Boston Bombs used "Fireworks"

[Rick Hodges]

Fox news is reporting that bomber #1 purchased 2 of the "largest fireworks kits" available from a New Hampshire dealer. ATF confirms that propellent in the bombs was consistant with that used in fireworks.

Looks like tough times for the firecracker industry are coming.

[KYCaster]

Same thing the Columbine whackos used. I wonder why the MSM isn't screaming about that already.

Jerry

[wv109323]

I got to wondering what is used in fireworks? IIRC it used to be blackpowder when I was a kid but didn't they makes some laws about what could be used. I know we had M-80's when I was a kid and they were pretty powerful. Enough to damage a persons hand if misused.
Yep, Universal Background Checks for those buying Pressure cookers and firecrackers. It ought to make us feel safer.
In all seriousness and respect for the victims but I don't think these two brothers were your top of the line terrorists. It appears they thought they could place the bombs and get out without being caught on camera. There were three fatalities and I feel for the families but it could have been much worse.
Also no escape plan and then slaughtering an innocent police officer.
How could they conceive that they were not going to get caught?

[snuffy]

That is indeed good news,IF it is true. That means they won't be trying to limit us in any way for getting smokeless or black powder for reloading.

As to the "fireworks" it depends on which part of the fireworks they used. The boost charge for aerial mortars is black powder. As well as the burst charges for the stars. The flash-bangs use what is called flash powder. much more energetic than black powder.

One thing for sure; A 6 quart pressure cooker FULL of flash powder would have been very much worse than what we saw last Monday. There wouldn't have been anybody alive for 100 ft around those bombs.

I suspect they took the fireworks apart, mixed all the powdered components, then poured it into the cookers. The fuse/igniter is said to have been a remote controlled toy truck receiver and controller. Makes me wonder though, the range of those things is very limited. Were they very close to them when they set them off?

[MtGun44]

The chief SOB of the Senate, Harry Reid, has introduced a bill to require background
checks for "explosives" - like black powder, black powder substitutes and reloading
powders - specifically named that way.

Bill

[shooter93]

What makes you think this won't having them trying to limit how you buy powder of any type???????????

[oldred]

Back when I was a kid about 12 years old a bunch of us decided to dump the powder out of a whole carton of firecrackers, don't have a clue now how many crackers was involved but the carton was about a foot long and eight or ten inches wide with packs stacked tightly together. back then (about 1961 or 1962) firecrackers had a good deal more powder in them than they do now and I think it was a different powder than used today, a silver colored extremely fine that was possibly Aluminum? Whatever, several of us spent well over an hour unrolling those firecrackers made up of Asian newspaper and dumping the powder into an old steel thermos bottle. There was quite a bit of air space left in the bottle so one of the guys brought out several 12 ga shotgun shells and we cut them open and dumped the smokeless powder in the mix along with an M80 or two, we meant business! We made up a long fuse and attached that to a firecracker that was placed into the bottle through a hole in the cap and then drew straws to see who had the honor (misfortune as it turned out!) of lighting the fuse. The boy who won (lost!) placed the bottle near his family's mail box post and lit the fuse, he turned to run but only got about 20 feet away when that dang thing went off! Fellas having seen the results of this incident I have absolutely no doubt that fireworks in a pressure cooker would produce the results seen recently, Dale (the boy who lit the fuse) was a rather chubby fella and could not run real fast but fortunately for him it was very cold and we were dressed in heavy clothing. I am not exaggerating he came clear off the ground and did a complete flip in the air before landing on his backside nearly unconscious, after he regained his senses he was screaming that he was dying and we had every reason to believe he was but in reality he was simply stunned and temporarily deaf, the mail box was nowhere in sight. While this story is meant to support the theory that fireworks could indeed have been used by the bombers and it did have it's funny moments it could have been tragic, we darn sure wouldn't laughing at the time!

[Marvin S]

I can verify that enough cut open black cats will make a powerfull device. We also done this as kids.

