Author Topic: Where's the Black Powder  (Read 3016 times)

Offline Ranch 13

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #20 on: February 15, 2021, 07:42:40 PM »
Professor Marvel,  is it legal or possible without blowing one's self to Kingdom Come to make black powder?  I saw Eustis and Percy do it on Mountain Men (Reality? TV)  so it must be possible?

B.N.Scotty

 In one of the early series of the Foxfire books there was a chapter or two dedicated to making ones own powder. But seriously why bother when commercially made and dependable powder is readily avialable?
Eat more beef the west wasn't won on a salad.

Offline Professor Marvel

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #21 on: February 15, 2021, 07:44:25 PM »
Professor Marvel,  is it legal or possible without blowing one's self to Kingdom Come to make black powder?  I saw Eustis and Percy do it on Mountain Men (Reality? TV)  so it must be possible?

B.N.Scotty

My Dear Ira

Oh my yes... reality TV ... I doubt the stuff they made was much good... but until it is actually tested properly one
never knows...

Whilst it is in fact possible, and there are several folks doing it, and several very long threads on other forums describing their results, I would not just hestitate, but advise against it IN THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE LANGUAGE.

I have dabbled in one ounce quantities in the distant past, and  I would only consider the manufactor of BP under
"End of The World" scenarios...

and I have many many bows and arrows and such I could use instead.

    BTW do you have any idea how powerful a tank-based .45 cal  PCP  air rifle is?
    or a rubber powered speargun? those things are FUN shooting at hay bails.....


The fellows I am aware of who are doing it are
 - VERY far out in the country.
 - have an insanely strict safety protocol
 - have actually built small bunkers to "do stuff" in for safety
 - working on small quantities ( approx 1 pound at a time or less)
 - have a very good working and theoretical knowledge of the subject
        ( one is in the explosives business, another is in the professional pyrotechnics business [ ie fireworks]
          and a third is a professional chemist and an insanely talented BP amature)
 
Even then, they admit that, based on the history of commercial BP manufacture, a KABOOM event is just
"when" and not "if" 

And when an event  actually occurs, the problems it will cause are not worth it, to wit
 - loss of personal parts ( fingers, hands, eyes, face, hearing, etc) or death
 - NO insurance will ever cover ANY damage
 - gawd help one if there is any harm to any non-participant
 - the trouble with local and state fire and LEO 
 - the trouble with the Fed

KABOOMS are taken very seriously of late, and it is a further unfortunate truth that any such thing will get publicized
in the worst possible way ( harming the sport ) as well as being viewed as a possible terrorist-related thingy.

As much as I am a cheapskate, and an avid DIY er and  hate dislike  Pyrodex I would advise using that
or 777 or 209 before I would even suggest making BP

and with BP still available I would highly recommend getting a few folk together for a group buy and Maybe use that "stimulus check"  even if some have to drive a couple hours to pick it up.

powderinc still has powder, ( I only quote them cuz they have it, and its easy to look up )
shipping & hazmat is included in the price.


25 pounds of 3F is going for
GOEX           $520.25
Schuetzen   $495.25
Skirmish      $437.75


25 pounds of Scheutzen at $500  ( $20 a pound, delivered) beats losing important parts any day.
not to mention all the other grief.

 Not to mention the time and trouble it takes to try to make....
 and the result will almost certainly be of poorer quality...

yhs
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Offline ira scott

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #22 on: February 15, 2021, 10:13:39 PM »
Pretty much the reply I expected,  thank you for taking the time to humor me/us.

But Eustis and Preston made it look so easy!

B.N.Scotty
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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #23 on: Today at 05:49:37 PM »

Offline Professor Marvel

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #23 on: February 16, 2021, 02:14:49 AM »
Pretty much the reply I expected,  thank you for taking the time to humor me/us.

But Eustis and Preston made it look so easy!

B.N.Scotty

Always happy to burst  someone's bubble! TV makes EVERYTHING look easy.

Ahhh and I forgot entirely the "legality" aspect....

in the eyes of the Fed it is a very grey area,  and I always find it unwise to dabble in "grey" for "fun"... being a test case
in s federal court is not my idea of "fun".

Locally, that is where one can run afoul quickly and easily! virtually every city or town has some sort of ordinance
they can pull out of their hat to fit the issue , and most counties and states do as well. Some are less humorous than others.

In my section of the rural Southwest, I can set off legally purchased "restricted commercial fireworks" , but cannot set off
"non-commercial explosive devices".   Nor can I fire a gun except in "defense of life or property"... I actually had to educate a county deputy sherriff that firing rubber buckshot at the butt of a garbage foraging bear counts as "defense of property", as I was advised by the local state wildlife control folks (they provide a box of 5 rubber buckshot for free), and fortunately I had a copy of the statute to show him. Also Fortunately it was a hypothetical conversation....

