DD Ejection Charge: Black Powder

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o1d_dude

o1d_dude

'I battle gravity'
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Alrighty then.

Spent the day traipsing around in a number of gun shops and sporting good stores and have come up empty-handed where black powder is concerned.

The closest I came was at the Sportsmans Warehouse. They had Pyrodex P and Hodgdon's Triple Seven in FFFG. No Goex FFFFG to be found anywhere.

What are you guys using?
 
I use FFF Pyrodex. You just have to contain it to get it to burn/expand like black powder.

I also have a small amount of black powder I got from my wife's boss who is in to muzzle loaders.

A while back I went on a local muzzle loader forum and found from many posts that real black powder is very hard to find as almost no one uses it anymore. No one puts it in modern weapons as it is very corrosive compared to the alternatives.
 
Black powder is easy to make, so I'm wondering if anyone has been successful with homemade powder. No formulas please, just a simple question.
 
o1d_dude said:
Alrighty then.

Spent the day traipsing around in a number of gun shops and sporting good stores and have come up empty-handed where black powder is concerned.

The closest I came was at the Sportsmans Warehouse. They had Pyrodex P and Hodgdon's Triple Seven in FFFG. No Goex FFFFG to be found anywhere.

What are you guys using?
Click to expand...

I haven't been able to find black powder around here either. I even had my nephew check when he was in Idaho, and surprisingly, he couldn't find any. I've got some Pyrodex in FFG or FFFG, can't remember which. The only ground testing I've done was putting some in a straw with an Estes igniter hot glued in the bottom. It was better when I wrapped it with black tape.

I need to do some ground testing with my Hyperloc 835, to see if the Pyrodex is going to work. I've thought about crushing it in a mortar and pestle to see if that helps.

[YOUTUBE]bZ240PFiFKI[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]3Us97N7Oq-o[/YOUTUBE]
 
The local gun shops in my area will only sell BP to the people they know, so I've used Pyrodex exclusively. The "FFFG" grain is what I use. Containment is the key with this stuff. Containers packed tight with a plug of some sort, with several wraps of masking tape to keep it all tight. I've found that it takes a great deal more Pyrodex to get the job done than the calculated amount of BP for a given area. It works fine, just make sure you ground test.
 
You might try a Goex distributor versus a retail dealer. There are only a handful nationwide, but mine in Indiana will sell to walk-ins. Saves on Hazmat shipping for sure (and boy do they have tons of powder).
 
MarkH said:
Goex FFFg. Bass Pro Shops sells it here. They sell FFFFg but were out when I purchased it. You can find it online, but have to pay hazamt fee.

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/vendor/vendorId/39
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, Mark.

I checked the Grafs website out and found they had the Goex ffffg powder in one lb cans for about $15. They do have either a $25 or $50 minimum order so two cans plus hazmat will cost almost $60 which is pretty much equivalent to two cans of regular smokeless powder over the counter. Pyrodex P and Hodgdons 777 fffg powders retail for about $18 locally.

I also followed the link to Goex distributors and found the nearest outfit is located 450 miles away at the other end of the state. Looks like I'll be "going with Goex from Grafs". (Alliteration is a low form of humor.) :D
 
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I have had the same issue around here. No one sells powder. I did find one small "outfitter" shop that had an 8oz can of FFg for $28 (I passed). Dick's says that they carry it but they are always out of stock.
 
Highpowerrocketyahoo said:
Graf bros as I understand it they are the only online authorized dealer left in the us....hurry before Obama gets them too!!!
Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with Obama! People don't use it so places don't sell it. It is called capitalism.

Actually, I bet it is insurance companies that got most people out of selling black powder. Since it can explode far easier than Pyrodex I bet most stores would have to pay huge premiums to keep it on site.
 
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I've ordered from Powder, Inc (first listing on Goex distributors page). Good service, $109 for 5 lb. including hazmat shipping.
 
chadrog said:
$15.99 for 16.8 grams of BP? I'll stick with Pyrodex.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's more expansive. But, it is convenient. For those looking for FFFFg black powder, it's less than the $60 they'd have to spend to get it through the mail. And, it's probably enough to last most flyers for a year or more.

