Practical Chronographic Comparison of Goex, KIK and Elephant Brand of Black Powder

Introduction: At the 2001 Alaska State Rendezvous we had samples of Goex, KIK and Elephant brands of black powder available for comparison.  In order to compare the performance characteristics of all three brands of powder, we asked four shooters to fire a string of five shots from each powder through a chronograph and recorded the results.  The data we gathered is listed in tables below.

Methodology: Our objective was to obtain a practical comparison of the performance of each brand of black powder relative to each other. Because of the limited available supply of Elephant brand black powder for this test, we limited the number of test guns to four. Each of the shooters in this test can be described as an active muzzleloader shooter who routinely uses Goex brand black powder in their arms and is generally satisfied with its performance.

The four test guns are fairly typical of the historically authentic muzzleloaders used by rendezvous participants and traditional muzzleloader hunters in Alaska. The smallest caliber gun tested was .50 caliber, very popular among competitors, but rarely used for hunting due to regulations requiring a round-ball of .54 caliber or larger when hunting most big-game species in our State. Since most rendezvous competitors use the same guns with which they hunt, the larger caliber guns are more common. Two of the test guns were .62 caliber, one a smoothbore, the other a rifle. The fourth gun was a .54 caliber rifle.

Each shooter fired three strings of five rounds through the chronograph using the same volumetrically measured charge he normally uses in that gun during competition in rendezvous style shooting matches and/or while hunting. Each shooter fired one string of shots charged with Goex, one of KIK and one of Elephant brand black powders. All three brands of black powder tested were in FFg granulation.  For the sake of consistency, each shooter used the same type of round ball, patch, lubricant and priming that he normally uses during rendezvous competition. The only variable between strings was the brand of black powder with which the rounds were charged.

Each gun was thoroughly cleaned between each of the three strings, and three of the four shooters swabbed the bores of their guns between each round in the string. The chronograph was placed 20 feet ahead of the firing line so that smoke, muzzleblast or debris would not interfere with the measurement of velocities through the instrument. Weather conditions during the test consisted of temperatures in the mid-50s (F.), calm winds (virtually still) and under overcast skies during a period of high relative humidity.

For each string of five rounds, the average velocity and extreme spread of velocity was measured by the chronograph. Extreme spread as a percentage of the average velocity was calculated later. Theoretically, the lowest percentage of spread should result in the best potential accuracy for that particular gun, projectile and powder charge.

Data Gathered in the Tests::

The table below represents the cumulative averages of all four test guns:

Data From Individual Test Guns: The tables and text below represent the measurements obtained from each of the guns we tested.

Test Gun #1 was a Thompson Center, .50 caliber percussion ‘Hawken’ rifle with a standard length factory installed barrel, firing a .490" cast round ball patched with .015 cotton lubricated with saliva. The powder charge was 70 grains by volume. The gun was primed with Dixie brand percussion caps.

The shooter was Dick Underwood. Mr. Underwood started each string with a clean bore, but did not swab the bore between shots.

Shooter’s Observations:

Elephant brand produced heavier fouling than the other powders, making it considerably harder to load after the second round was fired.

 

Test gun #2 was a Burke Custom, .62 caliber flintlock rifle with a 42" barrel, firing a .610" round ball patched with .200" cotton duck lubricated with a three part mixture of Murphy’s Oil Soap, Isopropyl Alcohol and Water. The powder charge was 100 grains measured by volume. The gun was primed with FFg (2Fg) Goex. This is not a misprint.

The shooter was Ralph Burke, owner and builder of the test gun. Mr. Burke started each string with a clean bore, and swabbed the bore between each shot.

Shooter’s Comments:

"KIK produced less fouling, and less ‘red’ fouling than Goex. It also produced noticeably more recoil and the recoil was uncomfortable, more like the hard, sharp recoil produced by modern smokeless cartridge guns than black powder muzzleloaders. Down right uncomfortable to shoot at this charge in this gun."