Amusingly, I never had to shoot the buckshot, since Mrs Marvel had a far more efficacious method of banging an old stainless pot with an ancient ladle and using her Lions Roar ( Secret Kung Fu Technique #37 * ) to shout
"NO NO BAD BEAR NO SOUP FOOD FOR YOU!!!"
whilst simultaneously ringing the windchimes and flashing all the outside lights. Two or three times and we never saw that bear again! And there I was running up and down our hill, huffing and puffing with 3 flashlights and a tacticool pump shotgun loaded with the rubber buckshot... making myself exhausted.

I cannot believe how well that has worked! now all she does is ring the windchimes and any bear takes off like a scared rabbit.

Back to "not shooting" on my property, a couple miles one way is a national forrest where I can legally fire guns, but no fireworks or explosives of any kind. A few miles the other way is a state/county open space which is an abandonned mine which is a designated unsupervised free public shooting range.   the local rock hound club owns the mining rights (somehow) and if they see you digging up lead they will ask what you are doing... as long as its your lead they don't care.

So...
As always, any advice offered is free unsolicited babble and worth every penny you paid,
Your Milage May Vary,
Read and Abide by all Warning Labels,
Keep Away from Children,
Hazardous if Swallowed or allergic to any of the components,
Warranty void upon reciept.

