I tried another iteration Golden Powder; using a formula/paper I found for “IGP” (Improved Golden Powder) reputed to provide a higher velocity compared to standard Golden Powder. There is a thread in the Muzzle Loading Section that is exploring the powder for Muzzle Loaders and Cap and Ball handguns. I wanted to focus on potential Centerfire use. Initial experimentation will be in my Remington 700 .308 Winchester with a 24 inch barrel.
Golden Powder and IGP (Improved Golden Powder) are usually cooked; but there are recipes for “Not-Cooking” the IGP; which interests me since cooking chemicals can bring risks such as volatility, breathing hazards, and potential fire hazards. I pulled this paper from a web site; but trying to open it today - it was not working. Here is the URL anyway:
https://pyrodata.com/PyroGuide/index...(Uncooked).htm
The Improved Golden Powder was:
Ammonium Nitrate 30.3% 105.7 gr.
Potassium Nitrate 30.3% 105.7 gr
Ascorbic Acid 37.3% 130.4 gr
Potassium Bi-Carbonate (Baking Soda) 2.1% 7.4 gr.
Water 27.0 gr.
My Improved Golden Powder was mixed with water. Objective was to make a heavy paste or dough out of the chemicals. I actually weighed the water used in grains; so for the total of 349.2 grains of chemicals; I mixed in an additional 27 grains of well water (filtered through house reverse osmosis water filtration). This resulted in a total mixture weight of 376.2 grains. All the chemicals and water were stirred together in a small stainless steel bowl. Then while wearing a nitrile glove; I hand mixed the test batch until it was a heavy dough which was then placed onto a flat glass plate (taken from a broken microwave) and pressed the dough out as if making a small pizza dough. This flattened dough was then placed in an electric dehydrator at a temperature of 125 degrees Fahrenheit and allowed to dry for 24 hours.
After 24 Hours of dehydration the dough was slightly darker, a light tan color. The dough was scraped from the flat glass plate using a flat razor scraper. Scrapings were very difficult to achieve as the dough was firmly attached to the glass plate. Scraping resulted in thin rolls the width of the razor blade; or razor blade wide small flakes. The texture was like semi-dried out taffy or other type of cookie making operation; still tacky in texture and very slightly sticky. After scraping all of the “dough” from the plate; I put it back in the dehydrator at 125 degrees Fahrenheit for four hours for additional dehydration.
After removing the Mixture; it was ground with a Mortar/Pestel. Sizes of particles were reduced, but not easily. Gumminess of the mixture persisted. Mixture was returned to the Dehydrator for an additional 2 hours. When removed from the Dehydrator, the mixture was ground with a Mortar/Pestel again until all of it would pass through a 40 mesh screen. It still retained a slightly gummy feel, so it was returned once again to the dehydrator for an additional ½ hour. It was then poured into a small pill vial for storage.