-- Roger
 
Zeus-cat said:
It has nothing to do with Obama! People don't use it so places don't sell it. It is called capitalism.

Actually, I bet it is insurance companies that got most people out of selling black powder. Since it can explode far easier than Pyrodex I bet most stores would have to pay huge premiums to keep it on site.
Click to expand...

Lol that was a pun poking fun at his failing anti-gun campaign.

And yes I'd say huge insurance premiums have a lot to do with it! But gosh I wish I could get it local....
 
I'm fairly new to dual deploy. Is there any reason Estes, Quest, or similar couldn't sell small packaged BP charges and you could buy them like a pack of engines? Would be a nice cardboard package and slot for igniter? I'm not saying it's most cost effective, but could be a slick way to do it and possibly NAR certified and be a good way to avoid getting ahold of BP? Just my thoughts.
 
BrianURocket said:
I'm fairly new to dual deploy. Is there any reason Estes, Quest, or similar couldn't sell small packaged BP charges and you could buy them like a pack of engines? Would be a nice cardboard package and slot for igniter? I'm not saying it's most cost effective, but could be a slick way to do it and possibly NAR certified and be a good way to avoid getting ahold of BP? Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...

BP is regulated. The NRA is the only reason it is still available for purchase for muzzleloader users. Getting hard to find because of the inspections, magazines, shipping, etc that stores have to go through to stock it. Not really worth the stores effort.
 
I shoot muzzle loaders, as well as fly rockets. You cannot find black powder in this part of California. I ordered 25 pounds of the stuff from track of the wolf years ago, still have around 15 pounds left. If you can get it, you can use fff in place of ffff in rockets. You can buy ffff from Whats Up hobbies, not sure if he will ship it though.

Jeremy
 
I bought mine from Gander Mountain several year ago. When I first asked about it, the guy behind the counter went into a rant about the corporate suit behind there computers controlling inventory instead of letting the stores sell what the locals want to buy. Apparently the FFFFg was taken off their inventory list, didn't get restocked, and they had to have it manually put back on. I had to wait about 10 weeks before they got their next shipment in.

I haven't needed any since or asked about it, so who knows if they still carry it.
 
Turns out we have to drive out of Harris county to get BP, while we probably won't have to go 450 miles, it's definitely better than it was in Idaho. We would have had to order it, luckily, a friend hooked us up with some.


You'd think getting guns and black powder would be easy in Texas...but states just aren't living up to stereotypes anymore. I mean really, I lived in Idaho for 16 years and didn't once see a potato farm :wink:




Braden
 
While it may not be Obama, it is due to government regulation, Black Powder is listed as an explosive (low explosive) and requires much more restrictive storage requirements than smokeless powder.

There is a shop specializing in, "mountain man" / civil war era re-enactment gear, here in north central Ohio that carries BP, that's where I get mine, it was about $20 a pound, the last time I bought some.
https://www.logcabinshop.com/

Zeus-cat said:
It has nothing to do with Obama! People don't use it so places don't sell it. It is called capitalism.

Actually, I bet it is insurance companies that got most people out of selling black powder. Since it can explode far easier than Pyrodex I bet most stores would have to pay huge premiums to keep it on site.
Click to expand...
 
So it appears FFFG can be used, but must be packed tigthly. I can't find FFFFG locally either. The local shop said take the FFFG and grind it down to bascially achieve a FFFFG. I guess it would be better than requiring a tight packed FFFG? Thoughts?
 
No matter which BP you use the BLASTCAP can handle it.


Blastcap001.jpg


See Link below for more info:
 
BrianURocket said:
So it appears FFFG can be used, but must be packed tigthly. I can't find FFFFG locally either. The local shop said take the FFFG and grind it down to bascially achieve a FFFFG. I guess it would be better than requiring a tight packed FFFG? Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I use FFF no problem at all.
 

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