Smokeless- - - - -pour it out into a long trail on bare dirt and toss a lit match to the end of the string. It will fizzle, smoke, and crackle. Black powder- - - - -mix it in with potting soil as a fertilizer. DO NOT try to burn BP- - - -it expoldes with the same force unconfined as it does in a muzzleloader barrel.
Odd phenomenon!
I was puzzled by this myself until an old timey gunsmith finally explained it to me.
I was telling him about the idiot that was saying you could fill a muzzle loader barrel completely full of powder, seat a bullet on top. The gun would only burn so much of the powder and just blow the rest out.
NOPE!
Smokeless powder, burns!
Black powder. "DETONATES"!
I had a bunch of old powder that had been improperly stored several years without the benefit of climate control. So it had gotten extremely hot and freezing temps too.
I built a fire in a barrel and tossed the powder in about a 1/4 cup at at time. When the "fizzle" stopped, I'd toss in another one.
The black powder, I just poured out on the ground.
