Black powder

[mdoering]

Next time I go ask about it, I'll wait for the guy to say no and say: "Oh ok, can you point me to you eMatches and nails?"

 

[SSenesy]

When I renewed my LEUP (now called User of Explosives) last time, the BATFE sent me a little ID card that shows that I have a UOE permit. I'm wondering if anyone has ever shown this or their actual paperwork when purchasing BP? I'm not advocating this, I was just wondering what a store person who's giving you a hard time about buying it would say...

 

[cavecentral]

Smokeless powders for reloading are not the same as BP and are not regulated.

A short line of BP poured on the ground goes up in a big woof! The smokeless used it reloading burns much slower. I think it is primarily nitrocellulose and graphite.

 

[o1d_dude]

So when I walk into a gun store, everyone looks at me like I am trying to cause trouble.

I get this, too.

Then again, I look like Ted Nugent.

 

[DJDeadParrot]

I get this, too.

Then again, I look like Ted Nugent.

Looking like Howard Stern, I had a very similar experience that pantherjon had, except it was more like 20 minutes.

And just to expand on the 3F part of the discussion, since that's what I ended up walking out of the Bass Pro Shop with. What I've been told is that it is just as usable as 4F, but since the grains are bigger, they'll burn for a longer amount of time, requiring more wadding to protect the recovery system.

 

[heada]

With all the hassle every has in getting true BP, why doesn't anyone make their own? Pyros do it by the 5-pound batch or more. They normally only granulate to 2F and the 4F they do get is a by-product they throw back into the next batch. For the cost of 1 pound of GOEX 4Fg, you can make 5 pounds of your own. The process is easier than mixing APCP.

 

[CarVac]

I've made black powder before, but didn't cake it. I have no clue what grain size it was.

We used rocks on paper plates as makeshift grinders to finely crush the ingredients separately, and then we mixed them together.

Then we put it in a watermelon.

[video=youtube;mgACG2le_jg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgACG2le_jg[/video]

 

[iter]

Then we put it in a watermelon.

Seems to make you popular with the ladies :=)

Ari.

 

[cwbullet]

Way off topic, but funny.

 

[pick1e]

I had trouble finding a place that carried real black powder. I finally found it at a gun shop in a nearby town. He said as far as he knows, they're the only place within 100 miles that carries it. The only qualifying question I got was "what kind you want?" They also have a 6' marble tablet out front with the second amendment carved into it... Aaah Michigan.

BTW I got Goex FFFFg and it works great.

 

[cavecentral]

I just bought 2# of 4F in Washington, PA. They just made a copy of my drivers license for the ATFE. I think that is new - I do not remember it happening the last time.

 

[JordanT]

I got a can of smokeless, but I don't trust it as much (well, I don't trust my ability to pack it as well) as BP. BP has a lower pressure exponent (is that the right term? its been a while), which means that the burn rate is less sensitive to confinement than smokeless. In order to produce a rapid release of gas, smokeless must be under high pressure, such as the conditions in a shell casing at initiation. BP is fairly insensitive to confinement pressure, and will burn quickly whether it's just in the bottom of a tube with no obstruction, or well confined as it would be in a pyrotechnic charge. It means that pouring a gram or two of BP over an ematch which is stuck to the center of a length of wide masking tape, then simply folded over with the edges sealed is sufficient for good ejection.

Why all the cloak and dagger? I walked in and asked for 4F at my "local" gun store (full service - muzzle loaders as well as modern). The clerk asked what I was shooting it in, and I told him I used it for deploying recovery parachutes in high power rocketry. I got a "how 'bout that" a raised eyebrow, and a request for my drivers license so he could fill out the ATF log. Now, it helps that I'm a tall, early 40s white guy who's usually business-casual with a CEO/military officer style haircut. I could easily see how a scruffier character could get less friendly service; though at the place I went, I might not have even gotten the question as to my intended use (I am in Appalachia after all).

Has anyone ever tried "I do Civil War re-enactments?"

Edit: meant to mention: making good black powder is rather difficult. Green powder (unpressed) is simple, but not nearly as energetic - and probably very sooty; not really useful for rocketry. Still, even green powder in a 1-2lb quantity is enough to injure you very seriously should something go wrong near the end of manufacturing.