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Old September 30, 2010, 08:22 AM   #4
Rifleman1776
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 25, 2010
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 3,309
Quote:
(early pioneers would often urinate on it and let it dry as a chemical in urine is an oxidizer - they didn't know why it worked, but it did).
I have been active in traditional muzzle loading for nearly 50 years. In that time I have read hundreds of articles and dozens of books about our American ancestors using muzzle loading firearms. Never have I read or heard a reference to urinating on black powder. Without being able to point out a reliable source for your statement, I have to call it hogwash.

As for one choosing one powder over another, it is a matter of personal choice. As a traditionalist, I choose to use real black powder only. I have no desire to use the substitutes.
For what it is worth, at their request, I tested Pyrodex before it came on the market sometime in the mid-70s. Very hard to ignite. And it does corrode if guns are not quickly properly cleaned. That was the last time I ever used a 'substitute' powder.
BTW, I knew Dan Pawlak, the inventor of Pyrodex. He was a fine person and brilliant scientist. His untimely death was a sad, tragic loss for us all.
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