Hard times for BP shooters

[jefair1]

The other problem with making your own BP is without the means to analyze your batches, you are not going to have consistancy batch to batch. If you think getting good accurate groups is hard with quality controlled powder, wait until you try it with inconsistant batches.

 

[BlackRock52]

well this current situation has had no impact on me. i have made my own for over 60 years and can't remember the last time i bought any "store bought" powder.
burned a pound the other day with 2 neighbors. one was using 777. over the chrono we were 50fps apart with the same loadings. his barrel was 32" and mine 28" smoke from mine was more

Been thinking of trying this myself. Do you make your own charcoal and if so, do you use a certain wood? (like Swiss uses only alder they claim) or anything available?

 

[granth]

My dad always told me never miss an opportunity to shut up.

Very wise .

 

[granth]

Been thinking of trying this myself. Do you make your own charcoal and if so, do you use a certain wood? (like Swiss uses only alder they claim) or anything available?

While reading Ned Robert’s book, he mentions the use of English willow and other softwoods making the best charcoal. Grapevine is also good I heard.

 

[deerstalkert]

Been thinking of trying this myself. Do you make your own charcoal and if so, do you use a certain wood? (like Swiss uses only alder they claim) or anything available?

until just recently i only ever used willow. had plenty so never needed anything else. this last week i made some charcoal from western red cedar, just to see what it would do. it produced power on par with willow, smells slightly different, and ignites and burns fast. made a pound of fffg with the fines screened for the pan. the cedar comes from my place.

 

[deerstalkert]

My dad always told me never miss an opportunity to shut up.

my onliest mother used to tell me, "it's better to keep ones mouth shut and be thought a fool, than open it and remove all doubt!"
unfortunately my hearing is faulty. or maybe my comprehension. or maybe i'm just a fool!

 

[deerstalkert]

you havent seen me make bread. lol

maybe i should have said pancakes! only three ingredients.

 

[BlackRock52]

until just recently i only ever used willow. had plenty so never needed anything else. this last week i made some charcoal from western red cedar, just to see what it would do. it produced power on par with willow, smells slightly different, and ignites and burns fast. made a pound of fffg with the fines screened for the pan. the cedar comes from my place.

Thx!!

 

[Hawk54]

I found a store on-line. It says they have percussion caps and powder in stock. There is a physical address and a phone # as well as email. The website is very comprehensive. When I un the address through other means, it is a 2BR 2BA house on 5 acres in a subdivision. The website asks for Zelle or Cash App as a way of payment. I am going to email and see if I get a response. Then I will call and ask to physically come to the store. We'll see. A lot of rip-off out there taking advantage of this.

If they are asking for you to use Zelle or a cash app they are a scam. Period.

 

[Doc]

Here I sit in anti-gun Ca. and don’t understand all of this hullabaloo on the lack of BP. Around me are several BP clubs that order case lots of BP and caps. Then hold and sell to their members as needed. Currently there are several places to purchase as much BP as you want. Such as Travelers Antiques and Trading in Tx. Perhaps some on here should join together with other locals form a BP club and then purchase cases as well. My current club price per lb is $21. for Schutzen.
Doc,

 

[springfield art]

Nope. Boiling down urine makes my nose itch.

Well, you can buy plain, pure, Saltpeter. But with the imported stuff and the re-start of the old factory here, we should be in good shape soon. I note the prices and availability of that passing fad, modern ammo, is easing up as things in general return to "normal".

 

[doubleset]

Talk about lack of reading comprehension, take a look in the mirror. ...

Ummm ... and speaking of mirrors, if you'll pardon a reference that's oblique in a couple of ways here ...

I'll see your Latin quote (though I did actually make a catapult -- more precisely, a trebuchet -- a couple of years ago) and raise you this:

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?” (C.W. Dodgson, more or less) ​

 

[Rock Home Isle]

well this current situation has had no impact on me. i have made my own for over 60 years and can't remember the last time i bought any "store bought" powder.
burned a pound the other day with 2 neighbors. one was using 777. over the chrono we were 50fps apart with the same loadings. his barrel was 32" and mine 28" smoke from mine was more

Do you make Serpentine Powder or Corned Powder?

 

[Rock Home Isle]

My dad always told me never miss an opportunity to shut up.

Sometimes it is best to be thought the fool, rather than open your mouth and prove it.

 

[Scota@4570]

Just use pyrodex. Works just as well.

I strongly disagree based on testing and observation of others. IF you shoot a flintlock is it's not suitable. IF you shoot a caplock, where are you getting caps these days? Pyrodex is much more corrosive and will etch the bore, even with prompt cleaning.

I am glad it works for others though, serious. IT eases the demand for real BP.

 

[Walkabout]

Just curious how many of you out there have resorted to making your own powder in these hard and expensive times, and if you are making your own, how’s it working out for you?

The scarcity of bp has made me reluctant to break into flintlocks.

 

[Hawk54]

I strongly disagree based on testing and observation of others. IF you shoot a flintlock is it's not suitable. IF you shoot a caplock, where are you getting caps these days? Pyrodex is much more corrosive and will etch the bore, even with prompt cleaning.

I am glad it works for others though, serious. IT eases the demand for real BP.

I tried Pyrodex in my unmentionable muzzle loader last year and it was very dirty. Went back to 777 in it. Very noticeable difference between the two to me.

 

[Tasbay]

The other problem with making your own BP is without the means to analyze your batches, you are not going to have consistancy batch to batch. If you think getting good accurate groups is hard with quality controlled powder, wait until you try it with inconsistant batches.

Well that's not what I have found. Digital scale for the ingredients, a rough estimate for each mill time, cook it, screen it, dry it and it`s one and a half inch groups at 50 meters consistently ( many of the shots are hole in hole or touching). Am I gathering correctly from your comments you have never made it yourself?
Just a note on the legal and not legal : In the country I live Black Powder is classed as an explosive, That said we can make our own and use it as long as its being used for a lawful purpose such as a muzzleloader or blowing stumps and the like.

 

[Whitworth]

Somehow, my mother-in-law had weaponized pea soup.

You sure it wasn't bean?

 

[Piquant]

The other problem with making your own BP is without the means to analyze your batches, you are not going to have consistancy batch to batch. If you think getting good accurate groups is hard with quality controlled powder, wait until you try it with inconsistant batches.

I don't know what you are making but my homemade BP is plenty consistent. I chronograph it and as good or better than goex.