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**Mike Irwin** · January 29, 2012, 10:53 AM

Little bit different scenario when discussing big guns and their powders, and one that's really not applicable to small arms.

In large guns the black powder booster is used because its simply not possible to ignite that much smokeless powder evenly with a simple primer.

At one time experiments were tried using smokeless powder boosters, but they had undesirable effects that required a lot of ancillary testing to get the booster and the main charge synched up, plus the ignition temperature on smokeless tends to be a lot higher.

Using black powder made the whole process a lot simpler from a controlled ignition stand point.

January 29, 2012, 10:53 AM	#23
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,390	Little bit different scenario when discussing big guns and their powders, and one that's really not applicable to small arms. In large guns the black powder booster is used because its simply not possible to ignite that much smokeless powder evenly with a simple primer. At one time experiments were tried using smokeless powder boosters, but they had undesirable effects that required a lot of ancillary testing to get the booster and the main charge synched up, plus the ignition temperature on smokeless tends to be a lot higher. Using black powder made the whole process a lot simpler from a controlled ignition stand point. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.