Price of black powder these days
- Thread starter orpington
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col.lemat
Member
Same here. Went up two bucks a pound in the last year
Panzerschwein
member
I pay $15.99 per pound of GOEX. I go to the Graf and Sons warehouse off I-70. Don't have to pay hazmat or shipping either.
Seems like all the components for shooting BP arms have gone up. The price of lead is running somewhere between one and two dollars a pound depending on where you buy it. Swaged ball running $12.00/100. Percussion caps $7.00/100.
So if you were shooting a .44 revolver you would have.
$0.16 for 40 grains black powder.
$0.12 for one lead ball
$0.07 for one percussion cap.
That makes it $0.42 for each time you drop the hammer. That does not include the cost of any felt wad, lube, cleaning patch and solvent that you might use.
Still cheaper than shooting say a 45 colt using commercially loaded ammo.
'loose
So if you were shooting a .44 revolver you would have.
$0.16 for 40 grains black powder.
$0.12 for one lead ball
$0.07 for one percussion cap.
That makes it $0.42 for each time you drop the hammer. That does not include the cost of any felt wad, lube, cleaning patch and solvent that you might use.
Still cheaper than shooting say a 45 colt using commercially loaded ammo.
'loose
Patocazador
Member
Most outfits are now charging $30 HazMat including Graf's if you order online. If you buy at least 5 lb. at a time, you'll come out paying between $22 and $24/lb. for Goex.
I like Graf's house brand better. It is made by Wano and marketed in other countries as Schuetzen. It's grains are more uniform and it is cleaner burning than Goex. It is also cheaper.
I like Graf's house brand better. It is made by Wano and marketed in other countries as Schuetzen. It's grains are more uniform and it is cleaner burning than Goex. It is also cheaper.
Timtoolman
Member
Field &Stream 43.00 for 3f 777 kinda high 25 miles down the road 28.00
Cowhide Cliff
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24 cents a round to reload 45 colt black powder using big lube bullets.
It's gotten to where I seldom shoot cap and ball any more because of cost. Percussion caps are nearly three time the cost of large pistol primers.
Steel Horse Rider
Member
I scored bout 70 pounds of lead in the form of old diver's weights a few weeks ago for next to nothing. They were being used as weights for some racing go-carts my son bought for his kids as they had outgrown their original one. He didn't need them so I volunteered to take them off of his hands.......... Makes shooting my Brown Bess much more affordable.
This year's pricing from the NMLRA powder magazine - GOEX $17, Olde Eynsford $19, Swiss $25 and Schuetzen $17. No shipping, you have to pick it up at Friendship, and be a member, but if you live anywhere close, or don't but attend the Spring or Fall shoots it is a nice benefit.
I can still get CCI 11's for about $5.50 a tin locally, RWS 1075's are north of $10 a tin, and lead can still be scrounged up free or close to it.
In the early and mid '90's I think I was paying about $6 a can for GOEX, and bought 1K of RWS 1075 caps for $35.00 and thought that was high then.
I can still get CCI 11's for about $5.50 a tin locally, RWS 1075's are north of $10 a tin, and lead can still be scrounged up free or close to it.
In the early and mid '90's I think I was paying about $6 a can for GOEX, and bought 1K of RWS 1075 caps for $35.00 and thought that was high then.
Noz
Member
$12-$13 lb for black FFFg. 70¢ for lead. 5.5 ¢ for caps
swathdiver
Member
Each time my hammer drops it's either .11 to .16 a shot depending on caliber. We make everything but powder and caps and buy in bulk and that includes lubricated felt wads.
whughett
Member
Approximate cost of Grafs house brand when ordered 15 lbs at a time. Even cheaper if ordered in higher amounts as hazmat is same for 1 pound or 50 pounds.
Stocked piled lead from before retirement job, and an occasional back stop scrounge eliminate the cost of bullets, except for incidental costs, of casting, electric, cost of equipment, time ect ect.
Primers. Shop smart, order in bulk when available on line. Had 5000 two years ago from 3rd Generation Supply, old stock Remington, 2.95 a hundred and they work just fine.
Started making and using "lube pills" instead of felt wads. More savings.
Making black powder would be next but don't think I am going there.
I shoot maybe 100 to two hundred rounds a week, depending on number of range trips.
More if shooting the 45C loaded in BP for the ROA. So every little bit helps on a retirement income.
Legally, how much black powder can I be in possession of? Also, I know that smokeless powder can be stored for long periods of time without detrimental effects. What about black powder? Am wondering if a bulk purchase of a lifetime supply of black powder makes sense, or not?
Mike OTDP
Member
Federal law is 50 lbs, IIRC. Local law may vary. And yes, buying in bulk is a good idea.
whughett
Member
Somebody some where has done a study, but in my opinion if stored properly in its original containers, decades. I am in the process of using up some Alcan powder that I have no idea how old it is. The containers were good, and the process of working up the load went smooth. Results are about 1200 rounds of 38 special from a powder that may have be thrown out otherwise.
One has heard numerous tales of rifles and revolvers fired after sitting charged in some ones closet for thirty years or so.
Panzerschwein
member
I, too, would be interested in learning about how long black powder will be good for if stored properly. No point in buying 50 lbs at a time if it will expire before I get to shoot it all.
Patocazador
Member
I'm not old enough to know for sure how long BP lasts but I have some black powder from 1968 that still goes bang.
I have read that it lasts forever but that's a long time. Since it is a mixture of sulfur (an element), charcoal, and potassium nitrate, the KN03 (potassium nitrate) would be the weak link.
I have read that it lasts forever but that's a long time. Since it is a mixture of sulfur (an element), charcoal, and potassium nitrate, the KN03 (potassium nitrate) would be the weak link.
Malachi Leviticus Blue
Member
I recall hearing about 100 plus year old Black Powder being recovered from a 19th century sunken ship that after being dried out was still usable.
I don't recall the source, or know how much poetic license may have been used, but I trust the shelf life of Black Powder to be longer than mine.
I don't recall the source, or know how much poetic license may have been used, but I trust the shelf life of Black Powder to be longer than mine.
BP, stored properly, has an effective indefinite shelf life, I have used BP from some Frankfort Arsenal .45-70 rounds from the 1880's I was given and it worked fine. I know of guys turning up old cans of Dupont, Curtis & Harvey and Kings and the old powder performed fine.
I have not looked at this issue in years but I believe the ATF permits the possession of more than 50 pounds if you buy an approved magazine or storage device. I also recall that most fire codes have a limit well under the 50 pounds, at least in a dwelling. The ATF info is easy to search on their site, or it was the last time I looked.
If you really want to wade into the weeds of BP manufacturers and the production process google Bill Knight, i.e. the Mad Monk.
I have not looked at this issue in years but I believe the ATF permits the possession of more than 50 pounds if you buy an approved magazine or storage device. I also recall that most fire codes have a limit well under the 50 pounds, at least in a dwelling. The ATF info is easy to search on their site, or it was the last time I looked.
If you really want to wade into the weeds of BP manufacturers and the production process google Bill Knight, i.e. the Mad Monk.
zimmerstutzen
Member
I broke down old 43 Spanish cartridges from a box labeled 1879 and let the powder sit in an open can in a damp basement for 3 years and then one day about 2001 loaded it an shot it in my percussion Hawkin. Worked fine.
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