Still new the muzzleloaders and in my research and reading it seems there are two camps; the real Black Powder guys and the Pyrodex/substitute guys. Like Coke vs. Pepsi or Ford vs. Chevy , each tote why their powder is better . Seems both camps make the same claims less fouling/easier cleaning. What's your preferred powder and why ?

. Goex FFFG here, I like it better, yes it burns cleaner in that a ram rod with patch and jag gets more fouling out with one pass than pyrodex.
I can load BPCR with Goex, were I can't do that with pyrodex,  Pyrodex pellets are not allowed in Idaho for Muzzleloading hunting.
Lastly I can drive 30 miles to Buffalo Arms and get as much Goex, or Swiss BP as my wallet will allow.

ETA. Looking back again at the subject, try pyrodex and try BP, whichever gives you the best accuracy, works well for you, go with it.

I use Pyrodex only cuz I found it in stock before smokeless, or black powder.

I started reloading 45 Colt initially, wanted to keep it somewhat historically accurate.

I prefer real BP.
Why? Historically correct. Easier to clean. Works in my flinters.
Pyrodex and the other subs work ok in cap fired guns.
Their one huge advantage is they’re easy to buy. Locally real BP is unpossible to obtain unless mail ordering an enormous quantity.

Years ago, when I bought my left-handed Knight Big Horn, I tried just about everything available at the time.  My rifle was most accurate with 110 grains of granulated Triple Seven.  That's what my rifle liked best, so that's what I use.  All other considerations are secondary, IMHO.

I have many less misfires,hangfires with BP.I now also shoot flinters so there is that.

BP ONLY downside is availability but a couple of orders and your're good for a long time.

Having used both I will never buy anything but real black now.

I have several front-stuffers.
My flintlocks (obviously) only get FFFg Goex. Cleaning them is a breeze, and once you find the sweet load of powder, you can shoot patched roundball all day without having to clean between shots.
I've had these rifles for over 25 years and shoot them often, and for hours each session.

My inlines? Well, that's another story...
2 of the 3 I'm still using with Triple7 pellets with fantastic results. Yes, there's the risk of the infamous "crud ring", but that risk is minimized or negated with the right primer. Haven't had an issue at all with Kleenbore or Winchester primers.
The other I just started working up with Blackhorn 209.  Held off on playing with it for years, but decided, mostly out of boredom, to give it a try in one of my Optima V2s...
It sure is cleaner than anything else out there, and shooting sabot after sabot after sabot without swabbing is nice... But I haven't decided if the juice is worth the squeeze (much higher cost per shot.) since even in hunting situations, I'd never have a need to fire more than 3 shots without an opportunity to run a patch down... (That's all the tags I'd have in hand on any given day of the season for a given WMU.) Never had more than 2 shot opportunities in the same sit, and couldn't fit more than 2 deer on my quad to run back to camp...

The more I think about it, I'm probably going to sell or give away the BH209 breech plug and powder tubes once I use up the remaining Blackhorn. Don't get me wrong, I see why folks love the stuff...  I just find the pellets to better suit my needs/wants for field use, and they're certainly easier on the wallet. The T7 cleanup isn't really a chore anyway.  Shot of barrel blaster in the bore, drop the plug and small parts in a can of cleaner, grab a beer or two, come back an hour later and swap/wipe everything down, hit with rust preventer and you're done.

Flintlocks, percussion, rifles, pistols and smoothbores all get real black.
Inlines, triple 7.

Used to use pyrodex back when I first started, with a Pedersoli Blue Ridge rifle in .50 and my Pedersoli double 12.  They bothe worked as they should, but fouling sucked. Real black is just better!

Went with real BP back in 1992 after a youth spent shooting Pyrodex. Easier to clean and I don't have to worry about chlorates in my bore.

GOEX wins every time.

They're dropping production of GOEX now.

CD

I use pyrodex in my inline rifles. Black powder in all other muzzleloader.

And goex is out of business. And black powder is hard to find.

Same here,  but a few years ago I went to Grafs and loaded up on 25 lbs of BP.
Granted that is nothing like most of the community,  but I don't shot alot of it.
Most of my BP is in revolvers and shotguns.. Pyrodex is for the rifles.

caplocks and flints
Black Powder

Inlines
777 or Blackhorn

Can you explain this?  I get that Pyrodex often doesn't work well in cartridges, but I don't think I've ever heard or seen "can't".

Rob

I used both, all I have is revolvers and I always thought Pyrodex would less likely chain fire

I have a bunch of pyrodex RS I bought cheap, other than making 12 gauge blanks, what else will it work in?

As long as you're shaving lead when loading and your caps fit snugly your chances of having a chain fire are next to nil.  

BP when I still had some, Pyrodex or Triple Seven these days.  Dropped a doe a couple of weeks ago with a patched ball and Triple Seven; hoping to get another this weekend.  It's regular gun season now but I'll probably still carry the Hawken.

This is because the makers of substitutes make those claims. Anyone who says substitutes are cleaner or easier to clean is just repeating what they heard / read and has likely never used real BP.  The only exception is BH209 but it’s more like a smokeless powder than BP sub.  

There is so much non sense info and gimmicky products in the MZ sphere to separate people from their $$ it’s sickening. Companies largely get away with it cause most guys just want to get an extra week of deer hunting with as little thought or money as possible so they don’t question it.

It's not coke vs pepsi.....more like coke vs generic fresca

[clint eastwood voice ( ketchup/hotdog scene ) ] "nobody likes pyrodex better,  . . . nobody"

That's fine and back in the day this conversation probably meant something. I too would love to have BP. However there isn't any. None. Pryodex or nothing.

Swiss BP should still be around.

Competition rules.....


I'm new to bp, my only comparison is the 50 or so shots worth of Pyrodex I got from the guy I got my 1858 from vs the 3f Goex I was able to order and it seems to me that the biggest difference is the pyrodex will cause rust to start between the firing line and the parking lot on your way home and real BP does so a day or so later

Black powder. Pyrodex didn't ignite reliably through all my percussion firearms, but black powder is 100% reliable. Very little discernable difference in fouling and ease of cleaning.

Have a TC Hawken and a Mountain Carbine.
I've only ever used Pyrodex.
I don't remember ever having a misfire.

We only have inlines and use Triple 7