Shiloh Rifle Forums

I am down to my last 1/2 pound of the lot of Swiss 1.5 that I have been using.
I picked up 12 pounds of it in three lots.
Has anyone done any blending of say a few pounds each of several lots of BP
so as to get a single larger lot to be able to rebuild a load and have enough to be worthwhile for matches?
I'm dealing with Swiss 1.5.

Yes, I know the dangers of sparks, etc. Non sparking/non static tub ,etc would be needed
- outside, with protection.
beltfed/arnie

Go for it. The ODGs made a regular practice of it, according to Maj. Stamford Young. Shoot straight, rdnck.

About a year ago I had 6 or 7 pounds of 1 1/2 that I had won at matches and some of it was different lots. I had several lbs left from the lot I was shooting and I bought 2 Kilos of new stuff. I mixed it all together into one lot. I did it outside on my patio in a metal bucket and stirred it with a wooden paint mixing stick. I had a little bit of the willies mixing 16 lbs of black powder in one big lot but I'm still here. It shot great and was consistent after I worked up the load for that mixed lot.

Yes, I know the dangers of sparks, etc. Non sparking/non static tub ,etc would be needed

Arnie, I had a friend one day that was 'skittish' that black powder would explode from sparks, etc. So I said: "Scottie, step to the other side of the room if you fear you'll go up in pieces to meet your Maker. Then I put a line of BP on a metal plate and beat it severely with a metal hammer to about the grain size of Swiss Null-B ... NADA
Then I explained BP doesn't explode in a non enclosed condition, only burns - so I lit the trail of powder with my lighter - POOF with smoke filling the room
OK, Scottie - You Believe Me Now? ... YES, he said ... End of Subject
So, mixing different lots of powder will not send you to your Maker

Thanks all for your encouragement and thoughts on doing the blending.
Same story, I had won a couple pounds Swiss 1.5 here and there and bought out a guy of
8 pounds in two lots.
I just hope that the blend performs as well as the last case that I had bought. It was "super" dense
and gave me minute of angle shooting.
beltfed/arnie

John Boy,
I have also done that demonstration with a hammer for a couple of skeptical persons.
As a retired Chemist, I know some about the makeup of BP.
Fortunately, the Swiss and (most of) the current well glazed commercially available powder
is not dusty /has almost no fines that might otherwise be a possible static problem.

beltfed/arnie

Probably stirring the powder in a bucket is not the best way to homogenize a granular material. I would suggest pouring it thru a funnel onto a conical pile in a large container. Doing this several times should thoroughly mix the several lots.

CHRIS
RGChristensen

Ok following Chris suggestion is a good start. Now follow with picking up 1 can or plastic bottle of each lot say 4 2 in each hand
pour them all at the same time. All in one bucket do it with all you powder maybe do it twice. You should be good to go.
Now the most important part. Keep track of all the lots so if turns into Hummer loads. You can spend the rest of you life trying to
duplicate the Mix!!!! As always aim for the X-Ring! Mike G.

Arnie,

In mid 2014 I bought 3 cases (75lbs total) of Swiss 1.5 (3 different lots) & mixed them all together in a very large aluminum pot. To start, a pound of each was poured into the pot until the pot was about half full, then I further mixed it thoroughly using a metal garden scoop & refilled the plastic antistatic containers. For 5 yrs I've been using the same powder & have a few lbs remaining. It's worked great for me & needless to say is very consistent. Unfortunately I'm getting close to running out and will certainly use the same technique with the next powder I purchase.

Wayne

I don't know exactly what is meant by "burn" or "explode" I guess. But I know of a hunter ed. instructor that was demonstrating different burn characteristics of rifle, shotgun, pistol powder etc. on a table in front of his class. Everything was going great until he came to the little pile of black powder and it took his eyebrows off, thankfully he was wearing glasses. And on a more personal note, 4 or 5 kernels swiss 1.5 flicked into a propane catalytic heater will blow the flame out. I was thinking about mixing a few pounds also and changed my mind and ordered a case from Buffalo Arms. Your results may vary....