What is the availability of good old fashioned Holy Black in your area?

[Short Knife Johnson]

Just got off the phone with a friend of mine that I shoot BPCR Silhouette with.  We had an interesting topic of conversation just now.

He is retired the last few years and has taken to building moulds.  He has travelled all over to go shoot and has made good friends with most of the heavy hitters of the sport.  As a result his moulds are gaining a notoriety due to their mention by a certain writer from Livingston and their appearace in winning circles.  As a result, orders are coming in from some unusual corners of the world. 

For example, he just cut a mould for a fellow in Africa for hunting.  Apparently, according to this customer, one is only allowed to purchase one pound of black powder per person per month.    There is a substitute available that is pink in colour.  Here in Saskatchewan Canada, I'd say BP is medium tough to come by.  There are only two suppliers (both small time dealers) and you almost have to pre-order.  I hear in Hawaii, it is a Pyrodex only zone.  What I'm wondering is how tough is it to get Black Powder where you live.  How long and hard do you have to seek it in other locales?  England?  Austrailia?  New Zealand?  And anywhere else The Darkside reigns. 

BTW, if you can mosey down to the local gas station and pick it up there, (and I've been to those places - The Fort in Big Timber MT) I don't really want to hear it. 

[Pony Racer]

There are a few stores in VA where you can buy BP by the can but only one place I know of where you can order and buy it in bulk and pick it up yourself (avoiding those pesky fees).

Winchester, VA.

Since my folks live like 45 minutes from there i usually do a long weekend with them and do the trip as part of my long weekend with the family - so not easy but pretty simple.

PR

[litl rooster]

bring the money and buy what you want

[fourfingersofdeath]

We are just about regulated out of existance regarding black powder. Shops have to store it well away from Smokless and most shops aren't big enough. The dealers can pick up a maximum of 5 (about 11lb) kilos from the big depot in Sydney (which is well on the outskirts). They can get a maximum of ten kilos (22lb) delivered, but that costs $66 to my old gunsmith's garage shop, which is in the Southern suburbs of Sydney, the depot is in the south west of Sydney.

I don't know who sells it out this way (I am 200kms/ 120miles west of Sydney. There is probably someone like a small dealer selling it as there is a muzzle loader's range in the next town (Lithgow, yep, where the Enfields came from).

My old gunsmith was selling it for $54 a kilo (2.2lb) before the new laws came in, so it is probably $6-10 dearer now.


I have never seen two types of Black Powder available at teh same time in Australia. For the past few years, Wano is the only sort available. I have to laugh when I see you guys anguishing over which powder to use, lol. No prob here, 'whatcha got?' "Wano' great, everyone's favourite!' It used to be Goex years ago, but I haven't seen much of that for a long while. I have a small tin of ffg downstairs that I'm saving for I don't know what. Probably use it in my BPCR. I don't know if it will be any better than Wano.

Every couple of years, our laws regarding Black Powder get tougher and tougher.

Seen a bit of Pyrodex around the traps, but I won't use any of the subs unless the real dries up.

[fourfingersofdeath]

 

Oh! I forgot to mention, buying in bulk? Forget about it, the only thing you can buy in any sort of bulk is 'Cracker Powder' the cheap stuff they use for fireworks. That comes in 3kg (6.5Lb) bags. Some of the guys use it for CASS shotgun loads. I bought a bag but haven't got around to using it. The good stuff is sold in 1kg/2.2lb bottles only.

[joec]

I actually found a local gun and archery store here that seems to have it all. I saw Goex, Swiss, Pyrodex and some others on their shelves in various sizes. They where also well stocked with other powders, primers though not some much in brass and bullets.

[Short Knife Johnson]

That's most unfortunate fourfingers.  I thought Oz was a little more lax when it came to black powder.

My connection gets plenty of Goex and Graf & Sons in.  She charges $22 per pound with tax.  There is the odd bottle of Swiss makes it up here and it's $30 per pound.  For whatever reason, the big stores that deal in components just don't stock BP in Canada.  Might have to do with storage regulations as well.  I know you have to have a separate powder magazine and are only allowed to store a small amount in house.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

The one popular gunshop here in Victoria BC, on the Island has all sorts of GOEX.  I can get it for less if I buy by the 25 lb case from the supplier; - NO MIXING.  Now I have a buncha FFFg for resale.  Any Takers in my area?

P.S;  Retail price here is $30 +12% tax

[Cuts Crooked]

I'm sure there are a few dealers in Iowa that carry it. However they are not within what I consider a reasonable driving distance. So I just order it and have it delivered to my door.

