50 yd sight in & dirty ammo

[GunnyGene]

Out over the weekend for practice & 50yd sight in with .41mag 210gr Underwood XTP. That went well, so decided to put some 210gr SWC cowboy thru it just for fun. This was Georgia Arms ammo I bought several years ago, and have used in my Blackhawk without any problems.

I will NEVER DO THIS AGAIN! Shots with the SWC went about 6" high and right and it made a godawful mess in the barrel and receiver. Looked like I'd been shooting black powder. Took me about an hour to clean it up. No leading, but it was really dirty powder, and I wasn't expecting it to shoot as badly as it did, accuracy wise. At least I didn't get stupid and do any sight adjustments based on it.

[Mistered]

Looked like I'd been shooting black powder.

I thought this part was interesting as I have never seen any smokless powder leave reside like you described so I looked at Underwood's website and saw this:

As with all of Underwood Ammo™ rounds, we utilize flash suppressed powder so that your vision will not be compromised if it becomes necessary to use your firearm in low light.

I have no idea what 'flash suppressed powder' is but I cannot believe whatever it is burns completely if it is reducing the flash as they advertise and therefore leaving the residue as you describe.
I also have a REAL hard time with this:

Muzzle Velocity: 1560 fps

This is quite high and unless they chrono'd it out of a rifle I cannot believe they are getting this high of velocity.
My reloading manuals do not show a velocity this high on any loads out of a handgun.

[Redthies]

I bet you’re on to something there Mred.

[GunnyGene]

Looked like I'd been shooting black powder.

I thought this part was interesting as I have never seen any smokless powder leave reside like you described so I looked at Underwood's website and saw this:

As with all of Underwood Ammo™ rounds, we utilize flash suppressed powder so that your vision will not be compromised if it becomes necessary to use your firearm in low light.

I have no idea what 'flash suppressed powder' is but I cannot believe whatever it is burns completely if it is reducing the flash as they advertise and therefore leaving the residue as you describe.
I also have a REAL hard time with this:

Muzzle Velocity: 1560 fps

This is quite high and unless they chrono'd it out of a rifle I cannot believe they are getting this high of velocity.
My reloading manuals do not show a velocity this high on any loads out of a handgun.

I've been using Underwood for about 10 years. It's a clean, fast burning burning powder that is extensively used in pistol ammo, and had nothing to do with the mess made by the GA SWC. I don't know the exact chemical composition of it, however. As for MV, their listed MV is accurate out of my 6.5" Blackhawk.

[Mistered]

and had nothing to do with the mess made by the GA SWC.

I overlooked this part - (it's early here in Oregon!) so retract everything I said except the part about he MV.
Still seems pretty high.

[GunnyGene]

and had nothing to do with the mess made by the GA SWC.

I overlooked this part - (it's early here in Oregon!) so retract everything I said except the part about he MV.
Still seems pretty high.

I guess I don't know what to tell you about your doubts concerning MV of the Underwood, other than to say that when I first considered using it I also had some doubts, but they had good reviews, and I talked with the owner also. Bought a box to try it out. Their test gun was also a 6.5" Blackhawk, and when I chronoed it in mine it was consistently within 10fps of their stated mv (actually a bit faster) This was several years ago, when the price was about 65cents/round so I ended up buying several hundred rounds, and haven't looked back. It's excellent ammo. You should try it if you shoot .41, or any of their other calibers of your choice.

[Mags]

Don't know if this is accurate or not, but an internet search find indicates that "Ammunition doesn't expire, but the gunpowder looses potency over time." Maybe why the dirty firing. Also found heat and humidity accelerate loss of potency. An example given was leaving ammo in a hot and/or humid car. Another find, expected 'good' shelf life of 10 years.

...This was several years ago, when the price was about 65cents/round so I ended up buying several hundred rounds, and haven't looked back.

[GunnyGene]

Don't know if this is accurate or not, but an internet search find indicates that "Ammunition doesn't expire, but the gunpowder looses potency over time." Maybe why the dirty firing. Also found heat and humidity accelerate loss of potency. An example given was leaving ammo in a hot and/or humid car. Another find, expected 'good' shelf life of 10 years.

...This was several years ago, when the price was about 65cents/round so I ended up buying several hundred rounds, and haven't looked back.

Perhaps with the GA ammo, but as I said earlier, I've never had a problem with the Underwood. Not years ago and not in the last 2 weeks. Nor do I leave any ammo in vehicles or some other place which is subject to extremes of heat and humidity.

As a side note, I wish y'all would accept what I said about the GA ammo and quit trying to lay the blame elsewhere. I've been shooting for 60+ plus years including 20+ in the USMC, and I do know a bit about it.

[CT_Shooter]

I wish y'all would accept what I said about the GA ammo and quit trying to lay the blame elsewhere. I've been shooting for 60+ plus years including 20+ in the USMC, and I do know a bit about it.

These folks are not trying to challenge your experience or knowledge. They simply want to help.

[Mags]

...As a side note, I wish y'all would accept what I said about the GA ammo and quit trying to lay the blame elsewhere. I've been shooting for 60+ plus years including 20+ in the USMC, and I do know a bit about it.

We can accept that. Keep in mind though that what you share, can get you both helpful and clueless responses. Be mindful of that in what you share and forgiving of the responses.