Save it for July 4th
Attachment 274037
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Save it for July 4th
Attachment 274037
The strongest reason for the people to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against the tyranny of government.
-- Thomas Jefferson
Today it was ME that learned something. Thanks!Originally Posted by Bazoo
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What will it do unexpectedly? I would guess there will be a large ball of fire upward and slightly outward depending on the amount of it in the pile. One would not want to contain it in any way.
It doesn't burn slow like you see on TV. I forgot matches once camping and thought I would use it to start a fire. Used the car lighter. I ended up burning my hand from the flash. Not bad but enough that I could feel it awhile. Worst part was it flash burned so quick, it didn't start the fire. That was just a small amount. If I was to burn it I'd use something like a fireplace match, something long that I could keep away from the powder when lighting.
Aim small, miss small!
Burning it is fine - the results are predictable - quite safe if its done with respect for the material and a modicum of common sense - but I am amazed there are still people alive who would stand over a pile and drop a match on it - its gunpowder for gosh sakes ! These are the same folk who blew grandmas stove apart trying to rekindle the fire with gasoline. Cant fix stupid!
still too close to the action !!!! need to run a trail at least a metre long then something like a piece of paper to get a slow start
This is how I disposed of gunpowder residue swept up at indoor ranges.
After WW2 , my late father in law was in the Philippines.
He was assigned to take bags of powder off Navy Ships and dispose of it.
Some of it had got wet during battles , other was just considered out of date or surplus.
He said they took the bags and put them in dump trucks opened up.
They would drive down the beach and dump a long line of powder about 6 feet wide about a half mile long.
Then they would ignite it with a flare gun.
He said it was a nice site to watch it burn down the beach, especially at night.
He said they did that for over a month.
When I belonged to an 8" cannon battalion of the CA Army National Guard, burning unused powder increments was a routine event after a weekend of firing. This was all bags of large-grained smokeless with some black-powder flash suppressors thrown in. The drill was to lay the bags down in a line, and light the end bag. Piling it up leads to possible detonation, or at least a massive flash fire. All the soldiers involved had the good sense to stay a good distance back.
On another tack, dumping powder into any body of water is likely a violation of state or federal environmental regulations. Due to the high nitrogen content it is a superb nutrient, which makes it a problem for places like Chesapeake Bay. I haven't been in the environmental field for a few years now, but when I processed hazardous waste for disposal, one of the permitted methods for facilities that disposed of explosive, reactive material was open-burn open detonation. Composting it with leaves, grass, etc. can work but it takes some time, and would be a fire hazard until it is used up degrading the cellulose. Stump remover that you can buy at a big box store is potassium nitrate.
An alternative that no one has mentioned is to contact your local fire department. They may actually be able to use it for training, or in any case, have the knowledge to properly dispose of it.
Wayne
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - or else it gives you a bad rash.
Venison is free-range, organic, non-GMO and gluten-free
Fire crackers made out of coke bottle caps and black tape with cannon fuse, is a possible use. Provided one is interested in noise.
got any stumps to remove ?
I had seen those movies, so when my grandfather gave me a powder horn I wanted to burn the powder left in the horn. I was about 14 at the time and didn't realize how quickly BP burns. I dribbled out a short trail and piled up the rest of it. When I struck the match the whole thing went up in one whoosh. Apparently the sparks from the match were enough to set it off. I was lucky; all I got was singed hair on the back of my hand and left arm. We live and learn.
This has become WAY too complicated.
Smokeless powder reverts to nitrogen thus the good fertilizer. Most BP subs are fructose based, sugar. I doubt there's anything in it that is a contaminate. Spread it on your lawn if you want, it isn't going fertilize anything but it won't hurt anything either. Burning it would be easy AND SAFE enough unless someone is a complete idiot. I still think I'd give it away with the warning of its storage history.
"In general, the art of government is to take as much money as possible from one class of citizens and give it to another class of citizens" Voltaire'
The common virtue of capitalism is the sharing of equal opportunity. The common vice of socialism is the equal sharing of misery
NRA Benefactor 2008
Ha! We tried that at shoot a few years ago. We have a candy cannon, essentially a mortar, with about a 5" bore. Someone had a can of Pyrodex to get rid of. The guy loading put in the equivalent volume as we use for black powder. He lit the fuse, and we all expected it to act like BP. Nope. It kind of went "bloop", raising the payload just past the muzzle of the mortar, dumping the candy around the base of the mortar. We got a good laugh out of it, and went back to BP.
The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"
Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!
Got rid of the powder safely though and you even got a free laugh!
CAS, i can not beleive that this powder is bad and unuseable. I use pyrodex and have used it back to 1981. still works fine. if it is moldy, well, that is bad.I've gotten rid of plenty of old questionable smokeless powder simple enough. Either sprinkling in on the lawn or in the bushes, or even pouring it out and lighting it. But what about black powder substitutes?
I have all sorts of subs that were my own or belonged to family members no longer with us. Fairly new, to 30+ years old. Pyrodex, 777, Clean Shot, APP, maybe even some of the newer products. I no longer us it and won't again.
So what do I do with it? Same thing, spread it around? "The solution to pollution is dilution."
Maybe take it out on the water in the spring and shake them out?
Don't say "get some fuse".
The pyrodex could be brand spanking new, I still wouldn't use it.
Former cylindersmith.
Time may come that folk would really, really like to have some kind of powder. Waste not want not, wish I lived close by, I’d happily take your”problem” off your hands.
“You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos
As I understand it, the original containers were sealed/water tight to keep the powder dry. The underwater storage was to reduce temperature fluctuations in long term storage.
Warning: I know Judo. If you force me to prove it I'll shoot you.
I bang all the odds&ends of BP substitutes, salvaged black powder from cartridges, and the like in cap&ball pistols. Lots of extra shooting for cheap.
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| BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
| BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
| BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
| C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
| HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
| PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
| LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
| GC | Gas Check |
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