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Today was the first time I fired BP pistols. A club member has three, and in return for driving him to the range to shoot them, he also loaded and allowed me to fire them. One flintlock, two revolvers.

I think I'm hooked :-)

He's an old school shooter, with all the necessary tickets to acquire, possess and transport BP. I'm wondering, if I get into this, should I go the same route and get all the tickets, or just start with Pyrodex or 777 (then I only need a 1-for-1 variation to acquire a pistol).

Thoughts? Anyone gone down the Pyrodex only route and not bothered with BP? Or tried it and changed to BP in the end? Not looking for a "which is better" debate, more "what's the best route to a satisfactory muzzleloading hobby".

Cheers

daman

It's really not much effort to get the BP ticket. It costs nothing and the only extra cost is in the BP storage box, which you should probably have anyway.
Triffid

Go for BP, it is the right path in the long run.

far better to go with B.P, bearing in mind that with the substitutes you still have to go trough a good cleaning procedure, the same as B.P. I find it more pleasant to shoot and you can't beat the smell of the smoke! The only down side is that you can't shoot it indoors.
ww

Assuming you're not going for a flintlock, it's a matter of choice. I've stuck with Pyrodex for 5 years as I couldn't be bothered to go through the process of getting a BP cert. I use it in M/L pistols and my Martini-Henry and am happy with it. However, as I might be going for a flintlock pistol I'll have to go down the BP route. I was given some 777 by a member who was giving up and I didn't take to it at all, so I'd never advise someone to go that way.

I don't know what it's like where you stay, but up here it took a fellow club member 4 months to get his BP cert sorted.

Why not start off with Pyrodex and apply for the BP cert while enjoying shooting it? You can then choose what way to go then.

Donald

I thought about putting in for the BP paperwork - not sure how long TVP take to process that based on their FAC / variations performance. However, as there's few places, if any, near me where I could shoot it I'm pretty much obliged to use 777.

If you have somewhere where you can regularly use BP why not put in for it anyhow? Costs nought.

Black powder guns shoot best with black powder, getting a BP license is easy. Apply, get a box, be inspected and away you go. The RCA document comes with the Explosives License now so no need for a separate application, all this doesn't cost except for the box. The "tickets" are only one printed sheet of A4 paper obtained with only one simple application.

However as you are not interested in which is best for shooting or your guns then use the substitutes, be happy with the more rigorous cleaning regime, limited choice of prpellants and never wondering if you are missing out on performance.

BTW what do you mean/imply by the term "old school shooter".

The last time I was in Henry Kranks I inquired about a exchanging my BP revolver.

The initial reply was that if I had used anything other than BP in it, then they would not entertain taking the gun in.

The sales guy I was talking to seemed to suggest that Pyrodex etc was damaging and could cause minor cracks in the barrel.

I do not know whether this is true or not, but certainly it is easy to go the BP route.

regards

Geoff

Many thanks all. It seems like a reasonable approach would be to get the variation and start with a substitute while waiting for the BP license to come through.

That way I can shoot with minimal delay, and will also be able to make some informed choices about relative performance, cleaning etc when the ticket comes through.

Dromia, thanks for letting me know the RCA and license are now combined, I guess that simplifies things.

And as for "old school" - well, I'm over fifty, and he's thirty years my senior, a lot of his kit is older than I am. No offense intended to the chronologically challenged!