My homemade black powder

[Markopolo]

what wrong with using smokless containers??? the labels just peel off of the most containers and they are easier to relabel then coor's containers????

[LAGS]

@ Markopolo
I currently use Empty Smokeless containers.
But unless I use up more smokeless powder, or even Pyrodex, I cant just find any more smokeless containers.
They are not a common item in the trash.
I would like to find something that is safe,( Non Stacic ) and will preserve the powder by not letting light, Moisture or air into the powder.
I intend to make up both 3f and 2f for shooting, and hopefully after I get things going, make up several pounds in a batch or two.
Some of which will be stored for about 6 months before I get the chance to shoot it all up.
If I decide to use the Aluminum Beer Cans, I may try Powdercoating them in different colors to designate the type of powder that is in them.

[Markopolo]

hmmmmm. i would say to use Yuban coffee containers.. dark colored and allow great seals... i have tons of them that I use for all sorts of stuff.. they stack real nice and I just put a piece of masking tape and mark them with a sharpie. that is what I store my chems in for making BP, chainsaw chains with a bit of motor oil, even paint stores in them much nicer then paint cans.. The lids are way more secure then folgers coffee containers and lids. and I love the handles on the back of the can.

take a peek next time you are at the store at the Yuban coffee containers.

[LAGS]

My wife came up with an Idea, that I thought I might run by you guys.
She suggested Sealing the powder in plastic Bags on her Food Sealer.
Might not be a bad idea ?
The bags are really tough, kind of Opaque, and when sealed, totally Waterproof, and easy to store.
Do any of you see any defects is her idea ?
Initially this would look like it would be the perfect way to protect your powder if you lived in a High Humidity area, or near the water.
This would survive a crossing the Delaware with George Washington, or a River trip with Lewis & Clark.
The biggest negative I see for others would be, not everyone has a wife with every food gadget in the world, and maybe the cost.
But she had posed the idea before when she saw me packing away some sized and primed 9mm casings when we were moving.
I might try this, and once I cut open the sealed bag, just dump it into an empty powder can for using at the range or hunting.

[Fly]

Lags forget the Static worry, no way it can set off BP. This topic has been beat to death. Just
to keep this short, there is a video some were on the net show a guy with a stun gun trying
to set bp off & could not. I took a very small amount of bp & tried the same with the high frequency
from my tig welder & could not. The HF on my tig welder is just static electricity to start the AC currant.
The stungun & hf on my welder both have a lot ov voltage but very little amps. Thays why a Stungun will knock
you down but will not burn you. With out the high amps there is very little heat.

Fly, Google it if you are confused

[Vettepilot]

I too was going to mention large plastic coffee containers. I also have a number of those cool glass jars with a rubber gasketed glass top that is held on with a wire bale. (Don't know what they are called.... "old fashioned canning jars??".) I might press those into service for storing BP, possibly painted to keep out light.

I wonder if keeping out light is important for BP?

As far as humorous anecdotes getting off post for an ocassional entry or three, I don't see it as a big issue and it makes the thread more interesting. I am glad the moderators allow it.

Vettepilot

[Fly]

Here you go, there another on youtube I beleave. https://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml...eignition.html

Fly

[Vettepilot]

I have seen numerous studies showing that static sparks cannot ignite black powder, and have seen videos of the granules actually "jumping out of the way" of electrical sparks. One theory is that the graphite coating on the granules conducts the current and thus prevents them heating up and igniting.

Still..... I think it best/safest to avoid sparks. Just my HO.

Vettepilot

[Vettepilot]

Might make a good reason for us to take the extra step of graphite polishing our home made BP.....

VETTEPILOT

[Froogal]

Just a thought. The one quart size of freezer bags also seal up tight and are fairly heavy duty. I use several of them for storing freshly tumbled brass.

[LAGS]

The Freezer bags is a good idea.
But my wife pointed out , that her Seal A Meal sucks out all the air, and retains the material in one spot.
That could prevent the powder from moving around and grinding against itself, creating more fine powder over time.
I don't know that this is a problem for others, because we generally don't shake our powder around enough to cause a problem.
But I did notice that Screened Powder will grind down much easier if the binder is not correct.
BTW
Thanks for the info on the static electricity.
It broadens our container celection.

[Eddie2002]

I've a bit of a problem I'm trying to get my head around with my screened powder and the talk of different containers gave me an idea. Here's the deal, my screened powder is coming out at mainly 2F and doesn't flow at all out of any of my powder horns or containers. To load a powder measure I'm dumping powder out of a plastic Goex bottle and have found that I'm spilling more than I like. Is there any real reason that I can't use a wide mouth 1 lb smokeless jug and dip a pre measured scoop into the jug to obtain the powder charge. I know the jug will need to be closed up each time but at least I wouldn't be dumping powder all over the shooting bench. Planning on hitting the range this week and want to burn some home grown at 50 yds without dumping powder all over. Already made a set of scoops out of 45/70 brass, just wondering if there isn't any reason it wouldn't work. Thanks, Ed

[Eddie2002]

Indian Joe, the powder is dry but the powder grains are real lumpy, a mix of 1 1/2F and 2F. I think it was a little wet when I screened it and I also put a little extra dextrin in it. Both made the powder stick together more going through the screen. The grains of powder look like stuck together cooked rice that dried out. The batch flashes up real fast which is why I haven't reworked it and seems to shoot well the few times I've tried it. I've only about 3/4 of a pound of that batch, all my other screened is uniform at 2F but even that stuff still doesn't flow well out of my horns so I'm hoping using a wide mouth jar and scoops will do the trick.

