It just seems natural.. getting into casting and touching off and old "smoke pole" with a patched round ball is just plain cool. But to add to the thrill/insanity, who all makes their own powder? It seems like a relatively straight forward process, but it also seems like the kind of thing that that could go real wrong real fast. Here are some questions I have..
1. Obviously ingredient purity is important. Where are you sourcing your ingredients and how pure is "Pure enough"
2. Charcoal. There seem to be some varied opinions on coal selection. I have read about using all kinds of charcoal, from lump hardwood cooking coals to activated carbon from the fish tank care section of the pet store.. someone please expound...
3. Batch consistency. No two cakes are the same despite using the same recipe. Is BP the same way? What are some ways to mitigate inconsistencies? I'm thinking larger batches (1/2 pound at a time) would reduce the small batch variances as well as give some extra to proof the powder.
4. How do you proof the powder to know how much to use?
5. Do you trust it? A teaspoon of powder in a mini cannon is one thing, but are you willing to load a home brew BP into a gun and actually have faith in it not blowing your face off?
****Disclaimer****
I have never used a black powder firearm to hunt game. I do not plan on using BP (store bought or homemade) to hunt game. I do not intend to use it for making explosives (including fireworks). I will not be selling it. I will not allow others to use it. I will keep it labeled as home made so it does not get used as factory made. This will simply be an experiment. I will most likely destroy any remainder should this be successful.