i mixed in some tightgroup powder in with my bullseye. what should i do?

[nixpap]

yea, got distracted and dumped about an inch from a 1 lb jug, of tightgroup into my bullseye keg.( shy of half a lb ). i hate to chuck it , but i like to stay safe more. any suggestions?[smilie=b:

[MT Gianni]

Fertilizer. Seriously, count your fingers and eyes and ask which ones you would miss.

[possom813]

Homemade fireworks :kidding:



or fertilizer, if you're un-adventurous:lol:

[country gent]

Destroy it safely trying to use it isnt worth the risk to a firearm yourself or someone around you. WHile burn rates may be close what the two do together is a complete unknown. Use it for fertilizer spread it in a thin line and burn it. but dont try and load it for any reason.

[williamwaco]

Fertilizer. Seriously, count your fingers and eyes and ask which ones you would miss.

Excellent exercise!

Which one would you sacrifice to save half pound of powder?

[RobS]

light show at night........be care not to burn up where you live. Fertilizer yes, but I like fire. :grin: I can only imagine how pissed you are for doing it and I too have been there however like others have said.............it's just not worth it.

[High Lord Gomer]

Always surprising to me how slowly it burns when not in a confined space.

[303Guy]

Do you know anyone who smokes a pipe? [smilie=1:

[fecmech]

Some years back I was swapping back and forth between 700x and Red Dot in my 12 ga Mec Grabber, depending on what my LGS had in stock. Always swapped out powder when changing over. One day I'm shooting a round of sporting clays and I notice fire coming out the side of my 390 Beretta Auto when I shoot. That is something you would see when shooting the Remington promotional ammo on occasion but I was shooting my reloads and thought it was kind of odd. When I went to reload my next box of 12 ga. I looked at the powder hopper to see what I had been shooting and got a real surprise. In the powder bottle there were yellow dots(700x) and red dots mixed together! I had somehow screwed up and mixed the two powders so I ended up dumping the bottle of powder on the lawn. Luckily no drama or damage to the gun.

[nixpap]

Thanx 4 all the replies people . Now i have to think about how to blow something to smithereens with it. He he

[303Guy]

Well, it needs to be well confined to explode. Pipe bomb? Nah, too dangerous! I tried burying a trail of powder in a shallow groove which I lightly covered, leaving exposed powder on one side. Interesting how the flame propagates. Compare covered to uncovered and see the difference in smoke. The powder burning under cover (of sand I think) smolders and makes fountains of smoke and occasional flames. I didn't try any deeper covering. You could have fun with that powder.

[MtGun44]

I'd load with it. The two powders are essentially identical in loading data for .45 ACP,
so I'd mix it well and start low, like 3 gr and try it. Work up a new load. It will be
fine.

If the two powders had dramatically different characteristics, the other comments would
be valid. You lucked into THE two powders that I know have almost identical
characteristics in 45 ACP, so if you have that cartridge, you are fine to back way off
and work up a new load. 4.8 BE and 4.8 TG are almost identical velocity, hard to
tell any difference. Normally mixing powders is a no-no, and I do NOT recommend this
for most situations, but I think this will be just fine.

Mail it to me, I'll load it, if you won't.

Bill

[nixpap]

Well, it needs to be well confined to explode. Pipe bomb? Nah, too dangerous! I tried burying a trail of powder in a shallow groove which I lightly covered, leaving exposed powder on one side. Interesting how the flame propagates. Compare covered to uncovered and see the difference in smoke. The powder burning under cover (of sand I think) smolders and makes fountains of smoke and occasional flames. I didn't try any deeper covering. You could have fun with that powder.

Ill think of something. Sure wont search for ideas from my ap . address. Lol

[Lead Fred]

Do you know anyone who smokes a pipe? [smilie=1:

I was thinking more like a pipe capped at both ends, wrapped in a dirty diaper

[WallyM3]

Might make a good tooth paste.

I once knew a gal who brushed her teeth with gun powder and ate horse shoes for breakfast. But we weren't married very long.

[jonp]

Might make a good tooth paste.

I once knew a gal who brushed her teeth with gun powder and ate horse shoes for breakfast. But we weren't married very long.
Did she move up to Newport cause I think I have her

[jonp]

Make a nice Nobama sign in your driveway and burn it. Much cheaper than a hospital bill

[Stephen Cohen]

about 20yrs ago a friend of mine had a problem with cane toads in his dam, enter the dreaded pipe bomb with a pound of powder. It rained toads they were in his water tank guttering and all over, the stink a few days later and he cracked the dam bed so it would not hold water. Not giving you an idea just a warning that not all good ideas are good.

[smokeywolf]

How much did the powder cost? How much did your gun cost? How much does a trip to the Emergency Room cost?

