Powder shortage effects

[William Lincoln]

Black powder has been used in several bombings within the
last decade. Boston marathon(black powder for fireworks) and
a New Jersey boardwalk attempt. With millions of unknowns
flowing into the Country ,who knows? Hope Cattywompass
is correct ,for all sakes here--but I doubt it. The Dems are seeking to
put all powders under background checks as Ammo.
The Brady people set the agenda for the Dems.
Hopefully you are right. But I doubt it. Next year at this
time, I will re-visit my post and see who predicted it
on the money. I will mark my calendar. Hope springs eternal.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Yo

Black powder has been used in several bombings within the
last decade. Boston marathon(black powder for fireworks) and
a New Jersey boardwalk attempt. With millions of unknowns
flowing into the Country ,who knows? Hope Cattywompass
is correct ,for all sakes here--but I doubt it. The Dems are seeking to
put all powders under background checks as Ammo.
The Brady people set the agenda for the Dems.
Hopefully you are right. But I doubt it. Next year at this
time, I will re-visit my post and see who predicted it
on the money. I will mark my calendar. Hope springs eternal.

You may be right. However regarding one of your examples: the Jersey bomber used a compound detonation that involved a binary secondary explosive. I've not seen anything about him using blackpowder. And unless the feds ban fireworks, I don't see Boston playing into any of this. Foreigners don't worry me so much as many of the folks waving our own flag and the Gadsden these days. What was in those DC pipe bombs in January?

 

[William Lincoln]

I differ in that I trust Americans and not these foreign extremists who
take advantage of our freedoms to harm us, as in the 911 attack.
I reject the Leftist line that American Patriots are dangerous extremists.
Because of them we are free. The Real terrorists are using stealth
warfare to strip us of our freedoms. Stay awake in class please.

 

[johnfrommd]

They


BATFE officially took over explosives regulation in 1970, 51 years ago. Black powder is basically not on their radar because no one uses it for bombings. The E was added after HSA 2001 so they could try to regulate fuel, such as rocket fuel, etc, and they lost that ability in court when challeneged. They already had regulation over blackpowder by that time 20 years ago. Since 1970 they have been the lead agency on all bombings not deemed international terrorism. No one uses BP for terrorism because it takes a heap of it to achieve a big bang and their are more effective recipes available everywhere online. BATFE views basically anyone buying BP as a hobbyist. Which most of us are.

Good post and quite correct. While there have been some domestic gangs who have used BP for pipe bombs, they have been few and far between.
As one poster said earlier, this was a business decision by Hogdon because they weren't getting their return on investment due to the shrinking market. They also can use more capital to expand the smokeless lines which will likely be busy for years to come.

 

[Cattywompuss]

I differ in that I trust Americans and not these foreign extremists who
take advantage of our freedoms to harm us, as in the 911 attack.
I reject the Leftist line that American Patriots are dangerous extremists.
Because of them we are free. The Real terrorists are using stealth
warfare to strip us of our freedoms. Stay awake in class please.

Either way, they have powder in stock at Powder Valley right now, so be a good American and go panic buy as much as possible.

 

[user 13896]

Maurice Whitten, a Chemistry professor at USM, wrote a book titled, The Gunpowder Mills of Maine, (1990). I used the book when I was teaching Chemistry in Windham, Maine. Among others, the book talks about the Gambo Powder Mill on the Presumscot River with facilities in both Windham and Gorham. It lists dates of explosions at the Mill, along with the names of people killed. Most of my classes had at least one student with the same last name as one of those killed. I had the kids make serpentine BP (grind components separately then mix) and then make firecrackers. Asked, "Why can't we mix and then grind?", I would show them the list of names.

Making BP where components are put together wet and then pressed to incorporate the KNO3 around the S and C particles to make BP to modern standards is inherently dangerous. Even professional operations where they know what they are doing produce explosions. Making your own BP is inviting a Darwin Award.

One more thing, the Maine BP mills preferred Alders as a source of C.

 

[Captain Eddie]

Making one's own gunpowder is quite dangerous. I should be surprised that a muzzle-loading forum with any thoughts of safety would publish this.

Not if you follow the rules. Carefully!

 

[johnfrommd]

Maurice Whitten, a Chemistry professor at USM, wrote a book titled, The Gunpowder Mills of Maine, (1990). I used the book when I was teaching Chemistry in Windham, Maine. Among others, the book talks about the Gambo Powder Mill on the Presumscot River with facilities in both Windham and Gorham. It lists dates of explosions at the Mill, along with the names of people killed. Most of my classes had at least one student with the same last name as one of those killed. I had the kids make serpentine BP (grind components separately then mix) and then make firecrackers. Asked, "Why can't we mix and then grind?", I would show them the list of names.

Making BP where components are put together wet and then pressed to incorporate the KNO3 around the S and C particles to make BP to modern standards is inherently dangerous. Even professional operations where they know what they are doing produce explosions. Making your own BP is inviting a Darwin Award.

One more thing, the Maine BP mills preferred Alders as a source of C.

Grinding all three together dry is like playing Russian Roulette.