Safely Storing Black Powder

[Tumbledown]

NY requires it in original containers or powder horns, in a wood box, walls nominally 1/2" thick, painted red, labeled "low-ex" in white or yellow letters 4" high, kept on 1st floor or in basement within 10 feet of an exterior entry. Maximum of 5 lbs, box is not to contain other combustibles (ie smokeless or caps.)

So, yes, know your laws, and follow them, for safety and liability.

 

[Bassdog1]

I use the small vials for my small bore guns pre-loads And the larger ones for my 45 and 54. Each of the red boxes has 50 vials so I have one for each of my small bore loads and the larger vials were around $15 for 50. Work out pretty well I Load by weight instead of volume and have really been happy with the consistency I get having my charges pre-measured.

 

[Hawk78]

As you might expect, there are very strict regulations in the UK about storing black powder. You end up with a box like this. Each section must hold no more than 1kg of powder and there must be 30% space between the top of the bottle of powder and the lid. The walls of the box are 18mm plywood and there has to be intumescent strip around the top. The local police inspect the box before you get a licence to purchase BP.

I like the box and idea, but feel sorry for our cousins across the pond.

 

[FishDFly]

Okay, I remember reading no glass here at one time.

I don't think I will be flying over any time soon.

I cannot even imagine trying to get BP pistols and stuff into Europe.

There were 2 guys who use to come to Phoenix and Friendship from England. They had to either buy powder and caps at the shoots or have someone buy it for them. Shooting required a trip to Walmart for cleaning supplies.

 

[FishDFly]

Lots of line pistol shooters pre-measure. Saves time and it is easier to keep track of the number of shots taken. One match is 25 shots in 45 minutes.

I use the same plastic cases and same white vials, they hold 30 grains.

I pre-load them at home and then put them in drilled wood blocks at the range. I have 5 vial blocks for limited time fire matches, 10 vial blocks for regular matches and 13 vials for the International matches

 

[FishDFly]

When you make a road trip with powder, how do you store it in your vehicle? Do you take the same precautions that you do at home?

My mentor was convinced in long road trips that the vibrations of the vehicle would sift the fines in the can to the bottom if stored upright.

He would store the can on it's side and when he got to the shoot, he would slowly rotate the can over a couple of times.

 

[Bob McBride]

When you make a road trip with powder, how do you store it in your vehicle? Do you take the same precautions that you do at home?

My mentor was convinced in long road trips that the vibrations of the vehicle would sift the fines in the can to the bottom if stored upright.

He would store the can on it's side and when he got to the shoot, he would slowly rotate the can over a couple of times.

I have a few old wood ammo crates about 3'x1' that my horns and canned powder go in for road trips. I pick up 10-20 lbs at the magazine at Friendship both trips though I only take my horns when I go to those shoots I'm coming back with a lot of powder. I do stack them on their side and give them a few turns before loading a horn to unsettle the powder.

 

[Griz44Mag]

NY requires it in original containers or powder horns, in a wood box, walls nominally 1/2" thick, painted red, labeled "low-ex" in white or yellow letters 4" high, kept on 1st floor or in basement within 10 feet of an exterior entry. Maximum of 5 lbs, box is not to contain other combustibles (ie smokeless or caps.)

So, yes, know your laws, and follow them, for safety and liability.

That sounds like a bad place to put it, so if you have an incident you will block your exit pathway???????
Sounds like NY is trying to thin out the shooters.

 

[Griz44Mag]

I like the box and idea, but feel sorry for our cousins across the pond.

They did it to themselves by electing their politicians from the ranks of the Socialists.
They could just as easily turn it around by replacing them with freedom minded representation.
If you don't like your government's laws - change it.

 

[Griz44Mag]

When you make a road trip with powder, how do you store it in your vehicle? Do you take the same precautions that you do at home?

My mentor was convinced in long road trips that the vibrations of the vehicle would sift the fines in the can to the bottom if stored upright.

He would store the can on it's side and when he got to the shoot, he would slowly rotate the can over a couple of times.

On trips to the range I carry several brass flasks with dispenser valves and pour stems. Just the standard old Traditions flasks.
The flask are in my shooting box with everything else.
When hunting, I carry a horn and leather bag,

 

[Sidney Smith]

When you make a road trip with powder, how do you store it in your vehicle? Do you take the same precautions that you do at home?

My mentor was convinced in long road trips that the vibrations of the vehicle would sift the fines in the can to the bottom if stored upright.

He would store the can on it's side and when he got to the shoot, he would slowly rotate the can over a couple of times.
[/QUOTE/]

I just put the bottle or my horn into my range box when I transport it. Or if going hunting, it usually sits in the horn on the seat next to me. Never had a problem.

 

[Britsmoothy]

When you make a road trip with powder, how do you store it in your vehicle? Do you take the same precautions that you do at home?

My mentor was convinced in long road trips that the vibrations of the vehicle would sift the fines in the can to the bottom if stored upright.

He would store the can on it's side and when he got to the shoot, he would slowly rotate the can over a couple of times.

So what happens on the delivery trucks?

 

[Griz44Mag]

So what happens on the delivery trucks?

It sits in-under-stacked-thrown-tossed about with all the rest of the boxes.
The only thing done differently is the big red labels that make it more expensive to ship than the rest of the boxes it is shipped with.

 

[FishDFly]

On trips to the range I carry several brass flasks with dispenser valves and pour stems. Just the standard old Traditions flasks.
The flask are in my shooting box with everything else.
When hunting, I carry a horn and leather bag,
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I'd be careful showing that many tins of caps in this day,
someone might break in to get 5 of them.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Mine just sets on a shelf in my ground level basement. Been there 20 years. No problems.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

I once read about a flintlock, hundreds of years old, had been fired since the powder charge had remained dry in the bore. I quickly realized that's a good place to store powder. All my powder is stored in the rifle itself. LOL

I do what I did 25 years ago: leave it in the cans it came in. Worked in the 1990's, should work now.

 

[Tumbledown]

That sounds like a bad place to put it, so if you have an incident you will block your exit pathway???????
Sounds like NY is trying to thin out the shooters.

It's actually a good place. If I can't get to it or can't get past it, my path is already blocked and I have bigger issues.

If firemen are needing to enter, they need to know where they can find it. It would be one of the first places wetted down in attacking the fire from outside.

 

[Tumbledown]

Mine just sets on a shelf in my ground level basement. Been there 20 years. No problems.

Only because you haven't *had* a problem.

 

[Griz44Mag]

I'd be careful showing that many tins of caps in this day,
someone might break in to get 5 of them.

If you look carefully at the tins you will see the patch size and thickness on the stick on labels.
Only one of those tins has caps in it, and since I load the strippers from it first, the max it will have is 60 or less.....

 

[RB POWELL]

The Texas county I live in has a 50# personal limit per household.
SO I keep mine in two different rooms so I don't violate the county laws.....
Personally I think my collection of grandkids is a lot more dangerous than my powder....

I store mine in a thick plywood box out of the house in the garden shed.

At my neighbors house...