MtGun44 is a very sharp fellow, but if it were me, I'd find a different use for that powder other than as a propellant.

smokeywolf

[bobthenailer]

I think you should ask Shelby Stanga AKA the swamp man as what he would do ?

[Nickle]

Might make a good tooth paste.

I once knew a gal who brushed her teeth with gun powder and ate horse shoes for breakfast. But we weren't married very long.


Did she move up to Newport cause I think I have her

I was thinking Hardwick, as she'd fit right in there.

Bristol here, guys. Our gals in the Notch (Lower Notch Road) are rugged and redneck, but not that far.

[sirgknight]

I was just wondering.....if I were to ask you the same question, what advice would you have given me? hmmmmmm!!!!

[Nickle]

The same thing I always say. Use it for fertilizer or burn it.

1/2 pound of powder would cost $20, if you paid a high price. Loss of body parts costs what?

Now, if you have a LOT of it, it might be worth blending, in some folks eyes. But, not mine. It just isn't smart economics, even if it was 20 pounds of it.

Using it is "penny wise, but dollar foolish".

[dondiego]

I would load up some test rounds using the starting data for BE. I am real cheap. ...................can I borrow your pistol.....just for a few shots?

[tyeo098]

I'd load it up for some 45 or 9mm loads that I would use in something beefier than a pistol, like my 995TS or M31 Suomi.

Make some nice light plinkin SMG loads :)


Then again I'm the guy that pulls rejected M1 carbine and 223 rounds with unknown powder and makes new ones :D

[1Shirt]

Suggest pour and flush, or spread in the garden disposal! Not worth the chance of something going wrong.
1Shirt!

[44man]

I'd load with it. The two powders are essentially identical in loading data for .45 ACP,
so I'd mix it well and start low, like 3 gr and try it. Work up a new load. It will be
fine.

If the two powders had dramatically different characteristics, the other comments would
be valid. You lucked into THE two powders that I know have almost identical
characteristics in 45 ACP, so if you have that cartridge, you are fine to back way off
and work up a new load. 4.8 BE and 4.8 TG are almost identical velocity, hard to
tell any difference. Normally mixing powders is a no-no, and I do NOT recommend this
for most situations, but I think this will be just fine.

Mail it to me, I'll load it, if you won't.

Bill
I will go along with this. There is just not that much burn rate difference. Shake it all through.

[Gohon]

Burn rate being close to each other does not make the two powders compatible. Tightgroup has a reputation of burning hot.....hotter than Bullseye and if one doesn't think so just fire a half dozen rounds through your gun and see which barrel heats up faster. Not to mention Tightgroup also will blacken the brass a lot more. I can't believe some are telling you to go ahead and load it up. Dump it in your rose bed and consider it a lesson learned to not have more than on type of powder on the loading bench at a time.

[MtGun44]

Like I said, send it to me, I'll use it. It will be just fine, but will
require a bit of test loading to verify pressures.

Bill

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

How much does a trip to the Emergency Room cost?

smokeywolf

that i can answer just got the bill, 300 just to be seen 7400 for a CT scan to make sure there was no internal head or neck damage besides all the bruising and blood.

[MT Gianni]

I'd load with it. The two powders are essentially identical in loading data for .45 ACP,
so I'd mix it well and start low, like 3 gr and try it. Work up a new load. It will be
fine.

If the two powders had dramatically different characteristics, the other comments would
be valid. You lucked into THE two powders that I know have almost identical
characteristics in 45 ACP, so if you have that cartridge, you are fine to back way off
and work up a new load. 4.8 BE and 4.8 TG are almost identical velocity, hard to
tell any difference. Normally mixing powders is a no-no, and I do NOT recommend this
for most situations, but I think this will be just fine.

Mail it to me, I'll load it, if you won't.

Bill

The trouble with this is he had to askk what to do rather than arriving at this conclusion. That gives me concern. It may also turn out to be the most accurate load he has ever had and therefore unrepeatable.

[subsonic]

Work up a load and run with it.

Think of it as a new powder with a similar burning rate to the 2 you started with and no known load data.

And he could duplicate this if he wanted to. Just mix again...:lol:

I burned about 3lb of trailboss mixed with Rex2. Shot just fine. No weird stuff, but was hard to meter, so I just used it for plinking loads that were nowhere near max.

[waco]

Yup. Dump it in your garden. Better safe than sorry.

[BBQJOE]

Mix it in with some tannerite???

[303Guy]

Gohon has mentioned that one burns hotter than the other. That means that when mixed together, the two powders will likely not have the same burn rate, the Bullseye would likely have a much faster burn rate which will in turn speed up the Tightgroup. I'd urge caution with using it.

