For these pistols, the only game in town is Swiss
powder. It's expensive, but for serious competition
shooting it delivers the goods. It's incredibly clean
burning, and seems faster than other powders - try
twelve grains of No 1 in anything from a .36 to a .40
and you're unlikely to be disappointed. For anything
over .40, use Swiss No 2, as No 1 will be too fast
burning. If you want to use another powder, try 18
grains of any old fine or medium or even Pyrodex in .36
to .40, and 20 to 24 grains in a .44.
One word off warning about Swiss Powder - it's dense. A
spout which throws 18 grains of an ordinary powder may
well throw a larger quantity of Swiss. Combine this with
the powder being more powerful than the ordinary stuff
anyway and you have a serious problem. The answer is
obvious - use a pair of scales to check how much your
flask is throwing, alternatively, start low and work up.
Whichever powder you choose, with small quantities like
this, it's vital to deliver it via a loading
funnel, if you don't you'll regret it. Weighing charges
into phials beforehand is also a good idea, and
intrinsically safer than using a flask, and is now
mandated at certain open competitions. Though to be
honest, for all but top level competition I'm not
convinced it makes any difference.
