muzzleloading 'fireworks' ?

[hrt4me]

Purely for the sake of discussion and debate, and on the eve of celebrating our nation's independence and date of birth, would it be possible to add 'firework compounds' into the black powder mix of a muzzleloading single-shot rifle or pistol for a more visual (colorful) effect?
How would any of these additional chemicals affect the black powder itself?
Or would one have to use a wad between the black powder and these chemicals so as to not mix/dilute the BP?

 

[rafterob]

Yes , you can. May be best to avoid the metals to avoid possibly nasty barrel adhesions. I remember back in the '70s the local muzzleloader group would march in parades and shoot off their guns with blank loads. At night they would shoot off different colors in a line of 3.

 

[cmyoung1956]

A good charge of BP with a prodex pellet seated on top makes a pretty good flash, just need to watch the fallout zone. The pellet may travel a ways. That is the only use I have for those pellets.

 

[cmyoung1956]

A good charge of BP with a prodex pellet seated on top makes a pretty good flash, just need to watch the fallout zone. The pellet may travel a ways. That is the only use I have for those pellets. BP by it self needs a over powder patch

 

[PathfinderNC]

I used to shoot bottle rockets into the sky with my Brown Bess. The discharge sent the bottle rocket wayyy up and the fuse got lit from the powder charge which sent it eve higher up. Could not even hear the ‘pop’ when it exploded up there. I was soooo irresponsible

 

[Whitworth]

I used to shoot bottle rockets into the sky with my Brown Bess. The discharge sent the bottle rocket wayyy up and the fuse got lit from the powder charge which sent it eve higher up. Could not even hear the ‘pop’ when it exploded up there. I was soooo irresponsible

Thanks, gotta try that with a musket cap

 

[nhmoose]

4/0 steel wool wad shot from a Brown Bess no ball makes a nice comet at night. Do it where it wont start a fire.

 

[Griz44Mag]

Last year I took the Bess out onto the back porch and loaded it with a powder charge - a wad over the powder - and another powder charge.
The first charge made a nice flash - and when that flash made it's way to the powder from the second charge - I got a nice big ball of fire about 15' high.
I am going to try the steel wool this year. That's one way to make a self cleaning shot?

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Deleted, out of fear of the BATF.

 

[dave951]

A number of years ago, a group of reenactors at a camp got into a bit of an alcohol fueled discussion around a campfire about whether or not a percussion cap would light off a bottle rocket in the barrel of a musket. A bit of experimentation was determined to be in order and yes, it would. So next thing you know, guys were picking sides, issuing "ammunition", and the Battle of the Bottlerockets was on.

May or may not have happened..........

Strawberry flavored moonshine makes for foggy memories sometimes.............................

 

[ohio ramrod]

When I was a kid I would put fire crackers in the barrel of my 22 caliber air rifle, light the fuse and shoot them up into the sky,Then when older, but not wiser I would put paper powder charges in my muzzle loading shotgun and shoot them up.

 

[Woody Morgan]

Nicely timed thread. Gives me ideas!

wm

 

[dave951]

Then there's the "mayonaise jar" method of bottle rocket volley fire that may or may not have happened.

Start with an empty glass mayo jar. Opinions differ as to whether Dukes or Helmans work best.

Put at least 1 gross of bottle rockets into the jar with an interlacing of cannon fuse. For those informationaly impaired, 1 gross - 12 dozen. Light fuse and run. To make it directional for a devestating bottle rocket battle direct fire weapon, use a bit of PVC pipe. Tactical note, it's a one shot thing and after empty, the shooter's time before being pelted by all participants is measured in nano seconds. Use with care.

But who knows, it might not have happened. After all strawberry flavored 'shine makes for a very fuzzy memory.

 

[Sidney Smith]

We used to get the fireworks rockets that actually looked like a small rocket, not the kind on a stick. Anyway, we would take the nose one off, dump out the pyrotechnics, then add our own, in the form of an m80 or several firecrackers. Sometimes both when the rocket was large enough. You'd have to cut the fuse on the m80 until it just barely was sticking out of the little tube. If you didn't do that it could fall back to earth before exploding. With the fuse real short, it guaranteed the thing would blow up about a hundred or so feet off the ground. Man were they loud when they exploded mid air.

 

[Shorthanded]

Hold my beer, and watch this.