Hodgdon's triple seven — the non-corrosive muzzleloader powder: A close look at a new high-performance BP substitute - almost

Guns Magazine, July, 2002 by Sam Fadala

What the muzzleloader world needs now is a non-corrosive propellant that's loaded by volume just like black powder. It should make smoke, giving the game its unique character, but at the same time not cake up the bore like smudge in a chimney. That fuel does not exist. However, Triple Seven is so close to non-corrosive that this new powder requires little additional after-shooting effort than modem cartridges demand. The only solvent necessary to remove Triple Seven fouling is [H.sub.2]O -- plain old tap water, preferably hot to promote drying.

Lives Up To Its Claims

Sometimes manufacturer's claims are overblown. However, I can say after purposely firing multiple consecutive shots without swabbing the bore (under test conditions) that hot water slicked the rifle up to brand new in a few short minutes. The effort required to remove Triple Seven fouling was little more than I lavish on my favorite smokeless powder cartridge guns. Hodgdon points out that it's the lack of sulfur that makes cleanup so easy. That's true, in part, but not the entire story. The powder's special formulation also plays a role.

Easy after-shooting maintenance brings more and more shooters into the fascinating world of muzzleloading. However, cleanup is only one criterion of a viable muzzleloader propellant. In the past, I've tried a few promising propellants that provided easy cleaning, but the rest of the story was poor energy yield resulting in low velocity, plus high standard deviations for potentially large groups. Another negative feature was impaired shelf life, the powder changing its pyrotechnic nature even when stored properly. Triple Seven has shown none of these drawbacks. Velocity for Triple Seven FFg, the granulation tested, proved to yield high energy. The new powder also shows good stability.

Again under test conditions only, in the name of discovery, Triple Seven was placed in the freezer for three days then baked in direct sunlight for three more. No changes in velocity or standard deviation resulted from this torture.

Volume Vs. Weight

Named for the 777th formulation, which finally worked as its inventor Dean Barrett intended, Triple Seven is loaded just like black powder -- by volume, not by weight. Cartridge fans can use a powder/bullet scale or powder measure if they wish, but they must first establish the correct charge weight by use of a volumetric powder measure.

For example, a .45-70 Navy Arms Remington Rolling Block was tested using 60 grains volume FFg Triple Seven. A 60 grain charge by weight would spill over the walls of the case like 12 ounces of water in an 8 ounce glass. Here is the correct procedure for weighing Triple Seven. The example is for a 60 grain volume charge. Set an adjustable volume muzzle loader's powder measure at 60 grains. Pour Triple Seven into the measure to slightly overfull. Tap the barrel of the measure to settle the powder. Rotate the swing-out funnel in place to strike off excess powder kernels. Place this volumetric charge on a powder/bullet scale. This 60 grain charge by volume of Triple Seven FFg was found to weigh 42.0 grains.

Hereafter, 42.0 grains weight Triple Seven FFg can be prepared on a scale or with a powder measure. Special black powder compatible measures from Lyman or Hornady are safe with Triple Seven. Warning: Standard powder measures designed for use with smokeless powder must never be used to meter out black powder or any black powder substitute. Conventional powder measures may conceivably set off the powder in the body of the measure by developing a static charge or through internal friction.

Compared With Pyrodex

Triple Seven is not a derivative of Hodgdon's popular Pyrodex. It is less dense than black powder, but more dense than Pyrodex RS. With a volumetric powder measure set at 100 grains, GOEX FFg produced 100 grains by weight. The same setting produced 71.0 grains weight for Pyrodex RS and 76.0 grains weight for Triple Seven FFg.

Two rifles were chronographed, a Markesbery .54 caliber Outer-Line muzzleloader and a .45-70 Navy Arms Remington Rolling Block with 30 inch Badger barrel installed by Morrison Precision of Hereford, Ariz. The .45-70 Government load was built with Star Line brass. Federal's hot 215 primer was selected and produced flawless ignition with Triple Seven. The cast bullet selected is from a custom Hoch mold, a flat nose which averages 417 grains weight. Lube: one part toilet bowl ring, two parts salt free lard, two parts beeswax. A single-over-powder card wad rested on powder charges that were compressed with a custom-made tool. Shooting procedure included the use of a blow tube, with three deep breaths exhaled down bore after each shot.

Not Just For Muzzleloaders

Three different powders were tested in the .45-70. A 60 grain volume charge (42.0 grains by weight) of Triple Seven produced an average muzzle velocity of 1,327 fps with a standard deviation of 8 feet per second. A proven accurate GOEX load of 63.0 grains weight developed 1,155 fps with 24 fps standard deviation. Swiss FFFg at 63.6 grains weight developed 1,363 fps.