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Thread: Where is our smokeless powder made?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Where is our smokeless powder made?

    Did a Google search and found this;

    https://www.longrangehunting.com/thr...states.241267/

    Does not give me a good feeling about things......

  2. #2
    Boolit Master


    Burnt Fingers's Avatar
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    Gee... a gun store story.

    About as reliable as a Nigeran Prince telling ya he's got money for ya.

    There's no law that a powder factory has to be moved out of the US.
    NRA Benefactor.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Burnt Fingers View Post
    Gee... a gun store story.

    About as reliable as a Nigeran Prince telling ya he's got money for ya.

    There's no law that a powder factory has to be moved out of the US.
    Still, the fact that so little is made here now is concerning. That was the point.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master Shawlerbrook's Avatar
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    There are many concerning things about the situation we are in and that is one of them.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
    Bent Ramrod's Avatar
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    It’s all a matter of production cost.

    Combine the cost of the specialty workers, the cost of training up new people, the cost of “engineering solutions” for OSHA regulations covering safety in the workplace, and the costs needed to meet the ever-tightening EPA strictures on VOCs and the spent acid byproducts of manufacture, neutralization and washing, it’s only economic logic to shut the domestic operation down and find an outfit overseas.

    There may be heavier strictures over in Europe and elsewhere, but the plants generally have some link to the military establishments and defense departments of those countries, so there are probably waivers and wiggle room in the legalities that allow them to keep running.

    The last domestic TNT plant closed in the late 60s or early 70s, IIRC. The TNT that is used in commercial explosives is steamed out of shells and warheads past their expiration dates. The TNT byproduct was a tiny amount of red dye, that could turn a zillion gallons of wash water red. I never heard that it was actually toxic; it was red and it was visible, and that was enough for the regulators. It simply wasn’t economically feasible to treat that much water to get rid of that tiny amount of contaminant, so they shut the operations down.

    I dropped out of the American Chemical Society because they sent out the most irritating news magazine on earth. A bunch of pointy-headed academics giggling over how the environmental regulations they were supporting and demanding was sending our entire chemical industry over to China. The moral implications of their continued work in taking money from chemistry students to train them for jobs that would, because of their environmental activism, no longer exist when the kids graduated, didn’t seem to ruffle these people’s otherwise tender sensibilities at all.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master

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    Just what we need, more good news.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    I find it strange that Canada, Australia and Sweden are all more industrial friendly than the U.S. We are doing something wrong.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bmi48219 View Post
    Just what we need, more good news.
    Well, Florida looks to be the ball powder leader in the U.S. anyway.

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy

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    Like so many things, smokeless powder has been regulated to death!!
    Keep your powder dry and watch your six !!

  10. #10
    Boolit Master


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    If you want a scare do the research to find out where the chemicals come from that are used to make priming compound.
    NRA Benefactor.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master dougader's Avatar
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    NRA ran a story a few years ago showing the chemicals needed to produce gunpowder are nearly all made in countries that are not usually friendly to the US and its allies.... now there's a smart way to manage military and national security concerns.

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    Has anyone ever used Hercules powder?? It probably came from here,, just "down the road" from me,,

    http://www.virginiaplaces.org/military/radford.html

    I wonder if I should stop by and see if I can get a "neighbors discount",,,?



    Back in the 1990's, they used to offer permits to hunt on their property,,
    they have some nice looking deer,, my next door neighbor shot a buck on their property,,

  13. #13
    Boolit Mold
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    GD St Marks and Alliant are the only smokeless powder manufacturers in the US. St Marks only makes ball powders. Alliant in VA only makes flake powders.
    GD in Canada is gearing up for REACH to become law in Canada by introducing the Enduron powders and will probably have to stop producing the old IMRs when Canada bans the chemicals they are made from.
    ADI hasn't changed over yet, so many of Hodgden's own brand powders are banned from import in Europe, Ireland, and Britain.
    There are at least two black powder subs made in the US; American Pioneer and Black MZ. Don't know about the others as I don't watch what I don't buy.

  14. #14
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    A main Canada shipping company thay only operates ground opperations just stopped the shipping of ALL GUNS, COMPONENTS, AMMUNITION OR ANY OF ITS COMPONENTS. So expect even more cost and wait times until this is figured out.

  15. #15
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    I believe that OSHA has a major impact on powder manufacture. As the gun store employee said, some factories may be grandfathered but if sold would have to have their plant recertified. Very few people understand the stability of gunpowder and as such few want a plant in their neighborhood. Similar to oil refineries new are all going to be built outside the USA. I don't see it as much with labor costs as with the perceived safety issues.
    [The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    Alliant powder is still scarce which is unfortunate because they make unique and 2400. The Hodgdon lines have been showing up lately. Primers on the other hand are like hen's teeth.

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by tomme boy View Post
    A main Canada shipping company that only operates ground operations just stopped the shipping of ALL GUNS, COMPONENTS, AMMUNITION OR ANY OF ITS COMPONENTS. So expect even more cost and wait times until this is figured out.
    Talked to the owner of the Clyde Auctioneering a day ago and he is saying Can Par informed him they will no longer ship firearms. I think this is the 2nd oldest gun auction in Canada and he has been using Can Par since the beginning.
    Nice kick in the head, just a week before his largest Gun Auction of the year.

    He is now set up with two other freight delivery companies and will be using them for his upcoming Gun Auction on June 12.

    http://www.clydeauctioneering.com/ (Shameless plug for our local guy) The catalogue should be up on the site this week, I know he has some estate collections in this one. One is entirely Winchester Rifles.

    So things are going to be OK. Nature abhors a vacuum, and someone will rush it to fill it, just like Greyhound Bus lines.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by MT Gianni View Post
    I believe that OSHA has a major impact on powder manufacture. As the gun store employee said, some factories may be grandfathered but if sold would have to have their plant recertified. Very few people understand the stability of gunpowder and as such few want a plant in their neighborhood. Similar to oil refineries new are all going to be built outside the USA. I don't see it as much with labor costs as with the perceived safety issues.
    I'd take anything you hear from a gun store employee with a 50 lb bag of salt.

    In my 40+ years of being in gun stores I've heard 10X as many lies and untruths as I have the truth. The fact is many gun store employees are some idiot off the street that's willing to work for near minimum wage, but is smart enough to not screw up filling out a 4473, and doesn't steal the owner blind.

    This goes for the 17 year old wet behind the ears kid to the grizzled 70 year old. Most are terribly uninformed, many don't reload, many rely on Facebook for their "news".
    NRA Benefactor.

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