driftrider

For those who are curious about the origin of the term "magnum," bigcountry is correct:

Mike

bigcountry

I don't know. BP just won't build the pressure smokeless will, no matter how much you put in there even with a 50" barrel. I know they use bullseye in toy rockets as a subsittute sometimes for BP. Yes pressure plays a role. The BP never builds up enough pressure/heat to burn all the grains. The initial velocity pushes it out faster than it burns. I mean theres pressure vs heat curves for every burnable substance.

driftrider

Smokeless can produce higher pressures because much more of the mass of reagents is converted into gas, and the reactions that smokeless undergo are simply much more energetic, creating a lot more heat that black powder. More gas (moles, not mass) and more heat always equal more pressure for a given volume.

Mike

James B

When they say Magnum in Muzzle loaders they are usually refering to the guns ability to safely shoot three pyrodex pellets as ossosed to two for the standard rifle. I don't know of a case other than maybe a grizzly bear where I would ever need more that two fifty grain pellets.