Diamondback and KIK powders?

[Steve Weems]

Considering the cost of Blackpowder has there been good results of the Diamondback or KIK brands of
blackpowder? I heard the Diamondback is like the old Elephant brand.

Thanks for any input on this.

[Fred Jr]

I started using Blackdiamond this past winter. I found it is dirtier than Goex and it is not as powerful as Goex. However once I got the right new powder charge it is working just fine. shot a 94 with the musket during practice last week and 23 breaks at the Allegheny shoot. 32 shots Not too bad for anold mostly used up shooter! Never used KIK.
fred

[Harry]

Couple of years ago at a National the Diamondback sales rep. was walking the line and doing a fine job of promoting their new product. The price was right so I bought 2 pounds. While I didn't find the powder that much dirtier then Goex, and it was fairly consistant in granular size unlike the prior Eliphant powder, it had no umph. Every round shot at least 6 to 8 inches low at 50 Yards. The extra load needed to bring the charge up to a comparable Goex load did not justify the lower cost. I used the rest of the stuff in my signal cannon.

No experience with KIK.

[Southron Sr.]

Supposedly the NEW KIK is very high quality powder-almost equal to Swiss. At least that is what they are saying over on those boards that BPCR BB's.

[4440]

Steve,
A few months ago I purchased a couple pounds of each to try in the 44-40. Here were my results....
charge by weight 40 grains / 210 gr bullet (427098) / SPG

powder - velocity
KIK 1 1/2F - 1,160
KIK 2F - 1,255
minimal fouling - 30 shots fired very good accuracy throughout

Diamondback 2F - 1,140
Diamondback 3F - 1,230
heavy fouling - accuracy deterioration after 15 rounds

As I understand it, the 2009 and later lots of KIK use the same type of charcoal that Swiss does and thus the reason for the cleaner burn.

4440

[Southron Sr.]

The "Good News" is that powder manufacturers seem to be in competition to improve their products~