How stable/unstable is BP to store or transport?

Many of the legends like static and pressure setting powder off have pretty much been debunked as was mentioned , the powder needs heat . That heat can be generated by pressure but its takes extreme pressure to get it there . Fulminate is a different story

Plastics creating static and thus setting off the powder , has also been dispelled . Hodgdons now sells Their Goex brand in plastic containers vs. the older metal cans that Goex and DuPont used .
I actually have a couple of empty can that I have kept which when full , went through a fire which destroyed our camp . The cans were subject to enough heat that the paint burned off and the cans warped . The cans were full of powder at the time and neither went off .

As far as storage . The others have covered that pretty well . Keep the lid on tight so the powder stays dry . Keep it away from open flame or heat source and out of reach of your kids . The powder will last for ever
 
"Plastics creating static and thus setting off the powder , has also been dispelled . Hodgdons now sells Their Goex brand in plastic containers..."

SOME plastics can develop significant levels of static.

Other plastics, including those used by the powder manufacturers, are anti-static plastics.
 
There is some indication that black powder improves with age as slow solid state diffusion improves the physical mix of ingredients.

A gunzine writer tested the old saw that the .32 Winchester Special was factory loaded with smokeless but meant to be reloaded with black. He found that early 20th century, probably pre WWI, powder was superior to current production. Was it made better or aged better? I dunno.


I sure wish the loading gear companies would use anti-static plastic in powder MEASURES. And something resistant to chemical attack by residual solvents in smokeless, too.
 
As was pointed out, not all plastics are the same. Some plastics have been doped with conductive materials to make them electrically conductive and able to dissipate static charges. I am looking at a hard drive enclosure on my desk that I designed that is molded using an electrically conductive plastic. It is plastic doped with nickle-plated carbon fibers. These fibers make the plastic electrically conductive and able to discharge static buildup.

Not all plastics will do this.

Still, modern, graphite glazed black powder seems to be largely immune to being set off from typical static discharges.

Non-glazed powder may not be so forgiving, I do not know. Most modern BP for muzzle-loading use is glazed. Home-made powder may not be.
 
"A gunzine writer tested the old saw that the .32 Winchester Special was factory loaded with smokeless but meant to be reloaded with black."

I think a better description is that it COULD be reloaded with black powder if the shooter either so desired, or simply couldn't get the correct smokeless powder.

And yes, there have been many, many reports over the years that modern black powder pales in comparison to the quality of the powder 100 years ago.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that as smokeless became dominant the know how for making quality BP was lost, some of it has to do with simple supply and demand, and maybe also something to do with we make it quick we can make it OK and save a bundle in production costs...
 
Yes there are plastics designed to do all manor of things . But how many folks who are involved in storing BP would actually end up attempting to use or consider such a product for general storage ?
Now that’s not to say that someone might not be dumb enough to set a case of powder next to a power line transformer …….
But simply put , the everyday plastics around the home , that we most deal with , will not generate a large enough charge to set the powder off .

I handle and distribute large amounts of powder in both containers and plastic static free bags 2 to 3 times a year for a BP distributor .
Follow the safety rules . don’t subject the powder to open flame . don’t smoke near the powder or allow people to smoke near the powder . Never assume that BP will not go off just because its gotten wet or been oil soaked . Unless the ingredients get washed apart and separated the powder will be viable .

When I make powder , I make it in smaller batches of around a lb at a time . I also use a wet method so as to reduce the possibilities of having a problem . I also use a wood mortis to do my final grind . I don’t tumble the powder and I don’t screen it . I crush it . As I said I don’t tumble the powder and coat with graphite . While this makes it more subject to moisture , I don’t have that big of issue unless its really wet outside and I have found no noticeable difference in ignition speed .
Some of the reasons I think home made powder is or can be less potent then commercial powder is that sizing isn’t as consistent , charcoal isn’t of the same type of quality . Its also for the most part not tumbled and coated as the manufactures do . The mix can also not be as consistent as what manufactures do .
At 13.00 a lb I still find purchasing powder to be far more reasonable then making it if you do a lot of shooting as I do .By the time you add you time factor on top of the ingredients . But then I also said that when powder got to 5.00 a lb I was going to stop buying it and go back to making my own . However when you shoot 30-40lbs a year ????? There are a whole lot of other things I need to do them make powder . I do however think that it’s a skill that with the current way things are , would be advisable to learn
 
I'd be ecstatic to find powder at $13 a pound. Around here it is $26 a pound.
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Then I think I'd be positively euphoric. Given that smokeless goes for about $60 a lb here and that is easy to come by, I expect a tub of "Hen's Tooth" BP will go for silly money!!

Still... I've been wrong before!

(Once, if I recall.... Back in 1981. :p)
 
Yes, blackpowder is dangerous when mishandled.

Shannon Corman of KY bought blackpowder in bulk and repackaged it for sale to re-enactors. Then there was the explosion that killed Corman and badly injured two others:

The explosion happened just after 3pm Tuesday in the garage where police say Corman and 57-year old James Frank Greenwood were working with black powder. Police say Corman was a licensed weapons dealer and would often mix black powder for reloading weapon cartridges.
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http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/81265252.html

About 20 years ago i met a medically retired USMC EOD Sgt. who was/still is the last USMC casualty of the US Civil War. The Sgt. was inerting a 4.2" Parrott round. He had removed most of the blackpowder when the round exploded, seriously injuring him.

i got into muzzleloaders in the early 1960s. The DuPont blackpowder sold then was much cleaner than standard Goex is today. The best blackpowder available today is Swiss. Grain for measured grain Swiss is as powerful as Pyrodex.
 
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we buy BP from Bear River powder in Wyoming 13.00 in bag and 14.50 can/ plastic container , for Goex . I just picked up and deliver 3 weeks ago .
They still make a sizable profit even after transporting it clear across the US . you would think you folks in the east would be 1/2 the cost of powder out west.

a couple Years ago a friend and I bought up a LoTT of DuPont 2 and 3 F . manufacture date was 1956 . I we ended up getting it for 8.00 a lb . I jumped on it as I remember DuPont being much cleaner . After shooting it along side Goex for the last few years , I just have not seen it .
 
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Back Creek Gun Shop in Virginia sells Goex at $17 a pound but here in Huntsville, Alabama only one local gun store sells it and it is $26 per pound.

I have found it slightly cheaper to buy 10 pounds at a time from Powder Inc even with shipping and hazmat.
 
Today, we tend to talk about "black powder" as if it were a fixed substance, always the same composition. But in the days before "smokeless", there were in fact dozens of different powders, mostly black, but also brown, gray, etc., each of which had a different composition and characteristics and each of which was touted by its fans as the best.

As to deterioration with age, black powder is a mechanical mixture, not a chemical compound. It will last literally centuries if stored properly.

Extremely hard handling can break up the grains and wear off the graphite coating, making the powder easier to ignite and also possibly more powerful, but that requires a deliberate effort, not likely in normal handling of powder or ammunition.

Jim
 
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