Black powder Rant

[F.G. Ford]

Last year I posted a thread here on the difficulty in obtaining Black Powder, from the preceeding threads it is quite evident that the noose is getting tighter.
Traditional muzzle loading is a great and pleasurable past time, but with happening of 9/11
our world,here, has changed forever.
In a very short time we will not be able to obtain black powder any where, or at a reasonable cost.
Sure some of us can still purchase it in bulk, at $10-$12 a pound, but with storage laws, and BATF, you know that is about to end.
In many and most places the price for BP is nearing $27 a pound. In most places you can not even get it.... you must buy the substitute powder, and well all know, how well that stuff works.
I live in Ontario, Canada, if I want BP I have to cross over to the USA and try to find it, and as some of you have found out, you can't buy it interstate easily either.
I know many of you, think it won't happen to me...but it will, sooner than you think.
I really enjoy muzzle loading, been doing it for fourty years, but I can bet a dollar, we and our followers won't be doing it, in the next fourty, most likely five years.
THINK about it guys & gals.
Best Regards
Old Ford

 

[peashooterJoe]

I think it is now happening already in my area. The bulk purchase is traceable and red flagged. I think it will get to the point that you will have to make the holy powder. The government may then regulate the chemicals so you can't get them.

 

[oldarmy]

They are trying to restrich oxidiers already.
i ordered some salt peter to make slow match for my Matchlock project --being built someday--- and the company was saying it's going to hard to get soon.
The BATF and the TSA are all over the stuff.
I guess I am going to have to buy some more right away

 

[Alberta Black]

Old Ford

The situation is a little better in Calgary, Alberta because we have some private citzens who import the powder and sell it at gun shows. The major retailers here do not carry black powder which is probably just as well because they are clueless abut tradional black powder guns.

The one small retailer in Calgary who does stock black powder (Geox) sells it for $34 per pound.

This is tought on those of us who prefer flintlocks and my solution was to buy a caplock in case the bp supply dries up.

Richard

 

[Sharp Shooter]

The only reason they have storage laws is for safety and people do not wan't to deal with those laws so they do not sell it. I think it will be around for a while. We still have pyrodex wich is alot like black powder.

 

[MikeFromON]

Why do you go to the USA to buy it when it is available right in St. Catherines, ON ([url] http://www.goexpowder.com/distributors.html#ont[/url] ) for $17/pound on single cans or $300 per 25 lb. case? They sell it at the gun club in Stittsville, ON for $22 a can too. As for transport/storage regs, as long as you are not a commerical entity, you can store and transport up to 3 cases of the stuff, no questions asked. The guy in St. Kits was ready to sell me as much as I could pack into my Elantra. Where do you live in Ontario anyway? I live about 100 miles west of Ottawa and I have a whole sh*tload of the stuff in my garage ... e-mail me at [email protected] to discuss details.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Have you tried Pyrodex or any other substitute powder in your flintlock? Not too reliable,eh?
And Pyrodex or the like doesn't work well in many cap locks either.
Best Regards
Old Ford

 

[Ridge]

Well, when the real black powder is gone, some one is going to make a fortune converting flintlocks.

I've always wondered why Chambers or the like never made a "Converted Flintlock Caplock"? Hell, that would the perfect lock for certain time periods.

 

[Old Ironsights]

They are trying to restrich oxidiers already.
i ordered some salt peter to make slow match for my Matchlock project --being built someday--- and the company was saying it's going to hard to get soon.
The BATF and the TSA are all over the stuff.
I guess I am going to have to buy some more right away

Nobody bought Saltpeter before it was for sale, but they had it anyway.

That's the good thing about BP. Manufacture requires only Brains & Desire, not chemicals.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

I use a caplock and it works really good in my caplock.

This is not a topic I would loose sleep over or worry about because that kind of stuff is not good for you and there is no need to worry because we have our freedom and I know it will be here as long as I live.

 

[Rebel]

I wouldn't count on it being here as long as you live unless you are REALLY old now.

 

[SavageArcher]

The difficulty in getting BP is one of the biggest deterants to me ever getting a flinter. Even drum and nipple percussion guns like my old CVA Frontier gives me trouble when I use Proydex. GOEX WORKS Everytime, Pryo most of the time. Any future gun I will consider will have to be either a patent breech, underhammer or mule ear to ensure good ignition with Pryodex. Because of the hoops I have to jump through and the raising price to get real BP, I'm afraid phony bp is the future.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

The difficulty in getting BP is one of the biggest deterants to me ever getting a flinter. Even drum and nipple percussion guns like my old CVA Frontier gives me trouble when I use Proydex. GOEX WORKS Everytime, Pryo most of the time. Any future gun I will consider will have to be either a patent breech, underhammer or mule ear to ensure good ignition with Pryodex. Because of the hoops I have to jump through and the raising price to get real BP, I'm afraid phony bp is the future.

I wouldn't bet on a patent breech to solve the Pyrodex ignition problem. Most have a very long and narrow (1/8" or less) flash channel between nipple and powder chamber. My Lyman Trade Rifle always hangfires with Pyro, just enough hesitation that one hears the cap a split second before the muzzle blast, like "capow" instead of a clean sharp "pow". It also sometimes misfires all together. I prefer the drum and nipple arrangement since the drum usually has a much larger passage or if not can be easily drilled larger to allow powder to set right under the nipple. I've even had "capows" with Pyrodex in revolvers.

 

[harryo]

The difficulty in getting BP is one of the biggest deterants to me ever getting a flinter.

Because of the hoops I have to jump through and the raising price to get real BP, I'm afraid phony bp is the future.

This has been pointed out before but I will do so again. There are several powder dealers that will ship blackpowder to you. You have to set up an account but once they have your informatin on record, you can order by phone, or on the web, by credit card. UPS will deliver it to your door.

Even with the mandatory hazmat fees and shipping, prices are quite reasonable, especially if you order a case of 25lbs. I just ordered a case of KIK for a total of $239.50, or $9.58 a lb. The only local dealer within 100 miles of me, of which I am aware, sells Goex for $17 a lb, plus tax. Ordering is not only easier but saves me a bunch of money.

 

[Rebel]

Who sells the KIK powder for those prices?

 

[harryo]

Who sells the KIK powder for those prices?

I get mine from Powder, Inc. KIK is $8.10/lb for a case. That's $202.50 for 25lbs of powder, plus $37 for the hazmat fee and shipping to my zone. A total of $239.50 for a case of powder delivered by a brown van, to my door.

 

[Rebel]

Thanks for the info.

 

[chuck-ia]

I wish you guys would quit scaring me like that. I just can't imagine shooting a muzzleloader and not using real blackpowder. I think I would go back to modern guns if there was no real blackpowder available. Just don't seem right using fake powder in a caplock or flintlock. Now if you have an inline the subs. seem to fit. Like I said, I would go back to modern guns if I could no longer get the real stuff. flinch