Identifying Black Powder?

[Hooter]

Howdy, I have a newb question for ya'll. I recently acquired a flask when I purchased a Ruger old army, from a gentleman in San Antonio. The flask is about 3/4 full of powder. I would like to use it but would hate for it to turn out to be smokeless. I know it's unlikely , but the man stated he got the old army in a trade deal and never shot it. I'm wondering if there is anyway to verify what type of powder is in the flask? Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[RobD]

well, smokeless burns, REAL black powder explodes ... if you were to lay out a 6" long very slim line of black powder on smooth concrete or rock or slab of plywood and touch one end of that line with a long made up match stick, it would literally explode as in this demo by hickok45 ...



... or just dump that mystery powder and start anew.  hmm, might be a sub, too (yuk!).  

[rollingb]

well, smokeless burns, REAL black powder explodes ... if you were to lay out a 6" long very slim line of black powder on smooth concrete or rock or slab of plywood and touch one end of that line with a long made up match stick, it would literally explode as in this demo by hickok45 ...



... or just dump that mystery powder and start anew.  hmm, might be a sub, too (yuk!).  

It might also be pointed out, that the modern "substitutes" for real black powder, actually BURN much like smokeless powder, but produce less "pressure" similar to that of black powder.  

[sse]

Most interesting.

[Hooter]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. The video was very informative. I poured out a line of 30 and lit it and it quickly poofed with lots of white smoke. I then did it with the goex and had just about an identical reaction. I'm confident the powder is black and will be shooting it this weekend. Thanks guys.

[sse]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. The video was very informative. I poured out a line of 30 and lit it and it quickly poofed with lots of white smoke. I then did it with the goex and had just about an identical reaction. I'm confident the powder is black and will be shooting it this weekend. Thanks guys.

Guess I'm a little bit more cautious, but I wouldn't use it.  There is the grain size question mark.  If I were to give it a try, I'd start with very small loads!

[Hooter]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. The video was very informative. I poured out a line of 30 and lit it and it quickly poofed with lots of white smoke. I then did it with the goex and had just about an identical reaction. I'm confident the powder is black and will be shooting it this weekend. Thanks guys.

Guess I'm a little bit more cautious, but I wouldn't use it.  There is the grain size question mark.  If I were to give it a try, I'd start with very small loads!

I'm gonna start with a full spout pour of 30 grains.

ETA: or would 30 grains of another size be dangerous in a Ruger old army?

[sse]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. The video was very informative. I poured out a line of 30 and lit it and it quickly poofed with lots of white smoke. I then did it with the goex and had just about an identical reaction. I'm confident the powder is black and will be shooting it this weekend. Thanks guys.

Guess I'm a little bit more cautious, but I wouldn't use it.  There is the grain size question mark.  If I were to give it a try, I'd start with very small loads!

I'm gonna start with a full spout pour of 30 grains.

ETA: or would 30 grains of another size be dangerous in a Ruger old army?

That would be a pistol, and I have no experience with that.  Since they are designed for smaller loads, I would think the margin of error for damaging anything would be a tad smaller than experimentation with a rifle.

[rollingb]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. The video was very informative. I poured out a line of 30 and lit it and it quickly poofed with lots of white smoke. I then did it with the goex and had just about an identical reaction. I'm confident the powder is black and will be shooting it this weekend. Thanks guys.

Guess I'm a little bit more cautious, but I wouldn't use it.  There is the grain size question mark.  If I were to give it a try, I'd start with very small loads!

I'm gonna start with a full spout pour of 30 grains.

ETA: or would 30 grains of another size be dangerous in a Ruger old army?

30 grs. of FFFG black powder is pretty typical for pistols (NOT including the brass-framed imports),.... and the Ruger Old Army is a heavy build firearm compared to the imports/replicas.

I don't think you have much to be concerned about with your Ruger, as long as you're NOT using smokeless powder, or a fine granulation of black powder like FFFFG (4fG) which is pretty easy to identify 'cause it has almost the same consistency as "sugar".  

[Hooter]

Thanks for all the help guys. So today I shot the powder in the flask. Zero problems. I started out shooting my goex, and then tried 30 grains from the flask. It performed the same as the goex. At the end of the day I shot 2 cylinders loaded with 50 grains. I was able to only seat the balls just a hair enough to turn the cylinder. I planned on shooting all six but after all the elbow grease it took to seat 2 balls, I decided to just shoot the 2.

[Bigsmoke]

File this in the "stupid people sometimes get away with even dumber acts" department.

Years ago I was at a range where a person was shooting an Old Army next to me.  It gave off a very loud, sharp report.  I asked him what the heck he was shooting.  He replied 40 grains of Ffffg GOEX.  I next asked him if his health and life insurance was paid up.  He didn't get the insinuation.  Later came to find out that he was an insurance salesman in town.  I did move well down range from him.  Easier on my ears and out of the shrapnel range in case things went wrong.

You can put me in the dump the powder that's in the flask and fill it with a known quantity group also.

John

[Hooter]

File this in the "stupid people sometimes get away with even dumber acts" department.

Years ago I was at a range where a person was shooting an Old Army next to me.  It gave off a very loud, sharp report.  I asked him what the heck he was shooting.  He replied 40 grains of Ffffg GOEX.  I next asked him if his health and life insurance was paid up.  He didn't get the insinuation.  Later came to find out that he was an insurance salesman in town.  I did move well down range from him.  Easier on my ears and out of the shrapnel range in case things went wrong.

You can put me in the dump the powder that's in the flask and fill it with a known quantity group also.

John

Too late I've already shot half of it. I think it's fffg black powder. It performed just like my goex.

[hawkthrower]

the known and the unknown - With a firearm regardless the vintage I will always choose the known! Know your equipment, know your setup, know your backstop, KNOW YOUR LOAD! - scary post!! at least in my book........ fyi - I know factory loaded ammo is supposed to be "safe" but after reloading as long as I have, as many different arms, and circumstances I have loaded for, and with all of the messing around I've done with getting the "right" load for rifles, pistols, and revolvers I still test fire when starting out even with a new can of powder, I test and work up to accuracy!  Using anything I am uncertain of when it comes to my firearms, would Not be a thing I would do!

Get some fresh powder and be sure of your equipment! Even if you've gone through most of what you received!

[Hooter]

the known and the unknown - With a firearm regardless the vintage I will always choose the known! Know your equipment, know your setup, know your backstop, KNOW YOUR LOAD! - scary post!! at least in my book........ fyi - I know factory loaded ammo is supposed to be "safe" but after reloading as long as I have, as many different arms, and circumstances I have loaded for, and with all of the messing around I've done with getting the "right" load for rifles, pistols, and revolvers I still test fire when starting out even with a new can of powder, I test and work up to accuracy!  Using anything I am uncertain of when it comes to my firearms, would Not be a thing I would do!

Get some fresh powder and be sure of your equipment! Even if you've gone through most of what you received!

Thanks for your concern. I didnt just load it up and start shooting it. I did some research. Burned some to see how it reacted. And when I shot it I started off with a light load. The powder is good to go. I have fresh powder. But where I live, I cannot just purchase some more. I have to drive 2.5 hours to San Antonio to buy it, or buy 5 plus pounds online. There's no way I'm going to throw it out. Especially after verifying that it's good powder. I purchased it with a black powder gun, in a case with said gun. It's. not like I found it at the flea market.

[Hooter]

Pic of flask: