Storing Black Powder

[brassell31]

Does anyone here know the BATF rules on storing black powder for a business? I work part time in a gunshop and am trying to get the owner to consider stocking the real stuff in addition to the substitutes. I went to the BATF website and could not navigate the site successfully. Thanks for any help.

 

[t-buck]

to sell black powder your store owner will need to get an explosive endorsement for his ffl from the BATFE
as to storing it in the store he will need to check state and local regs to make sure thet he is in compliance with them
a good place to check about the local regs is the fire dept
t-buck

 

[MSW]

just thinking out loud, but perhaps one of the manufacturers (Goex, etc.) could make some suggestions... it would, after all, be in their interest to have you complaint with laws and regulations so you could legally sell their product.

just a thought- i may be way off base here, but it might be worth a phone call or e- mail.

 

[rabjr]

I know here most shops stopped carrying black powder. It has to be stored in special locked steel containers and I'm not sure what other regs there are but they made it so its just not worth the trouble for most here anymore. :shake:

 

[necchi]

A Steel Box with a Hinged Lid,
Two Padlocks on the lid,
And a chain or cable attached to the box and a suitable ground.
(Truth)

 

[phoenix511]

Way too complex to contemplate storing BP at a commercial shop. Forget about it!

Some ML/BP clubs place an order with one of the several black powder suppliers, then disperse it among members. Most suppliers can be found at "Muzzle Blasts" and "Muzzle Loader" magazines.

UPS, at least today, will deliver the BP with an upcharge, and they will require an "adult" signature on the package.

Don't know how the restrictions came about, perhaps in the panic of Kennedy/1968 shooting, with the desire to control every thing "explosive."

Most Cabelas, Dicks, and Gander Mountain, will not carry BP due to the storeage constraints.

 

[Zonie]

I'm sure if the owner of the gunshop got ahold of the BATFE they would send him the needed information and forms.

There are Federal requirements for storing black powder and from what I've read, these involve not only a few locks but a box that conforms to the latest Federal requirements.

As was mentioned, there may be some State requirements too and the State Attorney General's office should be able to provide information in this area.

One of the other stumbling blocks the shop owner should consider is Insurance.

Some Insurance companies will raise the rate for the building if an explosive like black powder is stored in it.

Ironically, the Insurance companies in my area don't seem to be concerned about natural gas but a meat market about 1/2 mile from my house was blown all to hell when it had a natural gas leak inside. I don't know what set it off but it totally flattened a concrete block building with a large glass window in the front. :shocked2:

 

[William O.]

Storage Requirements
The Federal explosives regulations at 27 CFR, Part 555, Subpart K, provide specific construction requirements for explosives magazines. This webpage is intended to provide additional information that may be useful to Federal explosives licensee and permittees. All explosive materials must be kept in locked magazines meeting the standards in Subpart K unless they are:

In the process of manufacture;
Being physically handled in the operating process of a licensee or user;
Being used; or
Being transported to a place of storage or use by a licensee or permittee or by a person who has lawfully acquired explosive materials under Sec. 555.106.
When none of the above conditions apply, explosive materials must be kept in magazines that meet the construction, locking, and table of distance requirements of Subpart K.

Explosive materials must be stored in appropriate magazines.
Magazines must meet all construction and housekeeping requirements of 27 CFR 555, Subpart K.
Magazines must meet Table of Distance requirements.
Magazines must be inspected every 7 days.
Permanent outdoor magazines must have a substantial foundation or be metal skirted to prevent access underneath the magazine.
Explosive materials may not be left unattended in Type-3 magazines, including “day boxes,” and must be removed to type 1 or 2 magazines for unattended storage.
Storage regulations DO NOT apply to binary explosives until mixed.
http://www.atf.gov/explosives/how-to/explosive-storage-requirements.html
Here is a PDF that explains in great detail the requirements for building a storage case/facility; http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5400-17.pdf

How to Become a Federal Explosives Licensee (FEL)
http://www.atf.gov/explosives/how-to/become-an-fel.html
Hope this helps.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Is it any wonder that black powder is so hard to find localy? Most people are now shooting in-lines and are very happy using one of the subs. The number of people who still want black powder is so small that the store can not make a profit, once you figure in the cost of the lic. I'm planning on trying to make the NRMLA's spring shoot and if I do I'll be stocking up. In 2010 I was able to stop there during the Lore of the Laughery and found black powder for $14 a pound.

 

[paulvallandigham]

My brother just stopped by Friendship on Tuesday, and bought a case of powder. It cost bit more than $16.00 per lb. :shocked2: :surrender: :thumbsup:

 

[Dphar]

Does anyone here know the BATF rules on storing black powder for a business? I work part time in a gunshop and am trying to get the owner to consider stocking the real stuff in addition to the substitutes. I went to the BATF website and could not navigate the site successfully. Thanks for any help.

Dixie Gun Works sells 50 pound storage magazines.
But BATF are not the only rules that may affect storage requirements.
Best way is to contact the local ATF people and get everything in WRITING.
Its a FAR bigger PITA than it needs to be in any case.
Dan

 

[SgtSchutzen]

Is it any wonder that black powder is so hard to find localy? Most people are now shooting in-lines and are very happy using one of the subs. The number of people who still want black powder is so small that the store can not make a profit, once you figure in the cost of the lic.

Exactly ..... I was talking black powder not long ago at a shop that used to stock Goex but dropped it several years ago. The owner told me he would love to keep it in stock but can`t justify the expense. He said that nobody wants it anymore and the last year he had it he only sold 2 lbs of it.

 

[jamesthomas]

I'm just thankful we have folks like Powderinc. Mainepowderhouse and Jacks Powder Keg to supply the Blackpowder crowd like us. :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

One of the prolems with gun store owners selling black powder is that they simply are not very good salesmen. The LAW prohibits them from displaying the Black Powder openly on their shelves.

However, it does not prohibit advertising the fact that you carry and sell Black powder. A simple poster or sign in your store that tells customers that BP is available, and to ASK FOR IT will sell lots of black powder! And, it doesn't take much of a genius to contact the NMLRA site, get a list of Charter clubs in a 100 mile radius, and send out photocopied notices to each club telling them that you have Black powder for sale, and how to arrange to buy it from you.

I know clubs willing to pay the license fees for the store owner, and even offer their range property to store the black Powder in a properly constructed "bunker" for the local store.


For gun store in "strip malls", where they can't satisfy the requirement that the storage facility be located 300 feet from an occupied residence, This is a terrific way to "solve" that problem. Delivery of retail sales to customers is arranged to occur on certain days of the week when the powder can be transported to the store's temporary storage facility, but not kept there overnite.

With the difficulty that everyone has dealing with these unnecessary Federal Regulations in order to have a LOCAL source of black powder, any dealer with a retail gun store would be way ahead by making deals with local gun clubs, so that he has a place to store powder properly, and the club members have a source of BP locally.
The dealer not only makes a small profit on the sale of the powder, but he also then has a steady clientele coming to his store for other items. :hmm: