TRIPLE SEVEN AND BLACK MAG3

The first thing I want to say is this test was not done scientifically, but was conducted under field type conditions and was by no means exhaustive. The results should not be taken as absolute. I am only reporting what happened during the testing. The weather conditions varied from slightly windy with gust to 20 mph,( so I chose to put my test target at 50 yards instead of the usual 100 yards on the first day) to warm and clear with little wind (moved target to 100 yards).  It had rained the night before my first shoot, so conditions were damp, but there was no rain during testing.  The temperature varied from around 70  to 90 degrees F.  My test rifles were a new Encore that I recently had a trigger job done on, and a Henry Ball Limited Edition Savage 10 ML II.  I used the .25 ACP breech plug conversion with CCI 400 small rifle primers, rather than the traditional 209 primers in my Encore.

During the first test, I used just one weight and type of muzzleloader bullet and my Encore.  I used only 100 grains of both types of powder; measured by volume.

The purpose of this first test was to compare velocities, ease of loading, and cleanliness between Triple Seven and Black Mag3.  I did not test for accuracy (that would come later), because I have not established that my Encore likes this bullet, nor what load of powder produces the best groups, but I will give general comments.  Please understand that because this test was not exhaustive, actual numbers only represent ball park data and should not be considered complete.  This test does however allow for a few conclusions that might be of interest.

I shot 9 bullets using Black Mag3 and 6 bullets using Triple Seven ffG loose (hardly conclusive yet enough to show a few things).

My first 5 shots were fired using 100 grains of Black Mag3 and Precision Rifle's QT .40 195 grain bullet.  I did not swab between rounds.  I waited approximate 5 minutes between shots.  Loading was relatively easy, but not as easy as when I swabbed between rounds.  I put down two differences between high and low (one using clean barrel and the other after a fouling shot).  My group was not as good as when I swabbed between rounds later.  Velocity increased a little with each shot.  No hang-fires or misfires.

Shot	fps	Avg fps	High/Low Spread	Comment
1	1711	1828 clean	219 fps clean	clean barrel low
2	1763	1857 fouled	167 fps	fouled barrel low
3	1862
4	1874
5	1930			high

My second group included 4 shots fired using 100 grains of Black Mag3 and Precision Rifle's QT .40 195 grain bullet.  This time I swabbed between rounds.  Loading was very easy.  Group improve with swabbing.  Velocities did not increase between shots, but varied both up and down.  No hang-fires or misfires.

Shot	fps	Avg fps	High/Low Spread	Comment
1	1910	1836	170 fps	high
2	1885
3	1740			low
4	1809

Next, I fired 6 shots using 100 grains of Triple Seven and Precision Rifle's QT .40 195 grain bullet.  (Although time did not allow me to demonstrate it, I know from experience, velocity will increase, loading will get harder, accuracy will deteriorate and misfires/hang-fires will increase without swabbing between shots, when using Triple Seven powder.)  I swabbed between shots.  Loading was quite easy.  Group was a bit better than with Black Mag3, with 3 shots almost touching.  One unexplained hang-fire, which affected the high/low considerably, however, shot hit middle of group.  If we do not count the hang-fire, it appears that Triple Seven is about 4% to 5% hotter than Black Mag3 (depending on swabbing), at least with these results (I don't feel this difference is significant, as a few grains of powder more or less will take care of this).

Shot	fps	Avg fps	High/Low Spread	Comment
1	1926	1917*	83 fps** / 174 fps*
2	1904	1938**	low**
3	1924
4	1953
5	1813		low*	hang-fire
6	1987		high

Again, this was just a preliminary test.  I would like to do more testing with more bullets, unfortunately, I have a limited supply of Black Mag3 on hand.  I would also like to hear from readers, if they have additional tests they would like to see performed between these two powders.

Weights by volume.  Because of the bigger difference in feet-per-second between low and high velocity, I decided to measure some 100 grain volumes and then weigh them, to see if this could be part of the cause.  What I found was that Black Mag3 has less dispersion by weight than Triple Seven, when equal volumes are poured out.  Each 100 grains by volume of Black Mag3 consistently measured 0 and .5 grains difference between high and low, and most 100 grains by volume weighed less than .2 grains difference from the previous measure amount.  Triple Seven varied as much as 2.3 grains.  While some varied 0 others varied from from 1.1 to 2.3 grains differences between two measurements weighed out.  Below is a chart with the weights in grains of 100 grains by volume as poured from a flask into the measurer.

As you can see, Black Mag3 is denser/heavier than Triple Seven, weighing approximately 19% more than Triple Seven in 100 grain volumes.

Accuracy.  I spent two days at the range testing for accuracy and used a different rifle both days.  Accuracy means different things to different people.  Some consider being able to hit a target the size of a grapefruit three time in a row at 100 yards sufficient for deer hunting.  Others, including me are always looking for that one-hole group with all the bullets touching at 100 yards, with a 1 1/2" group being merely acceptable, but not what we would like to settle for.  For us a 1" or better group really makes our day.  While I was able to produce a sub 1" group from 2 different rifles; one with the Dead Center 220 out of a T/C Encore and the other with the Extreme Elite 240 out of a Savage 10 ML II, using Triple Seven, I was not able to accomplish that feat with the Black Mag3.  I am not saying it can't be done.  I just wasn't able to make it happen for me.  I did get some 1 1/2" to 2" 3-shot groups though, but there were also some 3" and 4" groups that occurred.  As always I swabbed between shots with a spit patch. 

To give this powder the best possible chance to shine I would first shoot a sub-1 inch group using Triple Seven and then using the same rifle, bullet and same amount of powder, I would attempt to repeat the feat using Black Mag3.  When that tight group did not occur, I then attempted to vary the amount of powder both up and down to try and achieve it, but never could.  Again, I am not saying it cannot be done!  I am sure some of my readers have done it.  I am merely saying I didn't accomplish it during my limited testing.

Black Mag3 Positive
Very clean, see picture of two patches used once.
No misfires or hang-fires.
Easier to clean afterwards.

Black Mag3 Negative
Greater dispersion between high and low velocities using same charge (could adversely affect accuracy).
Accuracy did not quite match Triple Seven.

Triple Seven Positive
Less dispersion between high/low feet per second (could mean greater accuracy).
Achieved tighter groups over all.

Triple Seven Negative
Definitely requires swabbing between shots.
Hang-fires and misfires are more likely to occur.
Much more fouling visible.
Cleanup a little more work.

Conclusion.  Based on this simple test alone I can only conclude that you may be less likely to have misfire problems, clean up is easier with Black Mag3 and overall it is more user friendly.  However, I would have to give the nod to Triple Seven in the accuracy department.  As for Triple Seven, I know from experience it can produce quite accurate loads, but more care has to be taken to ensure there are no misfires or hang-fires.  Cleanup is not that bad either.  Triple Seven also appears to have less dispersion between high and low velocities than Black Mag3. 

*counting hang-fire
**leaving out hang-fire