Thanks Robert. If I ever find more powders to compare, I'll share it. Thanks for watching.

BP, so long as it doesn't get wet, virtually lasts forever. That's one of the big reasons BP cartridges stuck around when smokeless had been developed (NC based smokeless degrades within a few months, depending on the humidity and temperature (without a good stabilizer)). Early Smokeless formulations either didn't have stabilizers in them, or the stabilizers they were using were not very good for the task (smokeless production had issues with finding affordable, effective stabilizers up into the 30's).

I just ordered 3 pounds of goex ffg powder yesterday...

Excellent question on a confusing part of the process. There is some room for experimentation in bullet depth. Personally, I try to stick to the area of the bullet where I can get a good crimp and adjust the powder charge from there. The minimal powder charge is one that touches the bottom of the bullet. More powder simply means greater powder compression. The bullet depth doesn't change. Less powder, less compression. But never so little to cause an air gap. You can experiment with a constant powder load and different compression rates by adding more wads. Again, the bullet depth doesn't have to change - the additional wads are pushed to the same depth and thus further compress the powder. Some powders function well under greater compression while others function better if very slightly compressed. It's part of the load testing process. I hope this helps and doesn't cause further confusion.

@@frontierwesternheritage1356 THANK YOU so much for clarifying this! I had no idea black powder had this feature where it is "adjustable" (at least to some extent) in terms of the space it occupies based on COMPRESSION. (almost reminds me of the characteristics of a gas where it expands to fill the available space though of course the powder being solid it can't expand to the same degree as a gas) There are still some issues re compressing powders since some (like Pyrodex) as I understand it produce variable results based on the degree of compression (I think some people say to not compress it at all but just ensure that there is no air space either). On the other hand, consistent compression might not have this variability in performance. This may be a more complicated topic to explore than I first thought but I'll see about researching (chat groups, etc.) what people have to say about this "compression effect". One thing that has been stated consistently is that you should never have "air space" in a cartridge system using black powder. But once that has been addressed, there still could be additional points to consider, such as the degree of compression. Again, thank you for the info you provided.

Triple 7 is supposed to be bad in cartridges and is also bad to compress. Ive never tried it in cartridges but it does seem to work better when not compressed in my flintlock. The extended hangfire is a bummer tho which is typical in a flintlock with any of the substitutes

@@frontierwesternheritage1356 LOTS of WRONG information in this answer. Dangerous misapprehension.

Thank you. I will tune in to the Paper Cartridges KZfaq channel. Todd

I've stuck with traditional lube. I like the authenticity of it. I'm not a great bullet caster, but I'm trying and getting better.

@@frontierwesternheritage1356 Ok good. I think traditional lube is not that difficult or expensive. Do you do home made or spg ? Do you cast or buy bullets? Thanks 👍

I mostly buy bullets for my cartridge guns and cast conicals for my percussion revolvers. I use Vigilante Bullet Lube on Facebook. It's the best stuff I've used and saves me the frustration. If you can't find it, try Vigilante Candle Company on Facebook - same outfit.

@@frontierwesternheritage1356 Ok cool 👍. I will start by buying bullets in small quantity until I find what works best for my rifle then I may get a mold and cast them but depends on savings maybe easier to just buy bulk when I figure out what bullet works best. Thanks 👍

Laurence, I'm not familiar with that technique. I wish I could offer an opinion. Thanks for watching. Todd

Paul and Lisa? Small world. Trying to get Paul to visit. Lisa has been out here several times.

@@frontierwesternheritage1356 yes, we lived in Bellows Falls for 10 years or so. Maybe 87-97? My wife & Lisa volunteered a lot together in the schools

Dan, I'm not the end all, be all on the subject, so gather several opinions before making a purchase. A lot of it is personal preference. Here's some basics: 38 caliber - lighter recoil, but you may be disappointed in the knock down power for silhouettes at the longer ranges. It won't matter for paper targets. 45 caliber: heavier bullet for down range silhouette, seems like a great compromise because it's in the middle, but some of the long cartridges can be tricky to load consistently. There's a tall column of powder in a 45-110 or longer and it takes practice to get the compression consistent. 50 Calibers: will knock down any silhouette with a 675 grain bullet or larger. Down range energy is substantial, but recoil gets annoying if shooting a lot. The recoil of a large 45 is no slouch either, but the 50s are worse. No big deal until you shoot a long match and start to anticipate the recoil. I love my 50-90 Sharps, but it's not an all-day shooter. Great to have you interested to get started. Todd

It takes a great deal of experimenting to get the components balanced correctly. In my 45-110 my first several dozen were pathetic. 25 yard groups of over a foot. Finally, got her to 4-6 inches at 100 yards. Still, it can be better.

Richard, I was loading 86 grains of Fg powder and used a magnum primer due to the volume. I get a more complete burn that way with the coarse powder. I don't think the 38-55 needs a magnum primer, but try both and see which one performs better. There could be a significant difference. Thanks for commenting, Todd

1F powder is perfectly suited to larger caliber, longer barreled rifles and shotguns.

Yep.. the larger the bore, the more you need a slower burning powder. Large bullets are not accurate spun too fast!

Yes! Always! I have NO idea why he was weighing his BP. Also 1 F powder is NOT the correct mill for this weapon. TRIPLE F is more appropriate. Don't listen to this guy he does not understanding the BASICS of PB reloading.

​@@powderslinger5968 Wrong.

One F is for canons.

N.B.P., I think I did this a little over a year ago. Thanks for watching. Todd