Early 20th Century Powder Question?

[Drew Hause]

It's not a surprise that most of the verbiage regarding burst barrels with Smokeless powder was related to confusion regarding grains & dram equivalents; esp. after the introduction of Dense Smokeless

July 1899 "Outdoor Life Ideal Shotgun Powder Table"

Black Powder (90 grains = 3 Dram)
“E.C.” No. 1 & “Schultze” - 41 grains
“E.C.” No. 2 - 35 grains
Velox - 105 1/2 grains
DuPont Bulk - 37 1/2 grains
Hazard Blue Ribbon Bulk - 37 1/2 grains
Gold Dust - 88 1/2 grains
Oriental - 37 grains
Troisdorf - 42 1/2 grains
King’s Semi-smokeless - 74 1/2 grains
King’s Smokeless - 54 grains


c. 1900 Powder Equivalents

...............................BULK............... ..................DENSE
.....….“E.C.” No.1....DuPont…..“Schultze”......Walsrode Green..Ballistite...Infallible
3 Dram....42............40................42........ ........30………..…...24...........22 grains
3 1/4.…...45.5..........43................45.......... ......32……..….…..26...........24 grains
3 1/2…....49.............46.5.............48.......... ......34………..…...28...........26 grains

The original “Schultze” & “E.C.” No. 1 Bulk Smokeless were 14 grains/dram
The original DuPont Bulk was 13 1/3 grains/dram
The original Laflin & Rand and Hazard “Blue Ribbon” Bulk were 12 1/3 grains/dram
Advertisements appeared in the later part of 1906 for “New DuPont Smokeless” which was also 12 1/3 grains/dram
“New Schultze”, New “E.C.(Improved) No. 2” Bulk Smokeless were 12 grains/dram.
“E.C. No. 3” was 11 grains/dram or 33 grains = 3 Dr. Eq.

Dense “Ballistite” and “Infallible” were later listed as equivalent at 8 grains/dram.