Powder?

I can not find any shops who carry real BP in my area (central california)... What happened? Is this some sort of homeland securtity nonesense?

My mortar project is almost ready to shoot. It is a very beefie chrome moly steel Coehorn style mortar about #75. Shooting soda cans full of cement will require copious amounts of 1-f. I am not eager to shoot up my supply of (apparently hard to get) of Goex. Can I mail order enough powder to make it worth my while? There is a hefty hasmat fee, afterall. Are there some additional California restrictions? Or can I use Pyro-Poop? I hate that stuff but maybe pyrodex might be of some use? I have no fear of damaging the gun just inconsistent performance.

I guess the short question is how do you cannon guys get powder in amounts needed to shoot.

See the members Resouces section at the top section of the index page. Then find powder suppliers. Most of us are ordering cases of powder shipped directly to us, from Powder, Inc. or Graf and Sons. Contact Goex, on line( they have a link here also) and locate the distributor for your state. Then call them to see where the nearest dealer is to you. They may even cut you a price, particularly on Cannon Powder.

We used 1/4 part powder and 3/4( 1:3 mix) part flour, in shooting blanks, because we got the same amount of smoke and noise as firing a full pound of powder. It proved a good way to stretch out our powder supplies. That may help you with your cannon shooting. You can have 50 lbs of powder without a special license from the Fed. State laws may be more restrictive.

i wuld def check your restrictions, i have heard sme outrageous stuff come from the terminator (.50 BMG) case in point. In NY the limit is 5 lbs. I have found that cannon fuse lights pyrodex with no problem. that stuff burns hot. real black is always better, but i wouldn't hesitate to try pyro for the listed reasons of availability

I have the same problem here in oregon.
I only know of 2 places that carry goex powder.
both stores only carry 15 pounds of the stuff.
both stores are also about 2 1/2 hours drive from my house.

I was told the reason for stores not carrying the stuff is because atf has identified real black powder as a explosive powder, and insurance companies for the stores dont want to insure that stuff without costing an arm and leg.

good luck in your quest since you reside in california. I just dont see how anyone can cope with all of california's strange gun laws.

We got desperate one day with my full size 6pdr field gun and used 4 oz pyrodex on top of a 1 oz black powder primer with a friction primer for ignition. Sounded like an elephant fart. 4 oz of straight black powder would make it rock :thumbsup: 4oz might be a little heavy for a mortar though!Make sure you give it a good "proofing"

Leatherjunkie, The Gun Works in Springfield carries Goex and you can get as much as you want. Not sure what they are charging for it by the lb. now though. Last i bought was $15.

Leather junkie: What you say is part of the truth. If BP gun clubs had an ounce of brains working for themselves, they would work a deal with the store owner to store the powder on their club grounds, in a bunker. He would have a key to have access, and they would also have a key. They would buy their powder at costs, plus taxes, and shipping, with a small profit to the dealer, so that the club could sell the powder, as his employees, to members who come up short. Someone in the club would work for the dealer for $1.00 a year. That makes both legal. The dealer would have access to a powder magazine or bunker away from his premises so he doesn't have to pay higher insurance premiums, He can order the powder in quantity and satisfy state and local authorities concerning storage requirements, set backs, etc. and local BP shooters have a local place to go to get powder, whether they belong to the club or not. ( obviously non0club members are charged more for the powder, and may be limited in how much powder is sold to them at any given time, all to encourage them to join the club, and have another place to shoot.) The Gun shop dealer can advertise he has black powder, but that orders must be called in in advance, or expect delivery on a given day of the week, only. Someone from the club can drive some powder over to the store and sit int he parking lot, delivering the powder to customers on presentation of a receipt so that the powder is never inside the store. Or customers can be sent out to the gun club by the dealer with a receipt to pick up their orders. That would be a good way to introduce non-members to the club.

Where there is a will, there is a way. Its up to you and your friends to sit down with the dealer and overcome all the obstacles he faces. Same with deliveries. He can arrange with Big Brown to ship the ammo to your range on a given day between certain hours, so you can take delivery and put the stuff in your bunker. Or, he can use his key to accept delivery and put the powder in storage. Inventories can be taken and transmitted by cell phone to the dealer, so he knows how much he still has on hand, and when to order more.

I buy from Coonies in NM.

Rebel,

that is one of the stores i was refering to.
the other store is located up by troutdale.
that store name is "muzzleloading and more"

I am about 2 1/2 hours away from each store.

As far as my gunclub storing ammo for sale.
its not going to happen.
my gunclub decided since we shoot blackpowder in cowboy action matches that all the bays need to be no smoking because we are considered a black powder match. a black powder match has open cans of gunpowder. everyone that shoots black powder at the cowboy match does not use cap and ball guns. we load the black powder in our shells so the powder is not open and is no different than smokeless powder in this sense.

i just have to stop and go what the #$%& are the people in charge thinking sometimes.
the people in charge see the word black powder and think the world is going to blow up.

and yes we load black powder in rifle shells, pistol shells and shotgun shells.

I'll repost, you either make your own as I do or you order 50 lbs on the internet.

It is a PIA for a retail store to handle BP. ATF requires you to have an explosives permit, it must be stored in an approved magazine, you may not have over 50 lbs in your store and the magazine must be located within eight feet of an exterior entrance.

To be cost effective, a retailer has to charge 30 bucks a pound and has to comply with all Federal requirements. As a retailor I pay the same price you do PLUS I have to shell out for a magazine PLUS I have to pick up the tab every year for my Federal Explosives Ticket.

Then you have to deal with your liability carrier (triple my normal rate), State and County code and all the other :bull: and it becomes a no deal.

The only loophole we now have is to buy BP in bulk from major explosive firms. It ships UPS ground, you pay the HAZMAT fee plus shipping.

Within ten years or less BP will only be a fictional product. Explosive dealers don't make much profit on BP, they make money on Industrial products like Ammonium Nitrate.