Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Will oven at low heat dry out a black powder shell?

I often attempt to use Winchester .22 rimfire blanks whose powder is back powder and held in the case with a cardboard wad in a starting revolver to start races for middle school and high school races. With some boxes I have had a failure rate of up to 10%. While I keep these boxes both vacuum sealed and in a safe with a heating bar, once they are placed into my Track and Field Gear cart, is it possible they pick up just enough Ohio moisture to cause some to fail to fire ..... producing a pfizzzzz rather than a loud pop?

I have tried two different revolvers and both seem to hit the rim primer well. I suppose that there could be a manufacturing problem with such a small product and that may be the likely problem.

But the question for the readers has to do with dispelling any moisture.
Would placing these little black powder cartridges loosely on a tray and placed in an oven at an appropriate low temp for 24 hours dispel any moisture in the powder and primer? Or is the cardboard wad impervious to water vapor?

The problem isn’t one of moisture absorbed from the air. BP does not do that, and the oven is not a solution.

Good way to set off, do you need them that bad??

You mean there’s not some kind of electronic thingy for that? I’m shocked, especially in this poosified era we live in.

It’s a solution, of sorts.

Ha! I knew it!



https://vsathletics.com/store/Gill-Electronic-Starting-Pistol.html

how about vacuum pump or food vacuum sealer?

"Mom, Nooty's putting bullets in the oven again!"

Future Darwin Award Winner ??? 😜

Put a couple in there and give it a whirl. Doubt it would solve your problem but there ain't enough powder in a .22 blank or two to hurt your oven. The ignition temp of black powder is nearly 400 degrees so unless your oven is majorly out of whack it won't get hot enough on low to ignite the powder anyway.

Can’t believe I even considered posting a response, but here I am……

Only if they've not produced offspring.

This OP has so many red flags, I am giddy with excitement to see what responses come.

So many possibilities.

“Hold my beer and watch this...”

A guy on another board put some washed fired cases in a low heat oven to dry. They had been fired with BP.. In his haste, he accidentally included a loaded round. IIRC it went off with no real damage except the resulting disposition of his wife.

Id wait for a sunny day and put them in the car for an hour. Ive done that with the kids wet clthes and shoes.

I am sure they won't explode or do any kind of damage since there's no chamber to build any kind of pressure, but the premise of this thread is outstanding.

Can you use nail gun blanks?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-100-Count-0-22-Caliber-Powder-Actuated-Loads/50200041

Pretty cheap and easy to get.

Probably. Quite possibly it could lead to a rapid and dramatic dispersion of moisture.

Don't do it.

Good one....

Those famous last words...

DF

What about a food dehydrator?