Austin Black Powder???

[Old Hawkeye]

Friend of mine inherited a bunch of shooting & gun related stuff & pulled this unopened can off a shelf & asked if it was any good & if BP became dangerous if it was "old". I told him it was fine & would keep longer than he would live, but we both were curious about it so thought I'd see if anybody here was familiar with or knew any history behind this brand. Says made in Cleveland & since 1833!! It is obviously post Zip Code. The piles are, top to bottom, Goex FFg, Goex FFFG, & Austin Musket. I'm assuming that Musket was their way of describing a granulation. It appears to be between Goex FFFg & FFg in granulation size. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[Zonie]

Here's a link to an article about the Austin Powder Company.

https://case.edu/ech/articles/a/austin-powder-co
The article mentions that most of the powder it makes is sold to mining and construction companies.

 

[Whitworth]

Those must have been Black Powder only 10/22s pictured on the can

 

[Old Hawkeye]

Found out they are still in business but stopped making BP in 1968. Zip codes started on July 1, 1963, so the can pictured was made sometime in that 5 year window. They made Bangalore torpedoes during WWII, as well. Thanks Zonie for the link!

 

[leadhoarder]

I pass a truck marked Austin powder company many mornings. It is a truck that contains explosives and is designed to direct a blast upwards. I think they service the local large construction companies. Not sure if it is the same company that made your powder though.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

I pass a truck marked Austin powder company many mornings. It is a truck that contains explosives and is designed to direct a blast upwards. I think they service the local large construction companies. Not sure if it is the same company that made your powder though.

I'm sure it is the same company. Seems their main focus & product line was geared toward mining & industrial uses of explosives, with the sporting use of BP being a minor concern. Also found out they had some shady dealings since 2000 involving law suits, missing explosives & some plants having their license permanently revoked by the BATFE. Fairly big outfit, as their total sales exceeded $200 million in 2005.

 

[leadhoarder]

I find it strange that they have a picture of a few 22 autoloaders that tin. Should have used a musket.

 

[nit wit]

I found this in the back room today.
Nit Wit

 

[Okie Hog]

Austin Powder Company provides blasting explosives world wide.