How stable/unstable is BP to store or transport? - Page 2

Captchee · September 10, 2015, 10:15 AM

Yes there are plastics designed to do all manor of things . But how many folks who are involved in storing BP would actually end up attempting to use or consider such a product for general storage ?
Now that’s not to say that someone might not be dumb enough to set a case of powder next to a power line transformer …….
But simply put , the everyday plastics around the home , that we most deal with , will not generate a large enough charge to set the powder off .

I handle and distribute large amounts of powder in both containers and plastic static free bags 2 to 3 times a year for a BP distributor .
Follow the safety rules . don’t subject the powder to open flame . don’t smoke near the powder or allow people to smoke near the powder . Never assume that BP will not go off just because its gotten wet or been oil soaked . Unless the ingredients get washed apart and separated the powder will be viable .

When I make powder , I make it in smaller batches of around a lb at a time . I also use a wet method so as to reduce the possibilities of having a problem . I also use a wood mortis to do my final grind . I don’t tumble the powder and I don’t screen it . I crush it . As I said I don’t tumble the powder and coat with graphite . While this makes it more subject to moisture , I don’t have that big of issue unless its really wet outside and I have found no noticeable difference in ignition speed .
Some of the reasons I think home made powder is or can be less potent then commercial powder is that sizing isn’t as consistent , charcoal isn’t of the same type of quality . Its also for the most part not tumbled and coated as the manufactures do . The mix can also not be as consistent as what manufactures do .
At 13.00 a lb I still find purchasing powder to be far more reasonable then making it if you do a lot of shooting as I do .By the time you add you time factor on top of the ingredients . But then I also said that when powder got to 5.00 a lb I was going to stop buying it and go back to making my own . However when you shoot 30-40lbs a year ????? There are a whole lot of other things I need to do them make powder . I do however think that it’s a skill that with the current way things are , would be advisable to learn

maillemaker · September 10, 2015, 12:00 PM

I'd be ecstatic to find powder at $13 a pound. Around here it is $26 a pound.

Pond, James Pond · September 10, 2015, 01:56 PM

Quote:

I'd be ecstatic to find powder at $13 a pound. Around here it is $26 a pound.

Then I think I'd be positively euphoric. Given that smokeless goes for about $60 a lb here and that is easy to come by, I expect a tub of "Hen's Tooth" BP will go for silly money!!

Still... I've been wrong before!

(Once, if I recall.... Back in 1981.

)

thallub · September 10, 2015, 02:31 PM

Yes, blackpowder is dangerous when mishandled.

Shannon Corman of KY bought blackpowder in bulk and repackaged it for sale to re-enactors. Then there was the explosion that killed Corman and badly injured two others:

Quote:

The explosion happened just after 3pm Tuesday in the garage where police say Corman and 57-year old James Frank Greenwood were working with black powder. Police say Corman was a licensed weapons dealer and would often mix black powder for reloading weapon cartridges.

http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/81265252.html

About 20 years ago i met a medically retired USMC EOD Sgt. who was/still is the last USMC casualty of the US Civil War. The Sgt. was inerting a 4.2" Parrott round. He had removed most of the blackpowder when the round exploded, seriously injuring him.

i got into muzzleloaders in the early 1960s. The DuPont blackpowder sold then was much cleaner than standard Goex is today. The best blackpowder available today is Swiss. Grain for measured grain Swiss is as powerful as Pyrodex.

Captchee · September 11, 2015, 06:42 AM

we buy BP from Bear River powder in Wyoming 13.00 in bag and 14.50 can/ plastic container , for Goex . I just picked up and deliver 3 weeks ago .
They still make a sizable profit even after transporting it clear across the US . you would think you folks in the east would be 1/2 the cost of powder out west.

a couple Years ago a friend and I bought up a LoTT of DuPont 2 and 3 F . manufacture date was 1956 . I we ended up getting it for 8.00 a lb . I jumped on it as I remember DuPont being much cleaner . After shooting it along side Goex for the last few years , I just have not seen it .

maillemaker · September 11, 2015, 10:51 AM

Back Creek Gun Shop in Virginia sells Goex at $17 a pound but here in Huntsville, Alabama only one local gun store sells it and it is $26 per pound.

I have found it slightly cheaper to buy 10 pounds at a time from Powder Inc even with shipping and hazmat.