[jonp]

How much did the powder cost? How much did your gun cost? How much does a trip to the Emergency Room cost?

MtGun44 is a very sharp fellow, but if it were me, I'd find a different use for that powder other than as a propellant.

smokeywolf

Trip to emergency room? NOTHING! I got me Obamacare :kidding:

[g5m]

If you use it for fertilizer spread it very thinly. It will surely kill grass if you don't spread it out.

[Wayne Smith]

If you use it for fertilizer spread it very thinly. It will surely kill grass if you don't spread it out.

So THAT'S what happened! Two different powders are just that, different. There is NO research or data concerning the combination. You have no idea what will happen when you combine two chemistries. Unless you have a pressure barrel and can establish a data base use it for fertilizer.

[Eddie2002]

Use it for light weight bullets with plinker loads in a bolt action rifle, maybe 5 grains pushing a 110 grain bullet in a .30 caliber. If not dump it. Don't try using it as a load in a hand gun you don't know what you will get for burn rate.

[MtGun44]

LOL! The factories and many benchrest shooters have been blending powders for
a LONG time. Sure, it is unknown. How much different is this than buying some
unknown pulldown powder and working up a load with it? Beause some guy says
it is "like a slower version of XXXYYY, kinda." it makes it different?? Not much.
He is absolutely certain what he started with and the two powders are VERY, VERY
similar in performance in a .45 ACP pistol, I have loaded many tens of thousands
with both. Back way off and work up a load like it is an unknown powder. No
question this is advanced reloading and needs to be done with some thought.

If you think it is dangerous, then don't do it, send it to me.

Bill

[geargnasher]

I would use that particular blend up in my .38 Special if it were me because I have a pretty good idea of how to go about it safely. Many of our modern powders are "blends" of sorts. However, I cannot predict anyone else's knowledge level or sensibilities, therefore I wouldn't automatically recommend trying to use it for shooting purposes.

Gear

[303Guy]

I have blended H4227 and Varget and pretty much got what I was looking for which was more performance out of a 22 hornet. I did make some educated guesses. I'm with MtGun44 and agree with gearnasher. We can be pretty sure it won't go nuclear and reducing the charge sufficiently would surely work. I wouldn't know how much to reduce it so without experienced advice I'd tend to play with it or use it as reduced loads with cast in a rifle. I'd feel quite safe using the starting load for cast in a rifle (meaning just enough to ensure the boolit exits the barrel). But I still say use caution. With the hornet I increased the H4227 percentage in a full case until the Varget burned fully and stopped when primer indication said enough. I still wonder what velocity I was getting - more than was possible with H4227 alone. Then came Lil'Gun ....

[Wayne Smith]

LOL! The factories and many benchrest shooters have been blending powders for
a LONG time. Sure, it is unknown. How much different is this than buying some
unknown pulldown powder and working up a load with it? Beause some guy says
it is "like a slower version of XXXYYY, kinda." it makes it different?? Not much.
He is absolutely certain what he started with and the two powders are VERY, VERY
similar in performance in a .45 ACP pistol, I have loaded many tens of thousands
with both. Back way off and work up a load like it is an unknown powder. No
question this is advanced reloading and needs to be done with some thought.

If you think it is dangerous, then don't do it, send it to me.

Bill

Bill, you make my point. The OP has all of 28 posts here when he first posted this. I have no idea how advanced or naive he is. You would not have posted here if you had done it, or you might have posted your research results for the rest of us to consider. The fact that he posted tells me he is not at the level to graduate to advanced studies. I may be wrong, but I'd rather be wrong and safe than right and unsafe.

[Leadmelter]

Not as young as I used to be. I take some masking tape and label my hoppers if I leave powders in them.
Just and idea.
Leadmelter
MI

[SyberShooter]

Just the other day I did something similar - first time I can remember in 45+years of loading. I had a weighed charge of AA-9 in my scale pan but at the last moment decided not to load any more of that powder. I put the AA-9 away and cleared the bench for the next load which happened to be Lil'Gun. I filled my dipper and dumped it into the scale pan (which sits just about standing eye level) and it went to the top.
I remember thinking - boy this stuff must be heavy. I picked up the pan and without looking dumped it back into my dipper cup and at that moment realized what had happened.
After the 0-s*** moment passed my first thought was 'can I separate it out and salvage the powder' but I realized I had no choice but to discard it.

Fortunatly long ago I had made a rule to never work out of a powder container. I always pour into a powder measure or if I am using a dipper to hand trickle into a scale pan, I have a little coffee scoop that I use as a dipping reservoir. As it was I only had to toss about 250 grains of powder. That's better than a pound container these days.

