Powder Once Again

[Hanshi]

Not wanting to resurrect the old thread even though this may be mistaken for the same discussion.

Now, I seem to always be "powder poor".  I have a little left but it could get critical pretty quickly.  I went on line to check powder prices and got shocked again.  Former dealers no longer show prices or the prices have increased exponentially (it seems).  Jack's Battle Powder is now 33% higher than the last time I ordered a case; Even Goex must use gold instead of charcoal.  Forget Swiss completely, OE for the present and even Reenactor.  The most reasonable powder I found - by a small margin - is Graf's powder and Graf's reenactor powder.

Has anyone done a meaningful comparison of any of these powders; and what can anybody tell me about the two Graf's powders I mentioned?

[Winter Hawk]

Can't answer your question, but smokeless powder has gone through the roof - $32/lb and up!

~WH~

[Hanshi]

  $32/lb!!  Whoa! 

[Silent Walker]

I'm very lucky to get Goex FFg still for $19 through muzzleloading club who usually has plenty on hand, if I want it in bulk, I'll drive to Buffalo Arms in Idaho which is pretty much just over the border from me here in Montana. If because of being powder poor and I have to pick it up, the New Alliant Black MZ at Sportsman's Warehouse is still only $9.99 a pound.  My wife will love the trip to Missoula anyway, so for me it's a win win.

[Hanshi]

I've used more Goex and Jack's Battle Powder (made by Goex) than all others combined and like it.  But at this stage in my career I'll readily sacrifice a little quality for CHEAP so I can continue shooting.  I don't go to matches and only shoot recreationally at the range or when hunting.

[beowulf]

I smell  left wing anti gun dogooders ! if you cant afford the fixins , you cant shoot !  sorry but the ingredients for black powder are neither rare or expensive !

[hotfxr]

Blame it on regulations and restrictions and possibly permit fees. There is no place here in California where you can buy real black powder over the counter. It has to be mail ordered. Last time I bought some had to buy 5 pounds to get a break on the hazmat fee and it took two weeks to get here. Goex and Graf together cost me (if I remember right) just under $22 a pound. Nowdays I have an alternate source (which I cannot mention) that keeps me in powder for a bit cheaper than that.

[Hanshi]

What breaks my heart is that when I started I could buy a pound of Dupont locally for a buck, $1!  Inflation has gone sky high; but 2,000% plus for BP!?  Something else is definitely going on, ladies.

[Winter Hawk]

What breaks my heart is that when I started I could buy a pound of Dupont locally for a buck, $1!

Well for crying out loud, I heard that you pulled k.p. for the last supper!  Not saying you might be old or anything like that.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find out you gave Roger Bacon the formulation for black powder, back in the 13th century.... 

~WH~

[Patocazador]

The most reasonable powder I found - by a small margin - is Graf's powder and Graf's reenactor powder.

Has anyone done a meaningful comparison of any of these powders; and what can anybody tell me about the two Graf's powders I mentioned?

I have never used (or even seen) Graf's Re-enactor powder but I have used quite a bit of Graf's 2F and 3F. I would say it is about equal to Goex and seems to burn a little cleaner. The Graf's powder, which is actually repackaged Schuetzen powder, also seems to be a bit more uniform in granule size than Goex.

I'm basing this on a mixed case of Graf's, Old Eynesford, and Goex that I bought from Graf's about 4 years ago.

[Dogshirt]

What breaks my heart is that when I started I could buy a pound of Dupont locally for a buck, $1!

Well for crying out loud, I heard that you pulled k.p. for the last supper!  Not saying you might be old or anything like that.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find out you gave Roger Bacon the formulation for black powder, back in the 13th century.... 

~WH~

I heard that dirt was specially developed for his 10th birthday.

[William]

Not wanting to resurrect the old thread even though this may be mistaken for the same discussion.

Now, I seem to always be "powder poor".  I have a little left but it could get critical pretty quickly.  I went on line to check powder prices and got shocked again.  Former dealers no longer show prices or the prices have increased exponentially (it seems).  Jack's Battle Powder is now 33% higher than the last time I ordered a case; Even Goex must use gold instead of charcoal.  Forget Swiss completely, OE for the present and even Reenactor.  The most reasonable powder I found - by a small margin - is Graf's powder and Graf's reenactor powder.

Has anyone done a meaningful comparison of any of these powders; and what can anybody tell me about the two Graf's powders I mentioned?

The last time I bought powder via email order I tried Jack's Battle Powder, mostly because of cost. Not only did the customer service suck but so did the powder and I have given more away than I used. I bought a pound of two from Bass Pro shops but at $28/pd. it was too painful. Last week a buddy of mine and I ordered from Grafs and not only is there no minimum but the Hazmat fee was less than what Powder Inc. or Jack's charged in the past. I got three pounds of Goex and my friend went with Grafs. I didn't know it was made by Shutzen but it was several dollars less than Goex. I'm satisfied with buying from them from now on but I should be set for a couple of years of shooting with the 5 pounds of so that I've got on hand.
Still, the cost continues to rise for no other reason than government regulations for something that has only a few dirt cheap ingredients.

[Linc]

Grafs is good powder. Burns cleaner than Goex. I have enough to last me the rest of my life and probably another lifetime besides. With the rate I have been shooting 2 pounds would probably take care of my remaining years. So much for great plans of doing more shooting.

[Hanshi]

  I don't think of myself as "old", but I didn't get my first pair of shoes until the Earth's crust started to cool.  Shoes helped me outrun velociraptors, too.

All I can say is that I had very good results with JBP and the service was fast and friendly.  But things do change.  IIRC the case of JBP (25 lbs) ended up costing about $12 per lb; it had recently gone up from $11.  A case of Goex was only a little more when I had to start ordering it rather than going to the LGS.  Although it's been a looong time, I did just fine with Elephant.  Blue match heads gave disappointing velocities. 
Bottom line is that my desire to shoot is much greater than my desire for top performance.