Just a bit of an experience question.

I have a CPA in .38-55. I’ve been breech seating an Accurate 
345-grain bullet in the 12” twist barrel using various smokeless powders. Our local match season is over at the end of August. Fall is a time to do some experimenting.

I have several pounds of Old E. 1 1/2 black powder. I’m guessing the .38-55 started its life in the BP era. So…

Is there an accuracy “gain” over smokeless in the use of BP in this rifle? If so, what charge weight of BP should be considered? I’m not interested in duplex loads.

I have 0.060” thick .38 veggie wads and a 24” drop tube. I think I probably need a powder compression die.

Thanks!

Black powder can be very accurate but you have to jump through a few more hoops to get there.  As far as a gain, no, my experience says not but, it can be very, very close.

I've been shooting BPC's with great success since the mid-80's and have never owned a compression die and the only wads I've ever used are .020 card wads punched from florist boxes or cereal boxes. 

As far as charge weight what I've done for decades is calculate the powder column height to the base of the bullet then add enough to bring it up 1/10 to 1/8 of an inch, add the card and seat the bullet.  With a .060 card you might want to deduct that  amount from the powder charge then add 1/10 to 1/8.

Olde Eyensford is a fine BP from my experience.

If you're wanting to continue breech seating I'm sorry I can't recommend anything as I've never breech seated.

You can get up to 10% increase by converting to Swiss FFFg.
The finer BP works great in .38 caliber rifles.

I had always heard that in the heyday of accurate BP competition the quality of the powder was much more consistent. That the prime ingredient that made the difference back then was better charcoal made from select closed cell woods like alder, willow buckthorn etc. and processed when charcoaling was a regional science carefully handled by families like making corn squeeze.

I've seen pictures of big charcoal domes packed with soil to seal out free oxygen and very slowly burned down. These were commercial charcoal makers and not fine gun powder makers that used container type retorts. China still has regions famous for high quality fast burning charcoal probably for fireworks and such. Not good for air quality. 

BTW: DuPont used willow wood in their early black powder days. Known for fast even burning they said

Rick

"BurntWater" ... Very unusual handle  
So when, approximately,  was the "heyday" of accurate BP competition....?

Back in the early 2000's, (date code 06-01)  I secured a lifetime supply of Swiss 1 1/2F, which used to be called Swiss NO. .4 

If my Google search is accurate...
Swiss No. 1 (4Fg equivalent): 
Swiss No. 2 (3Fg equivalent):
Swiss No. 3 (2Fg equivalent): 
Swiss No. 4 (1.5Fg equivalent): 

I've stored this powder in a safe with the RH at 50% and the temps at 76 degrees all this time. All XX lbs is the same lot and date. 

If I recall my earliest Swiss Powder used this numbering System, 
[1, 2, 3, 4] before they put their "F" grades on the cans.
Anyone else remember this old numbering system used by SWISS..?


burntwater wrote Today at 4:29pm:

bpjack wrote Today at 5:03pm:



🤣

I also remember reading the south ended up producing the best powder. There was a production plant using willow that the north made a point to capture ASAP. Doesn't show up in a search now. Maybe conspiracy, maybe my old brain has gone to mush.