Dangerous "advice" free of charge

[Teddydog]

I was in Cabelas today and had to ask an "Outfitter" to get me some percussion caps from the case. After getting them, he said they had a lot of black powder downstairs in the vault. I said I was surprised they would sell black powder due to storage hassles and asked what they had. Just Goex, or Swiss or other brands? He didn't know but said he could check. Then the bad, dangerous and probably illegal "advice" started.

Him: "Why don't you just make your own. Its easy".

Me: "Not safely and consistently."

Him: "And then you can add a little NITROGLYCERIN to it to give it more power."

Me: "You're joking, right?"

And then he went on in all seriousness to sketch out how to MAKE Nitro and then add it to black powder!! What the heck is wrong with some people? I was too stunned by his BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD advise to do anything but disengage from him. I then went to the black powder area to see what they had for powder and it turns out all they carry is a multitude of replacements, NOT the real Black.

In hindsight, I probably should have sought out his manager and told him what I'd been told, but for some reason I didn't think of that until after I had left. I know that the subject of powder making is forbidden here, but this really is not about powder making. It is about really stupid "advice" dispensed by supposedly knowledgeable people. I just felt I needed to share this with some folks who would understand.

Rob

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

You could be doing the black powder community a favor by mentioning that to the store manager. :hmm:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I had a friend who produced some "gun cotton" once..., not the same process. Not really sure that adding Nitro to BP will do what that clerk thinks it does...., I mean it wouldn't turn it into "smokeless powder". I don't think Nitroglycerin "dries", for I believe it's oily..., hence the name nitroglycerin? By doing what the clerk says, you'd have nitro mixed with an absorbent material, and thus a crude and unstable form of dynamite, but not powder. Some early forms of dynamite used sawdust..., and it was rather "twitchy" stuff, and probably more absorbent than BP would be. The proper additive for dynamite is diatomaceous earth. The stuff is not to be confused with TNT.

Plus, it might be OK in some places to make BP, in others maybe not..., due to local laws..., but I really think making a high explosive is prohibited for anybody not licensed to do so? So just making the nitro to add to something is likely a very bad crime...

I agree, inform the management, for this may not be the only "odd" area of so called "expertise" the fellow is informing the public about. I can image this person saying to somebody, "Hey, you say the gun is too loud, well let me tell you how to make a suppressor."

I mean all you need is for this goofball to give the same nitro advise to the wrong person, who calls the feds, and then you find that your local Cabela's doesn't want any future hassles so doesn't stock BP any longer.

Or Worse, some anti-gun eager beaver goes into the store with a concealed camera and ...,

"Tonight On Nightline: Cabela's Store Clerk Tells Our Undercover Reporter How To Make Explosives".



LD

 

[Renegade Dan]

Or Worse, some anti-gun eager beaver goes into the store with a concealed camera and ...,

"Tonight On Nightline: Cabela's Store Clerk Tells Our Undercover Reporter How To Make Explosives".





LD [/quote]

Sad, but true.
:idunno:

 

[outbackzack]

You may still want to contact the manager and explain the situation. Cabela's does not tolerate monkeyshines like that, and they try to run a very professional business. I have a few acquaintances that work in different levels of the organization, and I am pretty sure that this clerks manure would not be tolerated.

 

[GaCop]

To even GET Nitro, you have to have a Class A Explosive License.........

Tom

 

[Rod Lassey]

Yikes!

My great grandfather and grandfather used to do some coal mining. They used two forms of blasting powder---nitro soaked sawdust, and nitro soaked black powder. They prefered the nitro soaked black powder, they said it was a little more resistant to impact.

When I was younger, we still had a 20lb. keg of the nitro/black powder, one day Dad and I hauled it out of the shed (VERY CAREFULLY), took it out to the pasture, and he shot it from a distance with his .22-250. The result was a muffled WHOOPH, a bright flash, and a huge cloud of white smoke---looked like a miniature atomic mushroom cloud. Killed a tree nearby, and brought the neighbor with his firefighting gear running.

Report the jacka$$ before he gets some one killed.

Rod

 

[necchi]

I'm with the others Teddy,
Go back and tell the story as described above with all the reasons not to do this.
It's worth the extra effort before harm comes to others.
The guy might just convince someone to actually do it.
Did his name tag say "Bubba"?

 

[Rifleman1776]

To even GET Nitro, you have to have a Class A Explosive License.........

Tom

Or a bad heart. :wink:

 

[Robby]

To even GET Nitro, you have to have a Class A Explosive License.........

I'm sure you do, but from what I understand its not too hard to process. Fellow I know and his Bud processed some out when they were teenagers. Filled an eight ounce jar. When they took it out to the back forty to see if it was the real deal one of them dropped the jar while climbing over a fence, they were still able to discuss the situation, so they figured it was a bust, but still, determined to continue with their experiment, they went to the far end of the field and placed the jar on a fence post, retreated some distance and took aim with a .222 if I remember. When they were able to get to their feet, the fence post was gone and there was a shallow crater in the ground. :youcrazy: These guys were, are smarter than the average bear, but not rocket scientists. So......
Robby

 

[cynthialee]

I don't ussualy recomend going to someones boss, but in this case it would seem to be unethical to not say something.