Got the ok from the wife to hit the range tomorrow so I'm packing up my .50 caliber Kentucky pistol, the CVA Hawken and a oddball 1915 flea market FrankenMauser re-barreled to 243 Winchester I picked up about a year ago. Taking a mix of commercial and home made for comparison along with some reloads for the unmentionable in the last sentence. Hope to have a range report tomorrow if all goes well. Thanks.

[Vettepilot]

We'll be waiting for that report.

Have fun tomorrow!!

Vettepilot

[LAGS]

Good luck at the range tomorrow.
I told my wife that I want to hit the range Thursday or Friday and not wait till dove season opens to go out and fire off some of my last batch of powder, ( some of it is Screened also )
It is the heat out here that is mostly holding me back from the range.
You cant concentrate on testing when you are dripping sweat all over the bench.
I cant wait to hear how your powder does .

[Eddie2002]

Just got back from about 3 hours at the range and it was hot. A pack of AR shooters settled on both sides of me and must of blown off a couple hundred rounds off in under an hour, kinda a PIA. Got their brass when they left ha ha. Don't know what I'm going to do with about 5 lbs of .223 but it felt right sweeping it up. LOL

It was a good trip, I used my main rifle, nothing special, a CVA Hawken cap lock in .50 caliber at 50 yards because I know how it shoots with commercial powders like Goex. It's go to load is 65 grains of 3F which puts it one inch high at 50yds and pretty much dead on at 100yds when I can see that far. The targets are from 50yds shot off a front rest.



I tried to get all the targets, my scoops and the wide mouth container in one picture. The scoops range from 35, 50, 65 and 70 grains and by combining them I can cover a lot of different loads.
Once I got a system down I started with target #2 which was 100 grains of screened home made. The spread was a little wide but it could of just been the fact that I haven't shot the rifle for about six months. I dropped the charge down to 85 grains for target #1 and was also ramming the ball 4 or five times to compress the charge a little better. Seemed to work, the one flyer on the target was me, not the rifle or charge.
Target #3 on the bottom was one of those "lets try this" with 140 grains. What's interesting is that the high POI is exactly what I get when I feed the CVA 85 grains of commercial. The horizontal spread was both a load problem, too much powder, and getting tired by the end of the day.
My take on the day is that there was no noticeable fouling after a good 25 shots fired which was a surprise. I use a ticking patch soaked in Bore Butter but even with a few dryer patches I didn't notice any fouling ring forming in the barrel.
The scoops worked well to load the charges, just had to tap them on the side of the container to make sure they filled up properly. Gently ramming the load four or five times seemed to give a more consistent shot, I'm guessing it helped pack the screened powder down tighter and provided better ignition. I could feel the charge compressing with multiple ramming.
The .490 round balls I was using were a motley assortment of seconds I grabbed off the bench, some smooth, others with wrinkles from a too cold mold. Don't know if that mattered but it still looks like my screened worked well enough for the first time around. I shot about 1/3 of a pound today, maybe two dollars worth. LOL
Thanks everybody for this thread, I'm pretty much hooked on home grown now even though I've a lot of commercial on the shelf. It was a good day

[Vettepilot]

Nice! Congrats and I'm glad it all worked out for you.

No shooting here until late October when it cools down, at least a little.

Vettepilot

[Vettepilot]

My wife came up with an Idea, that I thought I might run by you guys.
She suggested Sealing the powder in plastic Bags on her Food Sealer.
Might not be a bad idea ?
The bags are really tough, kind of Opaque, and when sealed, totally Waterproof, and easy to store.
Do any of you see any defects is her idea ?
Initially this would look like it would be the perfect way to protect your powder if you lived in a High Humidity area, or near the water.
This would survive a crossing the Delaware with George Washington, or a River trip with Lewis & Clark.
The biggest negative I see for others would be, not everyone has a wife with every food gadget in the world, and maybe the cost.
But she had posed the idea before when she saw me packing away some sized and primed 9mm casings when we were moving.
I might try this, and once I cut open the sealed bag, just dump it into an empty powder can for using at the range or hunting.

I saw a thing on vacuum sealing your primer stash/stock to protect them in storage, which I thought a pretty good idea. Doing BP that way might be a good idea as well.

Here's a pretty good deal on the special bags, which can be pricey:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CTE7OPI...v_ov_lig_dp_it

Vettepilot

[LAGS]

@ Eddie2002.
Glad things worked well for you today.
Thanks for the update.

[Fly]

Thanks Eddie very interesting. When I first got into BP shooting my first muzzle loader was a 50cal CVA mountain rifle 1-66 twist.
I joined a club & shot that rifle in there comps. I did very well over all. That gun was very close to yours. Back then I used Goex
3fffg powder. Most our targets were 50 yards but some 100. I used a spit patch & 50 grains seemed to be most accurate in that rifle.
At 100 yards I shot 65 grains. I still have that rifle today. When I hunted with that rifle I used 70 grains for a little more knock down power.

Fly