Page 230 - The Lost Ways

If you want to make it more powerful here are two great tips for powering up your
gunpowder:

Add water to the mix and stir it into a paste then allow it to dry. This really gets the
three powders to mingle thoroughly.

Add (isopropyl) alcohol to the mix depending on batch size and this will make it really
angry when the fire hits it.

Making gunpowder at home is one of those cheap and easy endeavors that will surprise
you. It’s also puts you in contact with a process that changed the course of history! Just
be safe and smart as you are creating a highly combustible substance!

Smokeless Powder

After the discovery that burn rates of powder could be controlled by changing the granule

size of the powder, Viellie and Nobel introduced smokeless powder to the world. This new
powder did not have the corrosive or hydroscopic properties of black powder, and most
importantly, it did not leave clouds of white smoke in its wake when a round was fired.

Because of the higher pressure involved with smokeless powder, it should only be fired
in modern firearms made after 1898 and never fired in firearms marked “For Black
Powder Only.”

Primers

Of all the components that make up a round of ammunition, primers tend to be the most

dangerous to handle or attempt to make.

Primer Size

There are three sizes of primers: shotgun, small, and large.

Small and large primers each come in three different degrees: rifle, pistol, and Magnum.
The size of the primer depends on the case.

Most center fire pistol ammunition uses the small pistol primer with the exception of
10mm, 45 ACP, 44 Special, 41 Magnum, 44 Magnum, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 50 Action Express,
500 Smith & Wesson, 454 Casul, and Wildcat cartridges based on these case designs.

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