Goex vs. Schuetzen

T

ThomasT

New member
I am considering ordering powder. I looked on the Graf & Sons site and they have their own branded powder that some have said is repackaged Schuetzen powder. How does the Shuetzen compare to the standard Goex powder a far as power goes?

Many years ago I bought several cans of Elephant brand powder from Grafs. It was cheap but seemed to work as well as the Goex if you didn't mind the stray small piece of wood once in a while. I still have a few cans of it. It was $6 a pound IIRC.

I would to just order another 25 pounds from powder inc but the total price of around $460 is stopping me. And none of my friends wants to split a case. They have 2-5 pounds and think they have all they will need for the rest of their days.

And before you say it yes I have considered making my own. But the deductible on my house is $1,800. For that much I can buy 100 pounds of powder.:D
 
T

ThomasT

New member
Thats the information I was looking for. Plus I dug out my supply of powder to see what I have on hand and had no idea I was so well supplied. I have 16 pounds of 2F and 15 pounds of 3F plus 5 pounds of Pyrodex RS. So maybe I don't need any powder right now.:mad:

I think I need to go shoot some. I haven't shot my BP rifles in several years but have the bug to do so now. I get on a BP kick ever once in a while and just have to go shoot. I have a Cabelas 54 caliber Hawken I bought at least 5 years ago I have still never fired. Its a very nice, clean rifle I bought to replace the first BP gun I ever bought and let my bud talk me out of. I killed my first Elk with that gun.
 
4

44 Dave

New member
Have been shooting Graf's and am satisfied with it. We just ordered last month. One of us wanted some of their reinactor powder it looks to have irregular granulation, but for noise and smoke the price is better.
 
M

maillemaker

New member
I bought Schuetzen once when Goex was unavailable. I will never buy it again. I was experimenting with the Moose Wilkinson bullet, which has very small lube carrying capability. With Schuetzen, I could only get off about 3 shots before the bore started feeling crunchy on loading. With Goex, I can shoot pretty much indefinitely.

I have recently tried Schuetzen caps though, and they are great. Cheaper than Dynamite Nobel, and more energetic.
 
D

Driftwood Johnson

New member
Howdy

My experience with Schuetzen has been different. I have been using it exclusively for all my CAS ammo for quite a few years now. I find less fouling with Schuetzen than with Goex.

As far as velocity or power is concerned, I have no idea. I don't own a chrony so I have never done a side by side comparison. Don't really care, my Schuetzen loads knock down anything I point them at.

Schuetzen uses a better grade of charcoal than Goex does, that is why it shoots cleaner.

And yes, Graf powder is Schuetzen packaged in Graf's bottles. Both are made by Wano in Germany.
 
B

B.L.E.

New member
I find Schuetzen and Goex to be nearly interchangeable. I compared velocities using a CED M2 Chronograph with my .36 caliber rifle and the shot to shot variation in velocity with either powder was greater than the difference between the the two powders. The Goex may have been slightly hotter but not by much.
Sorry, I don't remember the exact numbers, but they were around 1500 fps using a 35 grain powder charge.
 
T

ThomasT

New member
Thanks for the input guys. Sounds like there are more positive reviews than negative for the Grafs powder. That’s good. I still have 8 pounds of Elephant powder I bought from Grafs in the early and mid 1990s left. I never had any problem with it and couldn’t tell any loss of power from Goex. I think I paid around $6 a pound for it.
 
D

drobs

New member
All I shoot is Graf's. Can't beat the price.
Seems accurate enough for me using it in my C&B revolvers and new Lyman GPR.

I would like to do a mix and match order and try a little bit of everything from Graf's but financially it makes most sense to buy all Graf's Scheutzen.
 
S

Sure Shot Mc Gee

New member
Good morning.
Its to bad some of you fellows can't find Black in State and close by. <But that negative is a real initiative to start making your own.

Staying on point.
I have never tried Schuetzen or any other brand of B/P other than Gorex (red can) . Although all brands indeed are sold locally here. As far as amount of store bought on I have on hand. Maybe 3-4 one lb cans at most. But
I recently noticed the tops of those cans are getting a bit rusty looking these days. I suppose when I started making my own powder about 3-4 years ago is the cause for that to happen? "My rifles are well used but those tins of store bought aren't."

