*******In regards to topics or discussions on making Black Powder******

[Dennis Glazener]

I found out that I made an error regarding US Law on making black powder at home. I have revised what I posted yesterday BUT I still do not want discussions on the making of black powder on ALR.
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Please do not start topics or discussions about making black powder. It is not against US law to make it at home but I am not sure about state and local laws. I understand many European countries have laws against make gun powder at home. We have numerous members in these countries and I do not want to assist, in any way, having someone break the law or injure themselves. Making it at home may be legal but the production of black powder has killed and thousands of people in history, making black powder is dangerous. What you do at home is your business but what appears here on ALR is my business. We are a public forum and I will not allow instructions for dangerous activities to be discussed here.

This is a serious concern for me and violations will be seriously dealt with up to losing your ALR membership.
Dennis Glazener
ALR Admin

[Silent Walker]

I will respect you not wanting the making of black powder recipe within this group.

[Bob McBride]

Dennis it is legal to make BP at home in the US but I agree with your stance.

[Dennis Glazener]

Dennis it is legal to make BP at home in the US but I agree with your stance.

Bob, I agree after looking up the US Laws, but I am not sure about state and local laws. I understand that many European countries have laws against it and we have a lot of international members here on ALR.

I still do not want this type of topic/discussion to take place on ALR. It's a dangerous activity, possibly illegal in some states/local areas and in many European countries.
Dennis

[Craig Wilcox]

Legal or illegal, it is dangerous as heck.

Do you know about proper mixing?  Corning?  Making the correct fineness for your particular shooting iron?

The stuff we get comes from "professionals", who ARE using correct methods of mixing, corning, milling.  Yet every few years, we hear of a black powder manufacturer having fires or explosions.

Fortunately these days, using "modern" methods, these do not usually lead to loss of life.  Please do not risk YOUR life, or your home, or your family, in an attempt to manufacture "home-made" black powder.  Go play frisbee on the interstate or something instead.

Won't be long before other BP makers take up the slack generated by Hodgen.  Be patient.

[Bill Raby]

   Like many other potentially dangerous activities, making black powder is safe if you know what you are doing and do it the right way. Problem is that not many people actually have the training to work with dangerous materials. Watching some videos and reading a few articles is not going to cut it. I have yet to see one that makes any mention of static electricity. Dennis is right. This forum is not suitable to teach someone the right way to do it.
   The good news is that it is possible to safely and legally make black powder and the training is available. If you want to do it, get the training and use the proper equipment. You do NOT need an explosive license to make your own black powder. But you DO need the same training that is required to get that license. Without training it is only a matter of time before you blow yourself up. Contact the ATF and they should be able to point you in the right direction to find training. Expect to pay some money for it. The proper equipment is going to cost some money too. Going cheap is not worth it.
   Avoid the afternoon lesson from the guy at the shooting range that makes his own powder. Just because he has not killed himself yet does not make him qualified to teach you anything. Get real training. You certainly can make your own powder. You can even make it in large quantities and sell it with the proper license. It is not some magical thing that only gunpowder companies can do. I would imagine a number of people here are probably going to start making their own powder. Get the training and do it right.

[john bohan]

I think there has been too much panic in our ranks,come on we are not chemists. Dennis is right and we will have powder in the future.

[Bob Roller]

Green River Powder comes to mind----TWO DEAD if I remember right.
A book called The Complete Guide to Handloading speaks to the occasional
explosion in the powder mill.When I was in High School one genius brewed up
some kind of powder that went off with a violent flash and he was badly burned.
BUY your powder or trade for it with others who use it.
Bob Roller

[DavidC]

Does this extend to discussions of how the big boys make powder? I recall how we talked about Goex's process when news of the plant closure and sale came out. I don't think anything from that discussion could really translate to someone trying to make it at home but where do you stand on it?

[Mad Monk]

Green River Powder comes to mind----TWO DEAD if I remember right.
A book called The Complete Guide to Handloading speaks to the occasional
explosion in the powder mill.When I was in High School one genius brewed up
some kind of powder that went off with a violent flash and he was badly burned.
BUY your powder or trade for it with others who use it.
Bob Roller

Bob,
The Green River Powder Company was something.  Saw a picture of it way back.  Two guys running the wheel mill.  They were showing the then president of GOEX how it was done.  Then when they got out the steel shovels and scoops to clean the batch out of the pan the president of GOEX was seen driving out the access road at a high rate of speed.  With du Pont and then GOEX only wooden tools were allowed in the wheel mill building.  I have nice photos of the wooden du Pont wheel mill tolls at their refurbished wheel mill at the Hagley Museum.

[JHeath]

The Pyrodex mill blew up, and killed the inventor.

[WadePatton]

The Pyrodex mill blew up, and killed the inventor.

...and three others working there. He was only 32 years old.  I never was aware of this. I was in grade school at the time.

[mikeyfirelock]

I was a pharmacist for 40 years, trained to compound things, and I won’t do it. I recommend not trying to make your own black powder.   You can buy MUCH better powder than you could EVER hope to make, and you won’t destroy your home in the process .

[rfd]

Long gone are the days when the average USA citizen could purchase black powder at their LGS.  Fed regulations on BP storage, along with added red tape and taxation and limited demand for the holy black have see that happen.  I get my Swiss BP via mail order, but if the current gun control panacea continues, methinks that mail order BP may end as well, and that will force those who who require that powder (cartridge as well as muzzleloader) to consider making their own, particularly if a flintlock is the weapon to feed.  Notice I didn't say "bootleg their own".

I've yet to make black powder, but I have acquired the necessary ingredients and will commence that task shortly.

IF done in a "proper safe manner" - and there IS such a method - the results will almost always not yield a powder equal to that of the commercial Swiss or Goex, but it is still better than nothing and at least will allow my flintlocks to function as they should.  Current SAFE black powder making processes appear to be 20-25% less "powerful" than the commercial variety and upping a charge by that percentage closes that gap significantly, so I'm told by more than a few prominent sources.  The three black powder making ingredients are readily available to anyone from multiple sources, both online and local to each of us.  The tools and materials to effect the BP making process are elementary.

"Safe" BP manufacture means never mixing all three ingredients together DRY, always WET. 

Let's put things in perspective.  Just as with loading a muzzleloader or making metallic cartridges, there is a safety risk that we all are forced to negotiate.  Wet powder of any ilk means safe powder.  Wet black powder will not ignite let alone burn.  That horn of 2F Goex you've got dangling at yer side is about as close to walking around with a pipe bomb or grenade as it can get.  Is that not safe? 

For decades there have been EXTENSIVE threads on the CastBoolits forum on making black powder.  Several of those threads are posted on even today.  The matter of the legality of making any gunpowder ends with each of us, with or without local, state, and federal laws. 

Without powder, firearms won't work, and their inclusion in a firearms website/forum is almost a given ... or should be.