yhs
prof marvel
Your Humble Servant
~~~~~Professor Algernon Horatio Ubiquitous Marvel The First~~~~~~
President, CEO, Chairman,  and Chief Bottle Washer of


Professor Marvel's
Traveling Apothecary
and
Fortune Telling Emporium


Acclaimed By The Crowned Heads of Europe
Purveyor of Patent Remedies, Snake Oil, Powder, Percussion Caps, Cleaning Supplies, Dry Goods,
and
Picture Postcards

Offering Unwanted Advice for All Occasions
and
Providing Useless Items to the Gentry
Since 1822
[
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Offline hellgate

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #24 on: February 16, 2021, 08:37:18 AM »
castboolits.com has a thread that is over 100 pages called "My homemade black powder".
"Frontiersman: the only category where you can shoot your wad and play with your balls while tweeking the nipples on a pair of 44s." Canada Bill

Since I have 14+ guns, I've been called the Imelda Marcos of Cap&Ball. Now, that's a COMPLIMENT!

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Offline Coffinmaker

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #25 on: February 16, 2021, 08:42:56 AM »

PLUS ONE or even TWO for Perfesser Marvelous.

Additional . . . Consider your life partner finding your remains smeared all over the inside of your illegal bunker.

Stay Safe Out/In There

Offline wildman1

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #26 on: February 16, 2021, 09:22:29 AM »
PLUS ONE or even TWO for Perfesser Marvelous.

Additional . . . Consider your life partner finding your remains smeared all over the inside of your illegal bunker.

Stay Safe Out/In There
Bunkers are "illegal"?
wM1
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Offline Froogal

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #27 on: February 16, 2021, 09:45:28 AM »
castboolits.com has a thread that is over 100 pages called "My homemade black powder".

Yes. I followed that thread for quite some time. Kind of thinking that when push comes to shove, maybe knowing how to make it could be somewhat handy, but I finally came to the conclusion that not only do I not know where to source the ingredients, I simply do not have enough patience to pursue such an endeavor.

Offline hellgate

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #28 on: February 16, 2021, 10:31:26 AM »
Froogal,
If push came to shove the powers that be would have that thread taken down.
"Frontiersman: the only category where you can shoot your wad and play with your balls while tweeking the nipples on a pair of 44s." Canada Bill

Since I have 14+ guns, I've been called the Imelda Marcos of Cap&Ball. Now, that's a COMPLIMENT!

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Offline Froogal

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #29 on: February 16, 2021, 01:40:26 PM »
Froogal,
If push came to shove the powers that be would have that thread taken down.

I'm sure that is true, but the knowledge is already out there.

Offline Abilene

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #30 on: February 16, 2021, 02:28:25 PM »
IMO, any shortages of brass, bullets, and smokeless or Black powders, is all much more temporary than the primer shortage and really nothing to be overly concerned about.

Offline Dave T

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #31 on: February 16, 2021, 08:16:12 PM »
Abilene,

Guess I'm glad you are optimistic. I am not. I see the end of shooting sports and gun related activities. How long will gun shops, distributors, shooting ranges, even gun manufacturers be able to maintain their business with nothing to sell and no customers because there is no ammunition or components they can afford? What and how will they shoot the guns they do have, let alone buy new ones.

I just made myself depressed so keep believing in the tooth fairy. It beats being negative all the time.

Dave

Offline Cliff Fendley

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #32 on: February 16, 2021, 09:42:59 PM »
Abilene,

Guess I'm glad you are optimistic. I am not. I see the end of shooting sports and gun related activities. How long will gun shops, distributors, shooting ranges, even gun manufacturers be able to maintain their business with nothing to sell and no customers because there is no ammunition or components they can afford? What and how will they shoot the guns they do have, let alone buy new ones.

I just made myself depressed so keep believing in the tooth fairy. It beats being negative all the time.

Dave
Manufacturers are making stuff so someone is selling it. It's just selling as fast as it's being manufactured. It's actually a good time to be in the business if you are established. As soon as any new inventory comes in it sells. I'm sure gun shops won't have to pay end of year inventory taxes.
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Offline ira scott

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #33 on: February 16, 2021, 09:48:38 PM »
If the Gun Control legislation proposed by the current administration goes anywhere,  we will have bigger worries than the current shortages.  I can't believe there are enough idiots in Congress to actually pass this crap,  But????

B.N.Scotty
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Offline Blackpowder Burn

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #34 on: February 17, 2021, 02:29:09 PM »
1. That's why people are buying all production and stocking up
2. Also why quite a few states are working on passing (or have passed) 2nd Amendment sanctuary laws
3. The founders put the 2nd Amendment in the constitution just for this sort of eventuality, the British having just tried to disarm the colonies.  As much as I hate to think it, the hoarded supplies may come in very useful to convince the Swamp of their errors.
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Offline ira scott

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #35 on: February 17, 2021, 03:10:59 PM »
Quote from G.A. Custer's, My Life on the Plains, "The ways of Congress are sometimes peculiar---not to employ a more expressive term"   He goes on to describe the third house of Congress,  the Lobby.

Makes it sound like politics has been a sh#tshow for a long time!

B.N.Scotty
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Offline Professor Marvel

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Re: Where's the Black Powder
« Reply #36 on: February 17, 2021, 04:54:00 PM »
I too have been following that very long thread on Cast Boolits. I find it ... interesting ....

Something we must all remember, the WEB is a completely "virtual" place.
There are trolls and con artists out there that LOVE to play with us.
Just because Billy Bob "says" he has such and such a pedigree does not make it true.
And if Billy "says" he is successfully making "fill in the blank" and gets "these results" well...

I can't tell you the number of people that claim they can "make" free electricity, or "magic powered water"
that "cures anything" or ...

Remember people "salting " gold mines & etc?

Seriously, postin virtual pictures and posting chrony results are not good enough.
ANYBODY can (and many will) spoof photos and data.

Over on Boolits there was a very long thread concerning the mistical 6.5mm cast "cruise missel" lead bullet
that one fella claimed 1 inch (or better) groups... he refused to share his "secret method" and nobody could
duplicate it. Instead of roviding ANY valid verifiable prrof or helping others to achieve even close to similar groups,
all the fella did was rant about his perfect reputation and rant about being called a liar.

Reminds me of the Used Car Salesmen that used the same methods of deflection, diversion, and victimization
 "you are attacking my good name" crap when I wanted to have their used car inspected before purchase!


That's why actual scored shooting matches have judges watching every move,
inspecting all equiment and ammuntion, watching the shooters closely, and scoring
the paper with strong lenses and those funny little plastic scoring pegs that fit the paper bullet holes by caliber.

FYI -
Photos or videos can no longer be considered evidence
unless and until they are throroughly inspected both visually and digitally, the provenance established,
and the string of custody and evidentiary trail established.

There are people out there that LOVE to cheat and con you. Just for fun. Or money. Or Ego.
There are wackos (trolls) that LOVE to deliberately put out misinformation just to stir up the pot.
There are psychos that LOVE to deliberately put out misinformation to try to hurt people.

Finally, if we look to history, every time there has been a Large Epidemic, or Pandemic ( we can
look back to the actual written history of events surrounding the Global  Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919
for excellent examples) We will find nearly identical crisis, shutdowns, lockdowns, issues over masks,
shortages, supply chain problems, and businesses going under....

We can Learn from History
or
Be Doomed to Repeat It.

We can look at actual evidence from multiple sources showing problems with supply chains
or
We can dream up a conspiracy to fit our fears.

So , with that, let us get back to the actual topic of Powder Availabilty, and The Sport and leave the wild speculation
and conspiracy theories for the tinfoil hat crowd.

We can and will discuss nitrating paper for making paper cartridges.

BUT

Prof Marvel, The Forum and CAS City cannot and will not in good conscious advise people on how to make their own explosives or propellants;  Black Powder, Brown Powder, White Powder, Smokelss Powder, Improvised Powder, Nitro Cellulose, Celluloid, Cordite, or any other substance of conflagration.

Leave the making of Kaboom stuff to the professsionals.

prof marvel
Your Humble Servant
~~~~~Professor Algernon Horatio Ubiquitous Marvel The First~~~~~~
President, CEO, Chairman,  and Chief Bottle Washer of


Professor Marvel's
Traveling Apothecary
and
Fortune Telling Emporium


Acclaimed By The Crowned Heads of Europe
Purveyor of Patent Remedies, Snake Oil, Powder, Percussion Caps, Cleaning Supplies, Dry Goods,
and
Picture Postcards

Offering Unwanted Advice for All Occasions
and
Providing Useless Items to the Gentry
Since 1822
[
Available by Appointment for Lectures on Any Topic


 

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