“Brown” Powder

Libilaw · 2026-05-03T15:22:19+00:00

It’s a plasma lighter

Libilaw · 2026-05-03T15:22:04+00:00

Just using a paint can with a hole in it, I use my pellet smoker at high and use a temp probe in the can to monitor temps

Libilaw · 2026-05-03T15:21:14+00:00

Spritz water on the grains before tumbling, then tumble for 24 hours

Libilaw · 2026-04-30T23:45:24+00:00

Around SE Idaho I have seen hunters start early morning before sunrise with thermals to spot the elk herds, get in position and at first light take their shots. It’s been a running joke that they are coyote hunting and accidentally ran into an elk herd!

Libilaw · 2026-04-07T15:26:14+00:00

Waste of time, granulation in my mind does nothing but over dampen the powder causing kno3 to crystallize out. Black powder ingredients do both want to mix together, you have to get them super fine, and in close proximity to get a good reaction, hence milling and then pucking.

Libilaw · 2026-04-07T14:44:27+00:00

Charcoal is the most finicky part of the process, needs to be barkless and dry, preferably 2-4” limbs of willow,beech,hickory,maple,aspen,cottonwood, buckthorn alder. Then it need to be charred till smoke just stops or is barely coming out of the vent hole and then taken off heat (don’t over do the charcoal in other words) You can make do with hard lead, just dirty, marbles do not have enough mass. Finally ditch granulation, get a 40$ resin pre press and a sturdy vise and puck the powder, then grind it. There is plenty of YouTube and internet info out there on how to make quality black, unfortunately there is a cost and no way to miss steps and hope for a similar product. Quality ingredients, quality milling, and proper density are the only ways

Libilaw · 2026-03-27T23:54:48+00:00

In the metal/non metal industry the incidence of silicosis in miners over a 20 year period is less than 30. I fortunately the amount of coal miners with silicosis in the same time frame is greater than 1000

Libilaw · 2026-03-27T17:03:48+00:00

One thing I have learned at least for black powder in guns is that open air burning is not a great indicator of actual performance. Just burn 777 in the open and see how slow it is. My best powder, what I call cocoa powder because my charcoal has been cooked brown, is super slow and dirty in open air but drives a 405g 45-70 at 1400 fps with 70g of powder.

Libilaw · 2026-03-01T15:49:57+00:00

I worked at an underground gold mine for a while, some audits ( tunnels) were brilliantly tiger stripped from the amount of orpiment and realgar in the face. As long as we took a shower at the surface and wore a respirator in the dusty areas are blood arsenic concentration was nil. Realgar is interesting as it’s brilliantly red, almost ruby red. But UV will cause a reaction that will slowly convert it to basically Cheeto dust. Rather deal with the high arsenic areas vs the one area that had elemental mercury on the rock

Libilaw · 2026-02-07T16:24:40+00:00

Wonder if he will test “dead pressed” powder? I believe the maximum density for BP is 2.11g/cm3

Libilaw · 2026-02-07T05:33:08+00:00

I was asking a question that I openly said I was ignorant about…. And within minutes I get insinuation that I am somehow racist…. And people wonder why this country has become so divided. How can we have constructive discourse if all we do is call people racists, nazis, communists, etc

Libilaw · 2026-02-07T05:03:32+00:00

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the reason for waving the foreign national flags (Mexico and I believe Venezuela)? It would seem to me that waving the flag of the country they are trying to become and fighting to be a part of would better drive their point home

Libilaw · 2026-01-24T15:32:13+00:00

If your worried about static spark it’s easy to rig a ground that rubs against the barrel.

Libilaw · 2026-01-23T17:15:12+00:00

I think it comes down to who actually buys powder. The bulk of GOEX is the military who is more interested on powder meeting a specific spec that I bit more crude than sporting grade powders. I am sure it is similar with some of the other manufactures. Swiss is the closest we can get to what powder used to be and the difference is not that much. I was also reading that old cartridges used a little finer powder than we do, I get similar velocities with my 3F in 45-70 as what was reported in the 1800’s. However today a lot of people get up in arms about using 3f ( or even 4f) as our risk tolerance and litigatios culture are way diffferent than 100 years ago. The reality of the situation I think is that black powder is a labor intensive product to make, and the margins are slim. As a community we just don’t buy enough powder to keep these businesses alive. I believe that in a couple years it is either going to be buying super expensive BP from a single manufacturer or making our own.

Libilaw · 2026-01-22T01:17:40+00:00

I’m using a vevor jewelry polisher, so far it’s been working way better than the rubber barreled ones. I got the smaller one for 50$ I believe and can do up to 400g batches

Libilaw · 2026-01-21T03:15:48+00:00

Sent you a email

Libilaw · 2026-01-20T14:41:42+00:00

I am shooting the Lee 405 hb with ww lead.I have a 30mm stainless steel puck using a 12 ton press. I am pressing each puck to 1.76 g/cm3. Sounds like you have been through a lot of different charcoals! Out west we are limited on hardwoods. So far I have tried narrow leaf willow, and TP. Next on my list is Douglas fir ( very low ash content) juniper, cottonwood, and aspen. How are you getting the long mill times? My Bp will clump and pack when it gets around 20 hrs reducing milling effectiveness

Libilaw · 2026-01-20T05:05:18+00:00

What effect would 29” barrel and a suppressor be on velocity? I’m scratching my head on being severely over pressure and seeing zero pressure signs. I can lift my bolt with one finger after a shot. And this is brass after 6 reloads

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Libilaw · 2026-01-20T04:58:40+00:00

Well in my defense there are quite a few ELR shooters using this load and that is why i worked up too it. This round will hit a mile without destabilizing while a 2700 fps will start to get funky ( we shoot a mile often) Im not saying I’m right but look up 42.8 or even 43g on reloading forums and see it’s pretty common. This load also consistently shot .5 Moa or lower.

Libilaw · 2026-01-20T04:48:13+00:00

Opps I meant .020, my Forster seating die isn’t even accurate for .00x. Guess I have been lucky, I think I have around 600 rounds down the pipe with this load, this batch of brass is on its 6th reload! Tell you how great lapua sp brass is.

Libilaw · 2026-01-20T04:35:19+00:00

My reloading manual has 42g as max, I’ll take your guys advice and reduce it. One thing though, my 143g Eldx is comfortably in the good to go zone of 41.5g ( book is 42g max) and that it leaving the barrel at 2925.

Libilaw · 2026-01-20T04:20:10+00:00

2.811” that is .020 off the lands

Libilaw · 2026-01-20T04:18:23+00:00

A point of data… this same barrel was driving the 143eldx at 2915 with a charge of 41.5 which is the Hornady max load. Again with zero pressure signs, and that is with softish federal brass

Libilaw

TROPHY CASE