Steel has been around for thousands of years, but not necesssarily of a type suitable for firearms.
Black powder is an explosive, if it is contained in a sturdy enough container and ignited it will produce a LOT of pressure. In my youth I worked at a couple of granite quarries, at one we regularly used black to break loose saw blocks from the mountain (seeing a 20 ton rock jump 3' into the air is rather amazing).
'Four legs good, two legs baaaad."
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"Jimmy, some of it's magic,
Some of it's tragic,
But I had a good life all the way."
(Jimmy Buffett)
SotG
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