Black powder alternatives

Black powder rifles and pistols, reloading black powder, and other information. The smoky stuff.

Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Ron Hawkins » 05 Aug 2019, 7:26 am

Thanks for the comments, im still looking for some
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Gamerancher » 05 Aug 2019, 10:12 am

You are not allowed to carry any bulk powder on the ferry, black or smokeless. There are even restrictions on carrying loaded ammo almost in line with air travel.
The gun stores have to get supplies shipped on freighters as dangerous goods.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by mickb » 05 Aug 2019, 6:33 pm

So dealers can have ammo, smokeless and primers shipped, but not blackpowder?? Sounds very weird, must be a law targeting Blackpowder? Or are these guys just saying there are currently no stocks left in the state, and gunstores waiting for the next order?
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Oldbloke » 05 Aug 2019, 8:53 pm

This is an old thread. Seems to has been an assue for 5 years.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by on_one_wheel » 05 Aug 2019, 9:20 pm

Oldbloke wrote:This is an old thread. Seems to has been an assue for 5 years.

There might be money to be made running powder from Australia to Tasmania.
It's probably much easier and safer than running powder from Columbia to Australia. :thumbsup:
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Gamerancher » 06 Aug 2019, 10:19 am

It can be shipped, it just seems that the Taswegian dealers can't be f%cked going through the process.
It is a different class of explosive and therefore has different shipping requirements.
Maybe they don't see enough demand. It is not stocked by a lot of gun shops on the mainland either.
I don't know what you are wanting to use it for Ron, but, a lot of blackpowder competitions allow the use of Pyrodex or similar blackpowder alternatives.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Oldbloke » 06 Aug 2019, 2:24 pm

on_one_wheel wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:This is an old thread. Seems to has been an assue for 5 years.

There might be money to be made running powder from Australia to Tasmania.
It's probably much easier and safer than running powder from Columbia to Australia. :thumbsup:


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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by on_one_wheel » 06 Aug 2019, 3:09 pm

No wonder it's difficult to get in Tasmania.
Looks like dealers have probably put it into the too hard basket.

https://worksafe.tas.gov.au/licensing/d ... explosives
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Ron Hawkins » 09 Aug 2019, 8:52 am

Hi Gamerancher, I need to feed 3 muzzleloaders in rifle and pistol. Pyrodex, BlackMZ Hodgens 777 and all other alternatives are still treated as black powder down here. To import it into Tassie it has to come on a bomb truck and the driver has to have the explosive licence. As for other comments regarding sneaking it onto the boat, forget it.When I moved to tassie, I was fully informed of the consequences if I tried to bring any of my blackpowder 45/70 or 357 rounds or any loose black powder on board. When I arrived at the ferry, there was three blokes and a sniffer dog waiting for me, im bloody glad I didnt try to sneak it on board. The ferry comes under Maritime Law, and I would have been thrown in the brig and dealt with severely.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by cadet » 09 Aug 2019, 12:45 pm

mickb wrote:So dealers can have ammo, smokeless and primers shipped, but not blackpowder?? Sounds very weird, must be a law targeting Blackpowder? Or are these guys just saying there are currently no stocks left in the state, and gunstores waiting for the next order?


BP is in a completely different Dangerous Goods class to smokeless propellant. BP is a true explosive; it doesn't need confinement/pressure to go bang, and it doesn't take much to make it go bang; so it genuinely is a more dangerous ie costly thing to handle, store and transport.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by duncan61 » 09 Aug 2019, 1:14 pm

Combining Potassium Nitrate (75%) with Charcoal (15%) and Sulfur (10%) gives us a nice, slow-burning black powder! I copied this quote of a youtube video that shows how to put it all together.Is making your own a possibility.Most of us reload for many reasons but doing it yourself is part of the experience and the satisfaction when it all comes together
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Noisydad » 09 Aug 2019, 1:31 pm

duncan61 wrote:Combining Potassium Nitrate (75%) with Charcoal (15%) and Sulfur (10%) gives us a nice, slow-burning black powder! I copied this quote of a youtube video that shows how to put it all together.Is making your own a possibility.Most of us reload for many reasons but doing it yourself is part of the experience and the satisfaction when it all comes together

DIY isn’t even a little bit legal! Plus, with no way to test it, every batch would come out different making it Useless for either comp. or hunting. Also your fingers work better when they’re hanging off you Arms rather than hanging off the rafters.
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by duncan61 » 09 Aug 2019, 1:34 pm

Is it that unstable???
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Noisydad » 09 Aug 2019, 1:42 pm

The history of powder manufacturing is absolutely full of examples of powder factories that have BANG.
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Oldbloke » 09 Aug 2019, 2:54 pm

Noisydad wrote:
duncan61 wrote:Combining Potassium Nitrate (75%) with Charcoal (15%) and Sulfur (10%) gives us a nice, slow-burning black powder! I copied this quote of a youtube video that shows how to put it all together.Is making your own a possibility.Most of us reload for many reasons but doing it yourself is part of the experience and the satisfaction when it all comes together

DIY isn’t even a little bit legal! Plus, with no way to test it, every batch would come out different making it Useless for either comp. or hunting. Also your fingers work better when they’re hanging off you Arms rather than hanging off the rafters.



