Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Tripple 7 3F in 54 Caliber

Why is 3F not recommended in the larger calibers, specfically 54? All I shoot is round ball and was just wondering. Too much pressure? Unrepeatable pressure?

I shoot 3f in my .54s just lower powder charge about 10-15 percent compared to 2F, no problems.

Dont chase the last fps by filling the barrel with powder and its fine.

I use 80 gns 3f 777 with a prb in my 54

Do you get better accuracy with the 3F loads?

Yes my Cabelas Sporterized Hawken .54 will shoot about a 1.5 in at 60 yds with patch/roundball
(85 gr 3f) if I can see the open sights well enough on any given day. Would probably do a bit better if I could see well enough.
I shoot 3f also in a custom Renegade that I had Bobby Hoyt rebore and twist at 1:26 I believe and I cut barrel down to 20-21 in, its very accurate with No-excuse 535 gr conicals and 80 gr of 3f.

Just a guess but it may be prone to ignition problems since the finer powder could be packed more densely. In a larger diameter bore with a no 11 cap and max load that may be the case. You could always call Hodgdon.

I’m sorry Gun Geezer, but I no absolutely nothing about these new powders. All I use is Holy Black. And I shoot FFFG in everything.

I have a Pennsylvania trade rifle and one of them new mountain rifles out of St Louis. One flint, other percussion . Both .54’s. And a 60 grn charger hanging off my horn. 60 knocks hell outta most things here. And if I’m after one of them bigger animals at longer ranges, then I dump two chargers down for the 120 grain knock em stiff load!

Good luck on the hunting trail!

I to also prefer Black powder over 777 mostly just due to the fact it will freeze nipples up if too many shots are taken w/o backing nipple out a few turns then tightening after 10 shots or so.. but I still shoot it in a few sidelocks.

I have not seen black for sale in years around here. TAke that back: NEVER seen it for sale here in east Texas.

Never had a problem with nipples freezing up with 777. Shot about 30 or shots last weekend with no ill effect on the nipple. I'll have to watch that.

Double post.

All I've tried so far is T7 2F. Mine shoots most accurate with 80 gr of T7 2F, but is tolerable up to about 100 gr. I would not have thought 60 gr would give enough velocity to do a good job on deer or hogs? What's the velocity with 60 gr?

I've noticed that at 80 grains there absolutely no recoil, accurate, but seems to get some blowback up into the nipple. Amost like plugged up. Don't do that at 90 gr or up.

Gun Geezer,

Without ordering on line, the closest place I can buy real black is Burdett and son in Bryan/College Station. May be a drive for you.

But most folks would be surprised what little powder they can get away with using for positive results.

I use breechplug grease on the nipple threads. Solves the problem for me.

Powder Inc delivers TO YOUR DOOR! Yes....you will pay a HAZ MAT fee which shouldn’t bankrupt you and then you won’t be burning fake powder!

yes, Kwoodie, with my 50 cal. TC Hawken , i sometimes shoot 45 gr. of Black Powder. Goex, Old Eynsford and most recently Swiss. I dont see a difference in the powder at 50 yds , except I noticed unusually even groups with Swiss , but it could be cause I got a new peep sight and I cleaned swiped the barrel twice per shot with Swiss. . I am going to decide what powder is best , or if Swiss is worth the cost and buy 10 or 15 lbs from Buffalo or similar black powder master distributor.

A 0.530 ball, 100 grs T7 2F, and a 0.015" patch combo produced several less than 1/2" groups at 25 yards yesterday, off sand bags. The stuff seems to work pretty good for me. Next sessoin I'll back off to 50 yards, but I'll need a bigger orange dot! My eyes are a real henderance.

But I might try some black just to play around. I get to B/CS about every 3 to 4 months. Didn't know Burdett's carried black. My Dad's store carried it back in the day. Sure do miss Tri-State Sporting Goods.

I have shot FFFg in .54 flintlocks for 40 years. I find it burns faster, cleaner, and gives better ballistics. Long ago Lyman did a piece on a .54 cap using FFg and FFFg. They found that 70 grains of FFg gave the ballistics of 90 grains of FFg.
I run 90 grains of FFFg Goex and a patched round ball out of my T/C Renegade with a 32" Green Mountain RB twist barrel. In my gun it gives near one hole group at 100 yards. Never chronographed the load but this is as fast as I can go before the groups open up.

+1

I see lots of posts online about frozen breech plugs and nipples with 3x7. Never saw it in person. Just online.

real black is tough to come by here in nj. 777 for years now. I like it.

I don't always use 777 but when I do it's fffg. Right now that's what is in my horn but it's feeling lite so I may be using holy black soon.
I shot 20 rounds Thursday at 50 yards . First shot took 3 caps to ignite but that was my fault .
I forgot to snap a couple to clear.
I cast those balls in the morning and shot them while they were still warm. Had a 4 inch group of 20 balls. I'm happy camper!😄

Anybody have a good load using either 1 or 2 F?