Jim Shockey Gold Powder ?

[COLOelkman]

I tried a few different powders last year including the JS regular and the JS "Gold". In my previous gun (Cablea's .50 cal. Sporterized Hawkin) the JS regular powder shot very clean as advertised. I switched to a Knight a couple years ago and when I tried the JS gold and regular, it did not shoot clean at all. About the same as Pyrodex which totally surprised me. Not sure if anything might make a difference like different caps, but thought I'd see if anyone else has tried it and what their experiece was. I kind of liked the idea of a very clean bore and easier cleanup but it didn't work out. I found my gun shoots well (accuracy) with 777 and lubed TC Maxiballs and accuracy is far more important than cleanliness. I sure don't want to toss it but it didn't perform as advertised and just wondering what if anything might help. Any ideas? Doug

 

[MLKeith]

I have not shot any Shockey powder but it is basically American Pioneer which is ascorbic acid based which should shoot quite clean. I would suspect either something left in the barrel (oil etc.) or the primer if the fouling is there with that kind of powder. I find the ascorbic acid based powders: APP, Goex Pinnacle, Black Mag'3, to name a few seem to be very clean but tend to have variation in results from can to can. Black Mag'3 has made recent improvements that make the powder much more repeatable and it is my choice for that type of powder. Since they just made marketing agreements with MDM the powder may become more available which is the main drawback for BM3.