[Ranch 13]

 There's one place about 90 miles off that sometimes might have some, but it'll rock your world the price he wants.
So unless I catch a powder wagon at a shoot someplace (which is seldom) It's hello Powder Inc? yeh have Jerry send me..... Thanks bye.

[fourfingersofdeath]

I used to work at Muswellbrook a coal mining town with lots of open cut and long wall mines. The local gun dealer had a 'shop' set up under his house. He got a visit from two Govt' officals checking his gunpowder storage and recording. My mate pointed out a yellow dot in the distance and explained that the dot was in fact two huge double truck trailers (we call them B Doubles here) which, when fully loaded had some 30 ton of explosive on them. When one was emptied, they hooked up the prime mover and went and got another 30 tons of explosive. The G men were gob smacked. He went on to explain that there were some twenty odd similar stockpiles at various mines around the town and what in tarnation were they bothering him for when he had less than 100lb in stock, in a lock up steel cabinet with brass anti static hinges, which was fitted to a back to base alarm which sounded if the very heavy locked door was somehow opened and this huge cabinet, was screwed to the concrete floor and wall and was placed in a shop that also had a back to base alarm. Why would terrorists bother with him when there were tons of the stuff down the road, already loaded onto a truck for them?

They didn't have an answer for him and wandered off.

[Short Knife Johnson]

Yeah, Feds don't typically respond well to logic and reason.  Like feeding a Vampire a clove of garlic.

Just recently, the government was being pressured to tighten up the NRCAN storage requirements on powder for private residences.  Fortunately, someone in Ottawa put the brakes on it.  Seems to me it was the Leftards trying to extract revenge for the death of our beloved Long-gun Registry.  Now, if we could get rid of the "Short" gun Registry. 

[rickk]

Where I live I just "Powder, Inc" it.

[Chancy Shot]

I live on the Mississippi on the Iowa side of the Quad Cities.  I get mine from Crater Fireworks in Mineral, Il.  The owner, Jon Blackert, is a great guy.  He donates 25# of powder to our charity shoot each year.  His armory is semi trailer bodies set in a sheep pasture.  You have to be careful where you walk when shopping.

http://www.addictedtoblackpowder.com/2.html

Chancy

[Crow Choker]

I live in the north central Iowa area and get mine from Spiekers Gun Shop in Hayfield, Ia. Just picked up 2# of FF Goex Friday (04-27) @ $16.50 per#. He usually has a good supply of FF and FFF Goex in stock. Cheapest price I've seen within area and availability. Shop is located in small rural town, easy to get to, but if any would be interested I'd call before making the trip to check on stock. Old time gun shop with alot of flavor!!! (listed in Garner, Ia directory)

[Fingers McGee]

Graf & Sons is about a 2 hour drive.  Whenever I'm in the area I pick some up, or have a fellow shooter that lives closer pick some up for me.

[sharps4065]

Here in the UK you have to be unlucky to be further than 60 miles from a source of bp - but that can still equate to a 2 hour drive though. In general it's Swiss powder that is used for "serious" shooting but that does prove to be expensive as it's currently running at £54/kilo - around $40/lb. We have variants of Wano musket powder that is about 2/3 the cost of Swiss. Socked and sieved it's fine out to 600 yards but with a lot more elevation, but for anything beyond it has to be Swiss.

The hoops we have to jump through to buy, transport and store bp is whole different story.....

To see what we get up to have a look at www.ssbpcrc.co.uk

Hold centre (and read the wind)
Clive

[pony express]

About 100 miles to Graf&sons, never been there for any yet, all of what I have came from vendors tables, but the supply is getting low...will have to visit Graf's this year, I guess.

[fourfingersofdeath]

I was at a shoot in teh next town, 65 miles away  that my mate and his friends put on, he is a champeen shot and a farmer by trade, but is also a gun dealer and is slowly expanding his business and had a stall there. I found that he sells Black Powder (Wano of course, everybody's favourite in Australia,  ) .

I see him every month at the range and he and or his travel to my town occasionally, so it looks like I am pretty right now.

I asked him about the storage problems and he laughed, said he was a farmer on 3,000 acres and had sheds you could park a jumbo jet in, storage? No problem!

[Jefro]

Flatwoods Gun Club about 45 minutes away, $3.85gal for gas and $23lb for Goex = ferget it

Grafs, Maine Powder House, Deer Creek.......50lbs Schuetzen delivered to the door about $15lb = Happy


Jefro Relax-Enjoy