Correct. Lots of miss information on the net. Heaps of factories have gone up with a bang over the years. Making the stuff is risky.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Ron Hawkins » 10 Aug 2019, 8:09 am

I tried to get potassium nitrate to make my own, but it appears to be unavailable to us blokes as we may use it to do inappropriate things. Apart from that to get the small ball mill and the correct sieves for grain size makes it bloody expensive. a pyro mob in the good old usa actually make a kit for sale to make blackpowder and you guessed it, we cant import the kit.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Gamerancher » 10 Aug 2019, 9:50 am

Ahh, the joys of living in Tasmania. Don't know what to say Ron, .... move back to Australia maybe? :lol:
When official Bureau of Statistics data shows that half of the population of the state is illiterate, you have to assume that some of them work within the bureaucracy. :allegedly:
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Ron Hawkins » 10 Aug 2019, 8:12 pm

true mate
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by bladeracer » 10 Aug 2019, 8:21 pm

duncan61 wrote:Is it that unstable???


It did have a reputation for being detonated by static electricity, but I think modern BP has pretty much fixed that.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by QS1 » 03 Oct 2019, 6:18 pm

Get on the Spirit, pick some in Melbourne and sail back. Sure it is safest way. You will not be able to make decent enough by yourself - trust me, I am chemical engineer by diploma. You could make something that spit your ball out of barrel, but it would be nowhere as good as proper one. Also I been toying with Trail Boss in my 45-90 and discard this idea once and forever. Contact Forbes and make sure that Graeme put aside few bottles for you. Bonus: you can visit Melbourne Zoo :sarcasm:
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Gamerancher » 04 Oct 2019, 9:15 am

"Get on the Spirit, pick some in Melbourne and sail back."

I don't think encouraging illegal behaviour is a good thing on a public forum ol' mate. :unknown:
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by QS1 » 04 Oct 2019, 2:54 pm

Gamerancher wrote:"Get on the Spirit, pick some in Melbourne and sail back."

I don't think encouraging illegal behaviour is a good thing on a public forum ol' mate. :unknown:

1. I am not aware that bring few canister of black powder by Spirit is illegal
2. Sure it is possible to find private yacht
3. I am not sure how legal is to make nitrocellulose or PROPER black powder (involves drying and crushing). But I can assure you that it is dangerous and shooting with unknown stuff can be lethal.
Choice is yours, but I rather find how I can bring few canister of black matter if I am so fond of it.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by TassieTiger » 04 Oct 2019, 3:32 pm

I don’t understand - there is a clear process for getting it into the state - and if you worked in with a firearm shop it would be even easier.
If you want it/need it - follow the process ? Reading via worksafe - it’s not that arduous...get a few people together who feel the same, to place a single order and lower the shared costs ? It’s not rocket fuel...ummm....okY, you got me there :-)
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by No1_49er » 04 Oct 2019, 4:38 pm

QS1 wrote:Get on the Spirit, pick some in Melbourne and sail back. Sure it is safest way. You will not be able to make decent enough by yourself - trust me, I am chemical engineer by diploma. You could make something that spit your ball out of barrel, but it would be nowhere as good as proper one. Also I been toying with Trail Boss in my 45-90 and discard this idea once and forever. Contact Forbes and make sure that Graeme put aside few bottles for you. Bonus: you can visit Melbourne Zoo :sarcasm:


Not a new law at all (to answer a question posted some time ago).
Go to the web site for booking onto the Spirit from Melbourne. Look at what you can and can't take in the way of firearms and ammunition.
Note that hand loads are expressly not permitted. One of the reasons I don't go there to compete in National competitions. Factory loads for my "toys" is not available / not made. I have to make it.
Good luck getting powder.

For those of you who think it's an easy process to make, you need to realise that the normal process of forming the amalgam was to use a roller wheel mill. The wheels grind the slurry (yes, it's a wet paste while being formed) prior to drying, crushing, sieving/grading and packing.
And, as per previous posts, there have been many production facilities flattened, even in relatively recent times https://www.ksla.com/story/2518616/blac ... explosion/ http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... GOEX-plant and there's many more.
Don't be tempted to set up, what would surely be, a Hazardous Industry facility.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by sungazer » 04 Oct 2019, 7:25 pm

I think there is some exemption regarding hand-loads if you are competing and have all the correct paperwork/invites. But even then the quantity is not very big and shooting nationals and the Queens type events can be problematic.
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by bigpete » 06 Oct 2019, 4:58 am

While illegal to do here,people make homemade blackpowder all the frigging time where it is legal,that does significantly more than just roll the ball out the barrel for God's sake ! :D
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Re: Black powder alternatives

Post by Ron Hawkins » 30 May 2021, 2:58 pm

Well boys i havent been back in here for a year or so, I have been using some home made blackpowder, but the bloke has stopped making it due to ill health. As for pyrodex or any other equivalent, forget it for tassie. It just aint gonna happen so everyone tells me down here. Bugger
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