I don't make big batches of powder. Just enough B/P milled at a time for my shooting purpose. (1-1/4 lb per milling.)
No B/P pistols do I own or shoot so I get by just fine with simple screened powder. (not corned) Although I have made both and we at home powder makers know corned powder is a whole lot less barrel fouling but requires a lot more tinkering with than screened.
Fouling /dirty as all get out screened is. But no matter. A quick swapping after two three shots isn't a bother for me. If intending to make your own. Keep in mind. Homemade screened or corned requires more powder by volume measured to near equal a store bought's performance.
Easiest way to say. If you shoot a 1/2 lb of store bought 2-FFg powder per outing. You'll need almost 3/4 lb of Homemade {corned 2-FF} to accommodate the same amount of shooting. So get to making your own. But watch what you say to those neighbors whom live close by> is a suggestion. When asked what your up too? (noise a ball mill produces.)
 
T

ThomasT

New member
I tried making BP many years ago. But I did everything wrong that could be done wrong. There was no internet or youtube videos to watch. I didn't mill it but I did try mashing it in a bowl with a wood dowel. I didn't grind my potasium into dust. Just mixed it a little wet and let it dry. It wasn't black. It was grey. Made a great fuse but crap for powder.

Now that I know more about it I may buy a pound of stump remover and give it a go. Hopefully I am going shooting tomorrow and I am going to cut some limbs from the willow trees around my buds pond and make some decent charcoal. In a couple of months from now if I am not posting here anymore you can assume something went terribly wrong.:eek:
 
S

Sure Shot Mc Gee

New member
Well actually potassium is better suited for fruit trees than tomato plants. Even so you purchased a dandy nitrate for the purpose. (little to no additives_that's a good thing.)
 
T

ThomasT

New member
Sure shot I have no fruit trees. I have no tomato plants either but have thought about buying a couple and putting in my wife's flower bed. I really wouldn't use this on plants anyway. I will try to make a batch of powder. I have found a ball mill, ceramic coffee grinder and a device to compress the powder into pucks. So all I have to do is get the ingredients and try it.

Any suggestions on a proper size screen? I will probably try for 2F sized powder.

Even so you purchased a dandy nitrate for the purpose. (little to no additives_that's a good thing.)
Click to expand...

There use to be sellers on Ebay with this same quality of powder in 25lb bags. But not any more. But I am happy with what I bought. That should at least satisfy my desire to give this a try. And who knows? It may be a lot of fun.
 
S

Sure Shot Mc Gee

New member
Those that make corned 3-FFF many have bought-en two sizes of kitchen strainers/seive for the sizing purpose from their local walmart.

2-FF requires a bit larger mesh opening. Which I found and purchased from my local Grainger supply.
Keep in mind I screed /press my water dampened meal powder thru a screen >to size. __Not grind then shake it thru two different sizes of kitchen strainers. As done with corned powder.

BLACK POWDER GALVANIZED SCREEN SIZE TO SCREED MEAL POWDER THRU.


Fg. 12 - 16 Mesh 1,68 - 1,19 mm
FFg. 16 - 30 Mesh 1,19 - 0,60 mm
FFFg. 20 - 50 Mesh 0,84 - 0,30 mm
FFFFg. 40 - 100 Mesh 0,42 - 0,15 mm

Screens:
No.5__Fg__12 - 16 Mesh 1,60 - 1,2 mm
No.4 __FFG_16 - 30 Mesh 1,36 - 0,9 mm
No.3__FFFg_20- 50 Mesh 1,36 - 0,670 mm
FFFFg_40 - 100 Mesh 0,42 - 0,15 mm
 
T

ThomasT

New member
I found coffee mills and a double 3lb ball mill on Ebay. Should cost around $75 for both. Now I just need to get a powder compressor to make the pucks so they can be corned.
 
Last edited:
T

ThomasT

New member
Sure Shot I have two large strainers and both FFG and FFFG went through them. I have one more fine screen that I think will work for letting the dust through while catching the bigger stuff. I didn't know we had so many strainers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top