James K · September 11, 2015, 02:24 PM

Today, we tend to talk about "black powder" as if it were a fixed substance, always the same composition. But in the days before "smokeless", there were in fact dozens of different powders, mostly black, but also brown, gray, etc., each of which had a different composition and characteristics and each of which was touted by its fans as the best.

As to deterioration with age, black powder is a mechanical mixture, not a chemical compound. It will last literally centuries if stored properly.

Extremely hard handling can break up the grains and wear off the graphite coating, making the powder easier to ignite and also possibly more powerful, but that requires a deliberate effort, not likely in normal handling of powder or ammunition.

Jim

September 11, 2015, 06:42 AM	#30
Captchee Senior Member Join Date: April 2, 2013 Posts: 439	we buy BP from Bear River powder in Wyoming 13.00 in bag and 14.50 can/ plastic container , for Goex . I just picked up and deliver 3 weeks ago . They still make a sizable profit even after transporting it clear across the US . you would think you folks in the east would be 1/2 the cost of powder out west. a couple Years ago a friend and I bought up a LoTT of DuPont 2 and 3 F . manufacture date was 1956 . I we ended up getting it for 8.00 a lb . I jumped on it as I remember DuPont being much cleaner . After shooting it along side Goex for the last few years , I just have not seen it . Last edited by Captchee; September 11, 2015 at 06:50 AM.

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September 10, 2015, 10:15 AM	#26
Captchee Senior Member Join Date: April 2, 2013 Posts: 439	Yes there are plastics designed to do all manor of things . But how many folks who are involved in storing BP would actually end up attempting to use or consider such a product for general storage ? Now that’s not to say that someone might not be dumb enough to set a case of powder next to a power line transformer ……. But simply put , the everyday plastics around the home , that we most deal with , will not generate a large enough charge to set the powder off . I handle and distribute large amounts of powder in both containers and plastic static free bags 2 to 3 times a year for a BP distributor . Follow the safety rules . don’t subject the powder to open flame . don’t smoke near the powder or allow people to smoke near the powder . Never assume that BP will not go off just because its gotten wet or been oil soaked . Unless the ingredients get washed apart and separated the powder will be viable . When I make powder , I make it in smaller batches of around a lb at a time . I also use a wet method so as to reduce the possibilities of having a problem . I also use a wood mortis to do my final grind . I don’t tumble the powder and I don’t screen it . I crush it . As I said I don’t tumble the powder and coat with graphite . While this makes it more subject to moisture , I don’t have that big of issue unless its really wet outside and I have found no noticeable difference in ignition speed . Some of the reasons I think home made powder is or can be less potent then commercial powder is that sizing isn’t as consistent , charcoal isn’t of the same type of quality . Its also for the most part not tumbled and coated as the manufactures do . The mix can also not be as consistent as what manufactures do . At 13.00 a lb I still find purchasing powder to be far more reasonable then making it if you do a lot of shooting as I do .By the time you add you time factor on top of the ingredients . But then I also said that when powder got to 5.00 a lb I was going to stop buying it and go back to making my own . However when you shoot 30-40lbs a year ????? There are a whole lot of other things I need to do them make powder . I do however think that it’s a skill that with the current way things are , would be advisable to learn

September 10, 2015, 12:00 PM	#27
maillemaker Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2010 Posts: 1,635	I'd be ecstatic to find powder at $13 a pound. Around here it is $26 a pound.

September 11, 2015, 10:51 AM	#31
maillemaker Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2010 Posts: 1,635	Back Creek Gun Shop in Virginia sells Goex at $17 a pound but here in Huntsville, Alabama only one local gun store sells it and it is $26 per pound. I have found it slightly cheaper to buy 10 pounds at a time from Powder Inc even with shipping and hazmat.

September 11, 2015, 02:24 PM	#32
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Today, we tend to talk about "black powder" as if it were a fixed substance, always the same composition. But in the days before "smokeless", there were in fact dozens of different powders, mostly black, but also brown, gray, etc., each of which had a different composition and characteristics and each of which was touted by its fans as the best. As to deterioration with age, black powder is a mechanical mixture, not a chemical compound. It will last literally centuries if stored properly. Extremely hard handling can break up the grains and wear off the graphite coating, making the powder easier to ignite and also possibly more powerful, but that requires a deliberate effort, not likely in normal handling of powder or ammunition. Jim