[MtGun44]

Good point, Wayne. I have a tendency to think in terms of the folks on here that
I know well. Folks that routinely buy pulldown powder, get some rough idea of
what it is "kinda like" and are capable of working up safe loads with these relatively
unknown powders.

I HOPE I covered it by saying "If you think it is dangerous, don't do it."

Bill

[762 shooter]

Surely you have a Ruger you could test the new powder blend in?:kidding:

I would be careful creating a destructive device. They usually make the papers, and not in a good way.

I would probably play with it, but that's me. They still make string and tires and trees.

762

[w30wcf]

I'm with the load it fellows BUT SET YOUR MEASURE TO LOAD A STANDARD LOAD OF ONLY TITEGROUP. I say that because Titegroup is 40% more dense than Bullseye. By setting your measure as described, there will be no problems since the loads will be less powerful then normal.

w30wcf

[Freischütz]

If the specific gravities are different perhaps you could stir the mixture and separate the two powders.

[Echo]

I'd load with it. The two powders are essentially identical in loading data for .45 ACP,
so I'd mix it well and start low, like 3 gr and try it. Work up a new load. It will be
fine.

If the two powders had dramatically different characteristics, the other comments would
be valid. You lucked into THE two powders that I know have almost identical
characteristics in 45 ACP, so if you have that cartridge, you are fine to back way off
and work up a new load. 4.8 BE and 4.8 TG are almost identical velocity, hard to
tell any difference. Normally mixing powders is a no-no, and I do NOT recommend this
for most situations, but I think this will be just fine.

Mail it to me, I'll load it, if you won't.

Bill

+1, Bill. They are so similar that I would use it in a heartbeat. Maybe label it "Slow BE" (or "Fast BE", if TG is faster, which I don't believe). Use it for plinkers - I'll bet that you won't be able to tell the difference between the mix and straight BE.

[Dale in Louisiana]

I dunno about using it for plinking.

Suppose it works REALLY well, accurate, clean, etc. and you want MORE? Then you have to try and replicate the screwup.

dale in Louisiana

[Nickle]

Let me put this situation in perspective.

Blended powders have been around for a while.

NO, benchrest shooters aren't doing that these days (AMHIK). The current ones generally don't experiment much. THe old ones did.

If you were talking 8 pounds of powder or up, or even near it, I wouldn't suggest you blend it better and safely try it, but, that's EXACTLY what I would do.

But, we're talking a half pound of powder here. By the time you tested and figured it out, ask yourself how many components would you have used, plus how much risk of a good gun.

Let's say powder in your area is on the high side, say $40 per pound. Then we're talking $20 worth of powder here. Cost of primers? Lead (assuming you cast)? Jacketed bullets, if needed? A new gun, or repair of a blown up one?

Is testing it worth the risk and cost required?

For a half pound, very likely NOT.

[Elkins45]

I'd load with it. The two powders are essentially identical in loading data for .45 ACP,
so I'd mix it well and start low, like 3 gr and try it. Work up a new load. It will be
fine.

If the two powders had dramatically different characteristics, the other comments would
be valid. You lucked into THE two powders that I know have almost identical
characteristics in 45 ACP, so if you have that cartridge, you are fine to back way off
and work up a new load. 4.8 BE and 4.8 TG are almost identical velocity, hard to
tell any difference. Normally mixing powders is a no-no, and I do NOT recommend this
for most situations, but I think this will be just fine.

Mail it to me, I'll load it, if you won't.

Bill

Same here. I would use it in low powered target loads for revolvers. I don't think there is a cannister grade powder ever made that would blow up an N frame S&W revolver when loaded at 3 grains under a 150 grain cast lead wadcutter. There isn't some sort of synergistic effect when mixing powders like there is when mixing booze and pills :)

[dondiego]

If you can blow up a Ruger revolver with 4 grains of "TiteEye", we can scrap our nuclear weapons program and save a ton of money!

[MtGun44]

Well, it may work out to be "Titeeye" but it could also be "Bullsgroup". :bigsmyl2:

Bill

[RoyEllis]

Well, it may work out to be "Titeeye" but it could also be "Bullsgroup". :bigsmyl2:

Bill

I was gonna suggest it be named BullTitEye!

[Roosters]

Famous last words "Hold my beer and watch this!" :shock:

[MtGun44]

Not!

BILL

[GL49]

Famous last words "Hold my beer and watch this!" :shock:


I'm sure you guys have a lot more knowledge than I have, so I wouldn't try it.
This says it pretty well from my point of view..... based on my own experience at mixing powders and understanding how they will react with each other. Pouring it out would just be a lesson well-learned at my house.

[NSP64]

I would load it like MtGun said.
I once dumped some unique into about a half pound of 4227. The grass was very green for about a month. LOL