Hodgdon Triple Seven FFFg

PROPELLANT PROFILES

- Randy Bimson

It is fitting in this edition of Propellant Profiles that we recognize Hodgdon Powder Company’s 45-year, ongoing commitment to those of us who avail ourselves to the convenience and performance of the industry-changing black-powder substitute propellant powders to stoke our muzzleloading firearms.

In 1976, the U.S. celebrated its 200-year bicentennial and on May 17, 1976, Dan Pawlak and Hodgdon issued a press release introducing the first successful black-powder substitute propellant, Pyrodex. To state that Pyrodex was a game-changer would be a gross under-statement. Pyrodex challenged the 700-and-some-year-old dominance of black powder and changed the landscape of black-powder muzzleloading and cartridge firearm shooting forever.

Pyrodex dominated the substitute black-powder propellant market for 25 years, from 1976 until 2001, when Hodgdon introduced the Triple Seven family of black-powder substitute propellants. Triple Seven is now available as FFg and FFFg granular powder and five forms of pellets.

Triple Seven FFFg is a favorite of cap-and-ball revolver shooters and with that in mind, I chose the iconic adjustable-sighted stainless steel Ruger Old Army revolver with a 7½-inch barrel as the testbed for this column. As a basis of comparison, I used Pyrodex P, a propellant I used extensively in the Old Army, in lieu of black powder, until the introduction of Triple Seven FFFg. While not the focus of this article, Triple Seven FFFg is also very popular with the muzzleloading rifle crowd, especially hunters looking for peak performance in .45- and .50-caliber rifles. A considerable amount of Triple Seven FFFg loading data for rifles can be found on Hodgdon’s website (hodgdon.com).