Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Disposing of 25 Year Old Triple 7

I had a pound of Triple 7, purchased about 25 years ago, that was no longer consistent in my black powder guns, so decided to dispose of it. You can't just toss that stuff in the garbage. But I have a nice track of exposed dirt due to constant foot traffic over the winter (in the spring, it grows back to grass), so I first made a fuse trail to where I was going to pile the bulk of it (no overhead trees or structures near it), then made a little hill of the stuff at the end of the fuse trail. I stepped back to the start of the fuse trail and lit it.

There was a nice little sparkler effect slowly moving towards the powder pile, then WHOOSH! It looked like Operation Mike on the Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands, LOL. Holy crap! Huge ball of flame and smoke forming a classic mushroom cloud that must have reached 20 feet up as a mushroom formation. Then on up into the sky, soon making what looked like just another large white cloud overhead that drifted on up towards the real clouds in the sky, gradually vanishing. Pretty spectacular.

Then the rake and garden hose, of course, to make sure no embers remained.

A pound of loose powder on open ground cannot create any explosive force, but it sure was visually entertaining. I thought about video recording it, but didn't want to be distracted.

Video?

Or as renegade says................it never happened?

Honestly, I do wish you'd filmed it. Would have been cool to watch.

Much better than the Kamala ones some folks are posting .

So it goes bad?

Pistol powder burns pretty fast. Rifle powder burns about like diesel fuel. Never burned any black powder substitute.

Yeah, Triple 7 has a shelf life. This was a factory sealed 1 lb container (FFFg) when I opened it recently to try in my cap and ball revolvers. Inconsistent and delayed ignition, so no good.

Wow. I'nm sure I have open containers that old. Have been perfect so far. Which might be a miracle now.

Shooting Dupont black from 64 mostly though.

Real black powder will last centuries, no problem.

-HINT-

DD

PS: Don’t use that method of disposal with Lord Black.

I dispose of real black powder by shooting it through my black powder guns. It never goes bad.

My understanding is black powder is an explosive. I’ve never seen the need to test that theory.

I’ve got some Pyrodex that’s knocking on 40 years old. Reckon it’s still good?

Might be inconsistent or delayed when shot in a black powder gun vs real black powder of any age.

777 and Pyrodex go hygroscopic once opened no matter how well you think it is sealed it expands from moisture in the air losing its density, think a kernal of popcorn popping slowly over time, breaks downs basically into sand like consistency when seating a bullet on it.

Big increase in burn rate and velocity.

Cost me a good buck in 44A about 10 or 11 years ago.
3yr old can longest I ever held onto a can up to then.
Shot right over his back going for a high shoulder break down shot with my old renegade 50 cal about a 75yd shot.
Got a new can of 2 f the next day.
New can granules small, hard, dense, and consistent in size.
Old can large granules and I could crush and grind em in my fingers and basically turn into basically 4f

I would seat bullets with my best geustimate of around 25 30 ft pds pressure on the ramrod.

I buy a new can every year since then.
Might shoot 20 25 shots a yr max....
Shoot 777 2f in my kodiak promag.
I just put water in the old can shake it up a little and toss it in the trash.
The dump police havent came knocking on my door either.

Captain Planet weeps.........🥴🥴🥴😄😄😄

We use old powder to split trees. Mostly old oaks that are blown down due to some disease. Drill a hole into the side of the log a few feet from the butt. Go down about ten inches. Insert several feet of cannon fuse so you have lots of time to get a safe distance away. Drop or pour the powder to one inch of the top of the hole. Pack with clay. Make sure as you do all this that the fuse stays in the bottom of the hole. Light the fuse and get to a safe location behind something. After the explosion wait a little bit. Then go cut your firewood rounds to length. Most of the time they will fall to the ground in pieces. You may have to split some of it. I would say don't waste your time on softwood. Just good firewood. Be well, RZ.

Sure you can. Just fill up the container with water first.

Yeah, I guess that would work. My way was more fun, though.

I wish it was as fun as Tannerite!

Get an anvil next time:

I had some Cleanshot BP substitute that really degraded from year 1 to year 2.
I poured a line out in the garden and lit it. It just burned. Had an unopened bottle and poured it out the same way. I lit it and it was a little more exciting.No mushroom cloud though.

That was high.

One of these days you might wish you had that powder.

You likely need to have a main charge like I did (a singular pile), with a trail of powder acting like the fuse so you have some distance from it when it goes.