Even if making gun powder was completely legal in all jurisdictions it is hazardous. Also he is there as an employee to sell them imitation powders the store stocks. Not to recomend a DIY project at home. If the customer wants a specific product the store does not stock, then it is acceptable for the employee to recomend a local competitor. Certainly not recomend the manufacture of an explosive.
Then the complication of advising the addition of nitro!? It is a serious felony to own that stuff without the proper licenses. What is his next move? Provide C-4 recipies to inquisitive customers?

He is a disaster waiting to happen. He has no buisness making such recomendations! Alert his boss and hope the guy isn't the owners son or best friend. He needs to go work in a differant industry.

 

[bubba.50]

anybody remember randy weaver & the ruby ridge dust-up? maybe the supposed "nimrod" is a G-man or card carryin' libtard tryin' to talk somebody into doin' this so he can make a big bust & jump a notch or two up the ladder. not to mention all the free anti-gun publicity that would follow.

just my to cents & somethin' to think about.

 

[George T.]

Two guys in suits came into the gun store I managed and looked over the cannon fuse and black powder. They wanted instructions on building pipe bombs. I knew that they were BATF so I suggesred that they contact their extension agent about stump removal and leave the store ASAP.This guy is a loose cannon for sure but the world is now full of $7 an hour clerks in hughe stores. It makes me crazy! Geo. T.

 

[William O.]

I had a somewhat similar situation happen to me at a Bass Pro shop while I was waiting in line at the Firearms counter to buy some Goex. Another store manager was asking everyone who was standing there if she could help them find something or answer theri questions. When she came to me I told her that I wanted to buy a pound of black powder, to which she escorted me over to a nearby shelf and said; "it's all right here". She's taken me to the reloading section of the store and was pointing at the smokeless powder. Had I taken here advice I might not be writing this, but when I tried to explain to her that there is a difference between smokless and black all I got was a blank look and by then I'd lost my place in line. It ended up taking two hours to buy one pound of Goex, but at least I knew what I was doing beforehand.

 

[RedFeather]

When we were kids, we bought the three magic ingredients from the local hardware store and set off to roll our own. Ground it up, mixed it according to the ratios in an encyclopedia or some such pre-internet source. That were it. Anxiously awaited the big Poof when we tried to light some but all it did was slowly burn and stink. Obviously, we must have missed a few steps. My bet is your store clerk chemist has about as much expertise as we did at 12 years old. And a lot less common sense. Of bigger concern would be his knowledge of the merchandise he is selling as in can he tell repro powder from smokeless. Sometimes these big box clerks know zip about what they sell. Shoes last week, gun counter this week, stringing tennis rackets the next.

 

[Many Klatch]

Years ago, when big box stores like Kmart and Walmart still sold muzzleloaders there were a number of reports of TC Hawkens getting damaged by shooting in Ohio. Things like the barrel swelling or the hammer recocking itself after a shot.

Turns out a clerk in one of the stores was selling smokeless powder to muzzleloaders as black powder (what the heck it is black when you look at the grains so it must be OK). I have always thought that was a testament to how well built a Thompson Center was built that none of them blew up.

Many Klatch

 

[RedFeather]

On the other hand, I once chatted with a gun counter clerk at a local Sports Authority (when they sold guns, too) and he related about a customer who had bought one of those really cheap CVA you-know-whats and came back a few days later, the gun wrecked from an obvious over-charge. The clerk cheerfully replaced it, nonetheless, and advised him to limit the loads to no more than the recommended two fifty grain pellets. Sure enough, the next day in comes the doofus with his gun all busted. The clerk flat-out refused to exchange it or offer a refund. That kid was about the only counter clerk I've met who pretty much knew his stuff about BP.

 

[Brady]

Just, wow. I am on the 'report the fool to his manager' bus. How many times does he have to repeat that speel before it goes in the ear of someone dumb enough to try it? Please help prevent that from happening.

 

[leslie]

Yeah I carry those pills around in my pocket.I think they are a little different from the stuff in this thread.

 

[BrownBear]

Just, wow. I am on the 'report the fool to his manager' bus. How many times does he have to repeat that speel before it goes in the ear of someone dumb enough to try it? Please help prevent that from happening.

Same here. I've never found a Cabelas clerk that knew his hiney from a hot rock in the muzzleloading department, but this goes about two steps beyond simple ignorance. I'm betting the store's lawyers would love to hear his spiel.... Before kicking his hiney up around his ears as he headed for the unemployment office.

How dumb is dumb? I once picked up one of their CO2 dischargers that came without a tip. Asked the clerk for them, and he got all huffy. Said this was the muzzleloader department, and if I needed air gun equipment I should go talk to them over on another aisle. :rotf: