Black Powder Grades, Sizes and Mesh

This chart contains black powder grain sizes of commonly used black powders as well as a comparison of Blasting and Sporting grades.

Black Powder Grades & Equivalent Sizes (in mm)
Sporting Grades (G) Grain Size (in mm) Blasting Grades (A) Grain Size (in mm)
    1FA 8.0-4.0
Cannon Grade 4.76-1.68 2FA 4.76-1.68
1FG 1.68-1.19 4FA 1.68-.84
2FG 1.19-.59    
3FG .84-.29 5FA .84-.297
4FG .42-.15 7FA .42-.149
    Meal D .42
5FG .149 Fine .149


Commonly used Black Powder Grain Mesh Sizes

GRADE MESH RANGE
FA 3 - 5
2FA 4 - 12
3FA 10 - 16
4FA 12 - 20
5FA 20 - 50
6FA 30 - 50
7FA 40 - 100
Meal D + 50
Fine Meal + 100
X-Fine Meal +140
Cannon Grade 4-12
1FG 12-20
2FG 16-30
3FG 20-50
4FG 40-100
5FG +100
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