[firefly1957]

Yes the silver looking powder is Potassium perchlorate and very fine powdered aluminum it is very powerful stuff . And can be made at home no matter what the goober-mint bans.

[uscra112]

The Unibomber used match heads. I can testify from my own charmed youth that they work pretty well. (I say charmed because I survived it. God is saving me for some worse fate.) They gonna ban matches?

Was just reading about why the USA drastically restricted immigration in the 1920s. One big reason was that too many Eastern European anarchist crazies were coming here and . . . . (wait for it) . . . . . . setting off bombs.

[oldred]

They gonna ban matches?


Have you tried to buy strike anywhere matches lately? The strike (sometimes) on the box type can't be used for explosives and strike anywhere are nearly impossible to find, the few that are available are expensive and have such a tiny white end (the only part explosive) that some of them will not even light. I tried recently to buy some to experiment with using them for for primers but no luck, the few I could find are of the worthless small end variety. So believe it or not while they have not been outright banned they have been severely restricted!

[Jim]

Farmers Supply here in Floyd carries the 'Strike anywhere' type. Miss Debbie told me they get them from the sales rep. She said he has to bring them in his car 'cause they require a hazmat charge to ship them. I'm just goin' by what she said, I don't know that from personal investigation.

[oldred]

Jim have you seen these and do you by chance know the brand name? If they are in a green box they most likely are the new small head type, Diamond brand "Green Light". These are the most common and were all I could find but unfortunately due to the very tiny strike heads they were not the strike anywhere matches of the past. If they are indeed the real McCoy I would be very interested in buying several boxes of them, I have been told the good ones can still be found but as yet I have not been able to do so.

[Kull]

I suspect they took the fireworks apart, mixed all the powdered components, then poured it into the cookers. The fuse/igniter is said to have been a remote controlled toy truck receiver and controller. Makes me wonder though, the range of those things is very limited. Were they very close to them when they set them off?

Nice rc car transmitter/receiver setups, at least the ones I've used, can give you a couple hundred yards. Doesn't really sound like these guys where big spenders though, so yeah makes me wonder too.

[km101]

Yahoo news had a story earlier today that said the propellant used was "gun powder". Don't know if this was liberal media license or ignorance. But they were really stressing that you could buy any amount of "gun powder" without a license or background check for this dangerous explosive! Here we go!

[Multigunner]

I'm agast that the major ingrediant in Napalm and molotov cocktails can be bought by the tankful at any service station without a background check.

Those sinister RC model remote controls and garage door openers, not to mention cellphones, must be taken off the market immediately.
If they stop the production of flashlight batteries then electric detonators can't function.
Ban all these, its worth it if it saves one life.

[firefly1957]

Back in the 1970's Hank Williams Jr. put it well! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrXnDbOpxU4

[dakotashooter2]

Ohhh homemade firecracker bombs...... I remember them well.... we made them from the duds we picked up and poured the powder into the 1" tubes from expended fireworks...........:)

[Blacksmith]

As a youth some friends and I did scientific experiments using various volatile materials. The match heads from ordinary book type matches when tightly confined can generate quite a bit of force. We never did find the three foot one and one half inch galvanized pipe "cannon" or the 2 X 8 it was nailed down to. Of course it contained many thousand match heads. Do Not Do This At Home.

[oldred]

Do those idiots (I said it again but it FITS) have any idea what a one gallon (imagine any size) container of LP gas with a squirt of Oxygen in it will do? Or worse yet that same container with a mix of O2 and Acetylene? A full BBQ tank of LP with a simple detonator will make a heck of a fire bomb but depressurized to gas form with O2 mixed in the right amount it will detonate like a bomb and Acetylene is much worse. Of course Oxygen and things as simple as coal dust can make a heck of a bang so it looks like they are going to have to make an awfully long list of materials to be banned with Oxygen being at the top of the list!

[smokemjoe]

Thank god it wasnt our black we use in rifles and everone didnt run out and buy it all like everone did on primers and powder,. We done that to ourself and there were no major laws set . Joe