retained 
14 mesh – 0.35% retained 
20 mesh – 89.59% retained 
30 mesh – 9.47% retained 
40 mesh – 0.22% retained 
Through – 0.37% 

Olde E' 1.5Fg:
20 mesh - 98.163% Hold
30 mesh - 0.612% Hold
40 mesh - 0.000%
50 mesh - 1.224% Hold
60 mesh - Trace
80 mesh - Trace Passed
Regards
John

KK,
I use Fed 210 GM and yes I use a .06 wad over the powder.

KaiserKong wrote on Oct 11^th, 2023 at 5:47pm:

Kaiser Kong, turns out sifting and grain size is more involved than I realized. Lead Pot's figures were obtained with a 20 mesh screen, mine with a 24 mesh screen. So, poor comparison. My screens came from England. Can't recall who picked 24 mesh, me or them. There is a coterie of folks who make their own BP. You can find them on Cast Boolits and other forums. I would think a reference to official industry standards is what is needed. Many of the folks on Cast Boolits influence the performance of their home made powder by varying the size of screen they sift with. I suspect the big companies do that, too. In addition they say that the size of the wire used in making the mesh has an effect also. My concern was that FORTY PERCENT of the OE was a faster off-grade. What effect would that have in a 45-70 or 50-70, both of which I shoot, when compressing? At first blush I would think a noticeable pressure and/or accuracy effect. Are there any accurate, scientific pubs that you and I could follow that would help? When you decide what you want, get hold of these people in England, consult with them to start with. Unlike the Canadians, they are only too happy to deal with Americans. For starters, I didn't see any evidence of export licenses (As in Canada) being necessary to send you something. Canada's Gun Store, allegedly their biggest, won't ship ANYTHING to the U.S., not even jackets or boots. However, the package of two 8" x 10" screens was opened for inspection by U.S. Customs! Jeez. Here's their information: they're The Mesh Company (Warrington) Ltd., E MAIL: sales@themeshcompany.com. WEB SITE: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links). PHONE: 44 01925 406602.

The U.S. Department of Defence does have a spec for black powder:
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

If you look at page 10, it shows a nice graph of the mesh size (U.S. standard sieve size) for the type of range. I need to find my notes, but when I compared these mesh size from this table to what is often quoted for mesh size in various reloading and other manuals they don't seem to match up.

So there is a standard, but no one adheres to it. But then again, why would the Swiss adhere to a U.S. standard when they've been making powder far longer than us?