2F or 3F in a .54

[MuskratMike]

I am having a new rifle and pistol made be Lowell Haarer.
The question is:
Would like to stay with 3F in both for target and hunting. If you shoot patched round balls in .54 caliber (flintlock), which do you use and why? I know every weapon is unique and will favor different loads, but would like to hear from you. Rifle will have a 37-inch Rice swamped barrel with radius cut rifling. Pistol will have 13-inch Rice barrel. Both will sport Chambers Late Ketland locks.

[OldMtnMan]

You can use the 3F in pan and main charge. It will also have less fouling and flow into the channel easier. It's cheaper to shoot because you can use less for the same fps as 2F.

I see only negative for using 2F.

[snapper]

If  you want to stay with 3F.  Do it.

No issues.  Nothing magical.

Fleener

[Daryl]

For me, 2F has shown better accuracy from .50 cal. up. Lyman showed many years ago when using pressure equipment,

that 2F also produced lower pressures for duplicate velocities, than 3F produced. Their test gun had a .54 bl.  For me and

all of us here in Northern B.C., we don't have fouling problems (with any powder we use) as there is zero fouling buildup, shot

 to shot. 

Depending on how you load your rifle, maybe there is a buildup of powder and maybe 2F would foul more for you

because of that? Hard to say. There can be a major difficulty making blanket statements as oft times, they do not

effect everyone the same & may in fact, be polar opposites.

The odd guy up here uses 3F in larger than squirrel rifle calibres, but most use 2F for .50's and above - and no one has to

 wipe their bores while shooting the trail - ever, thus proving there is no fouling buildup (for us) with either powder, even for well

over 50 or 60 shots fired. To illustrate that statement, Taylor once grabbed the wrong horn and ended up using 1F in his .40 for a trail.

 After he found he had to add a little more powder and higher front sight, he commenced to hitting all the targets, as is usual

for him.  So - no more fouling, even with 1F, and no accuracy problems either.  That was due to him using a .395" ball and .022

Denim patch, thus, he experienced easy loading, all day as normal.

[OldMtnMan]

If you're wiping the fouling away with super tight loads it doesn't change the fact that everything being equal. 3F has less fouling than 2F. The other fact is you can use less of it for equal power means even less fouling. For an added benefit you can use the same powder in pan and charge with 3F. That doesn't work as good with 2F. Buying and carrying one grade is easier.

Those are facts Daryl. Even if you don't swab.

btw My .54 is more accurate with 3F.

[Flycaster1977]

Im using 3f old eynsford in my .54 flinter. No problems or overfouling issues.
44 in colerain barrel and only prb.

[Lobo]

Many years ago when I was young
I was told what powder in my gun
now that I am old and gray
those rules still hold true today

32 to 50 three F shot best
two F was used for all the rest
years of experience prove to be
the road to follow for you and me

[Darkhorse]

I used nothing but 2f in my .54's for about 20 years before trying 3fg. After doing a lot of testing of both grades I made the switch to 3fg and never looked back. Both powders will work fine in the .54's but, for me at least, 3fg fouls less and has less perceived recoil at hunting charges and shoots very accurately out of my rifle.

[axelp]

I prefer 2f. It also works ok for prime.

[Gun_Nut_73]

.54 is the largest caliber I shoot, not counting shotgun, so I use 3F, and don't have to worry about switching powder back and forth with whichever rifle I am shooting that day.

[Steve Patterson]

.535  Hornady RB with .20 pillow ticking, spit lubed with 80gr. Goex 3F at 40 yds in my pedersoli frontier works well for me. Primed 3 pushes out of one of those brass plunger type primers with the same powder.

[alacran]

I have tried 3f in my .54 Hawken just to see how it shot. At a hundred yards off of cross sticks it was not shooting as tight a group as it was with 2f loads I had shot for years. It may have to do with the sharper recoil that I seem to experience with 3f.
My 2f load in that GRRW barrel was working fine for me and I didn't see any need to do a lot of load development with 3f,

[Pukka Bundook]

 Mike,

Both 2 & 3 F work fine, even for priming with a decent lock.
As we see above, some guns prefer one over the other. You may need to experiment.
Mine work well with 2F for everything, but I mainly use it because that's what I have most of!

All the best,
R.

[Bob Roller]

Mike,

Both 2 & 3 F work fine, even for priming with a decent lock.
As we see above, some guns prefer one over the other. You may need to experiment.
Mine work well with 2F for everything, but I mainly use it because that's what I have most of!

All the best,
R.

When I was young I used 3fg in everything from a 31 caliber Colt or Whitney revolver
to 10 gauge shotguns.I was probably in my late teens or early 20's before I bought a can of anything
else.Test and test some more.There is NO one size fits all in black powder guns. I used 55 grains
of 1fg in a breech loader with a 560 grain bullet and got superb accuracy with it.

Bob Roller

[Fyrstyk]

I use 3f for both my hunting loads and target loads in my 54 flintlock.  70grains for target load and 85 grains for hunting.  I like to carry only one powder with me when hunting, so 3f down the spout and 3f in the pan. As you said, every gun has it's own song.

[Turtle]

 A friend of mine with a .54 shoots 65gr 3f for everything. He beats most on targets and has killed lots of deer.

[hanshi]

I generally use 3F for all calibers including the .54 and .62 smoothbore.  I have occasionally used 2F in my .50 & up and can live with either.  3F gives excellent accuracy in all of them but so does 2F, but in very specific load levels.  3F in my .54 gives about 1" groups at 60 yards which is as good, actually better, than I can shoot.

[Daryl]

If you're wiping the fouling away with super tight loads it doesn't change the fact that everything being equal. 3F has less fouling than 2F. The other fact is you can use less of it for equal power means even less fouling. For an added benefit you can use the same powder in pan and charge with 3F. That doesn't work as good with 2F. Buying and carrying one grade is easier.

Those are facts Daryl. Even if you don't swab.

btw My .54 is more accurate with 3F.

  - nothing I stated was other than fact.

[OldMtnMan]

Other than you think your way is the only way. 

Swabbing isn't a sin or very hard.

[WadePatton]

I prefer 2f. It also works ok for prime.

Works for prime here as well (excellent). I'm using 2F but also tested 3F and have a load for it, in case that need arises.  Haven't shot either enough to see a performance difference.
 
I'm no swabber. 

[hudson]

I spend allot of time at the bench. The three .50 cal. I have do fine with 3F one .54 will only group well with 2F, fouling never a problem. Every Rifle a law unto it’s self.

[OldMtnMan]

I spend allot of time at the bench. The three .50 cal. I have do fine with 3F one .54 will only group well with 2F, fouling never a problem. Every Rifle a law unto it’s self.

Exactly, and why someone can't make a general statement that one is better. You have to try both for each gun.

[MuskratMike]

...and this I understood when I created this post. Just wanted to see which you use on you 54's and why.

[OldMtnMan]

...and this I understood when I created this post. Just wanted to see which you use on you 54's and why.

Accuracy is the main reason. I was glad that 3F was the most accurate. I shoot a Lyman GPR and it has a small breech channel. The 3F flows into it easier than 2F. Plus, i'm a swabber and it has less fouling than 2F.

[Pukka Bundook]

Pete,

You may be right about 3 F causing less fouling, but for those of us who only use 2 F in our rifles, we are not in a position to compare!  LOL.

(In other words, if it works and we are used to whatever powder we have, we are ignorant of anything better, and therefore  manage just fine.)

All the best my friend!!
R.