"Elephant produced more fouling than either of the other powders, and the fouling was thicker, more tenacious and more difficult to swab."

Test Gun #3 is a 20 gauge (.62 caliber) reproduction flintlock Tulle de Chasse smoothbore built by Pete Rollet of LaFayette IN. Firing a .600" cast round ball patched with .010" linen patches lubricated with deer tallow, and primed with FFFFg (4Fg) Goex. The powder charge was 70 grains measured by volume. Each string was started with a clean bore and the bore was swabbed between each shot.

Shooter: Thomas Swan

Shooter’s Observations:

In general, this gun does not shoot FFg black powder well. Although it rarely misfires with FFFg powder, using the FFg powder in this test resulted in numerous hangfires and misfires with all three brands of powder.

Elephant brand powder resulting in much heavier fouling that was more difficult to swab from the bore than that of the other two brands.

 

Test Gun #4 was a Bayha custom built percussion rifle, .54 caliber 36" barrel, firing a .530 Spear swaged roundball patched with .015 ‘Texas’ teflon lubricated patches. The charge was 85 grains measured by volume, primed with RWS percussion caps. Each string was started with a clean bore, and the shooter swabbed the bore between each round.

Shooter: Keith Bayha

Shooter’s Observations:

The second shot in the KIK string was difficult to load even though the shooter had swabbed the bore following his first. Thus problem did not subsequently repeat.

This shooter noted that the Elephant brand powder produced thicker and more tenacious fouling than the other two brands of black powder tested.

It should be noted that the data sample on which this paper is based is extremely small. While the charges of Goex used by each shooter are probably the most accurate for each of these guns, none of the shooters has had an opportunity to discover the most accurate charge of the other two brands of powder. It’s quite likely that adjustments in the powder charges and other components could result in much better performance than the limited data presented here would seem to indicate.

Every muzzleloading firearm responds to different powders, powder charges, projectiles, patches and lubricants in a unique way. While we can make some general observations about the performance of the three black powders in a test of this nature, we can not determine how any brand of black powder, any powder charge, or any combination of components will perform in a particular gun. Each shooter must determine the optimal combination of components for his or her muzzleloader.

Perhaps the most important conclusion that can be drawn from this data is that further testing is necessary to draw any sort of firm conclusion. It does show that a shooter may well find it worth the time and effort to experiment with other brands of black powder.

In this test, KIK brand black powder produced higher velocities than the same volume of both Goex and Elephant black powder in all four test guns. The average velocity produced by KIK brand black powder was 12.4% faster than that produced by the same volume of Goex, and 14.3% faster than that produced by the same volume of Elephant brand. Elephant brand black powder produced lower velocities than either of the other two powders in all 4 guns.

One of the shooters noted that KIK brand black powder produced considerably more recoil and the recoil was more keenly felt as an uncomfortably sharp jolt as opposed to the ‘pushing’ sensation normally associated with the recoil of black powder fired through a muzzleloader. That shooter described the recoil as more consistent with modern, cartridge ammunition than black powder. He noted that if he were to fire KIK black powder on a regular basis that he would feel compelled to reduce his normal powder charge in order to do so comfortably. None of the other three shooters reported any significant difference in recoil.

In theory, the powder charge that produces the most consistent velocity should provide the greatest potential accuracy in any given firearm. For this paper, I measured consistency as the percentage of the extreme velocity spread to the average velocity of each string. The data gathered in this test would indicate that in half of the guns tested Goex provided the best potential accuracy, and in the other half of the guns tested, KIK provided the best potential. In one of the test guns (#3) KIK provided the highest potential accuracy, but Goex and Elephant brand were tied for ‘second place’. In the three remaining guns Elephant brand black powder was the least consistent of the three powders tested, but this finding might change if the charge were increased sufficiently to produce velocities comparable to the other two brands of black powder.

We will continue to gather data with some other muzzleloaders, and will update this page as new data is made available.