A black powder substitute is a replacement for

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

(gunpowder), primarily used in

muzzleloading Muzzleloading is the shooting sport of firing muzzleloader, muzzleloading guns. Muzzleloading guns, both antique and reproduction, are used for target shooting, hunting, historical re-enactment and historical research. The sport originated in the ...

firearms. Substitutes may have slightly different properties from gunpowder such as: reduced sensitivity as an explosive, increased efficiency as a

propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or another motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicle ...

powder, different density, and/or reduced ignition efficiency. This also means that substitutes are subject to different restrictions than gunpowder.

Uses

Black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

was the first explosive ever invented, and was the primary

used firearms around the world for many centuries. However, in modern times,

smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powder Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to black powder. Because of their similar use, both the original black powder formula ...

has largely replaced black powder as the most common firearm propellant. Still, black powder remains in use for certain types of firearms, including historical weapons from before the invention of smokeless powder, such as

muzzleloader A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the bullet, projectile and the propellant charge into the Muzzle (firearms), muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern desi ...

s. Black powder substitutes are propellants designed to provide explosive force similar to that of black powder, primarily for use in such firearms, despite being legally classified as "smokeless propellant". In the United States, many states mandate the use of black powder or "equivalent" black powder substitutes during the portion of

deer hunting Deer hunting is hunting deer for meat and sport, and, formerly, for producing Buckskin (leather), buckskin hides, an activity which dates back tens of thousands of years. Venison, the name for deer meat, is a nutritious and natural food sourc ...

season in which only muzzleloading firearms can be used, and many outright prohibit the use of smokeless powders during this time.

Types

Hodgdon's Pyrodex is a widely available substitute for black powder. Pyrodex is less sensitive to ignition than black powder. It also contains more energy per unit of

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

than black powder, but is less dense. Therefore, it is often substituted at a 1:1

ratio In mathematics, a ratio () shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ...

volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...

for black powder. Pyrodex is similar in composition to black powder (which consists of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur) but incorporates several other compounds: * 45%

potassium nitrate Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nit ...

* 9%

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

* 6%

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

* 19%

potassium perchlorate Potassium perchlorate is the inorganic salt with the chemical formula K Cl O4. Like other perchlorates, this salt is a strong oxidizer when the solid is heated at high temperature, although it usually reacts very slowly in solution with reducin ...

* 11% sodium benzoate * 6% dicyandiamide * 4%

dextrin Dextrins are a group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch and glycogen. Dextrins are mixtures of polymers of D-glucose units linked by α-(1→4) or α-(1→6) glycosidic bonds. Dextrins can be produced fro ...

* 1%

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

Pyrodex has a slower combustion and produces a lower maximum pressure than black powder yet provides the same amount of

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...

and a higher projectile velocity. It is often used for shooting historical weapons. Originally available as loose powder in two granularities, RS (Rifle/Shotgun) and P (Pistol). Where RS (Rifle/Shotgun) is equivalent to FFg black powder and P (Pistol) is equivalent to FFFg black powder on the Fg (coarsest) to FFFFg (finest) granularity scale. While Pyrodex offers improved safety and increased efficiency (in terms of shots per pound of powder) over black powder, the level of fouling is similar to black powder as Pyrodex is caustic and corrosive. Therefore, the same cleaning lay regimen used on black powder fouling must be employed when Pyrodex has been used. Hodgdon also makes "Triple Seven", a sulfur-free black powder substitute containing

and 3-Nitrobenzoic acid, and "Black Mag3". These are both more energetic by mass than black powder and can produce higher velocities and pressures. Triple Seven is a volumetric substitute for black powder, and due to its higher velocity, it is recommended to reduce the load by 15%. The carbon-based fuel burned in this case is from the sugar family, not from charcoal.

Measurement

The

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

is the traditional measurement of the weight of

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...

s, black powder and

in English-speaking countries. It is the unit measured by the scales used in

handloading Handloading, or reloading, is the practice of making firearm cartridges by manually assembling the individual components ( metallic/ polymer case, primer, propellant and projectile), rather than purchasing mass-assembled, factory-loaded com ...

; commonly, bullets are measured in increments of one grain, gunpowder in increments of 0.1 grains. There are 7,000 grains in one pound. Black powder substitutes are formulated to be a volume-for-volume equivalent of black powder, not an equivalent mass-for-mass (weight-for-weight). Black powder substitutes are measured by volumetric measurement techniques, not in grains on a scale, due to the difference in density compared to black powder. For example, to measure a "60 grain equivalent" of black powder substitute suitable for use in a muzzleloader rifle, one uses a volumetric measure that produces a volume of black powder equivalent equal to the volume of a mass of 60 grains of black powder. For example, because Pyrodex, a common black powder substitute, is less dense than black powder, a measurement by weight on a scale of 60 grains of mass of Pyrodex would be near a 30 percent overload. Volume equivalence is a benefit in loading muzzleloading firearms, traditionally loaded using volumetric measures. This becomes an issue when fabricating black-powder cartridges through handloading using a black-powder substitute in place of black powder, since it is common practice to measure by weight when loading cartridges (there are published conversion tables).

Disadvantages

With the increased safety of the black powder substitutes often comes a reduced sensitivity to ignition.

Flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

s in particular need very sensitive, finely granulated powder for use in the flash pan, and black powder tends to perform more reliably in these and traditional caplock guns than substitutes. Modern in-line muzzleloaders provide a stronger ignition than traditional designs and this helps to increase reliability with less flame-sensitive substitutes. In addition, magnum

percussion cap The percussion cap, percussion primer, or caplock, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. Its invention gave ...

s are often recommended for use with black powder substitutes for both inline and traditional caplock guns, in place of the #11 percussion caps traditionally used with black powder in these guns, to achieve the best ignition reliability. When used for recovery system ejection charges in high-power rocketry, black powder substitutes need a greater degree of confinement to ensure a complete burn and generation of sufficient ejection pressure. This can be achieved by wrapping 2–3 layers of

electrical tape Electrical tape (or insulating tape) is a type of pressure-sensitive tape used to insulate electrical wires and other materials that conduct electricity. It can be made of many plastics but PVC (polyvinyl chloride, "vinyl") is the most popula ...

over the ejection charge canister before installation.

Legality

United States

Black powder substitutes can be transported and stored in interstate commerce in the United States using the smokeless powder regulations instead of the more restrictive black powder regulations. As a result, black powder substitutes are becoming more commonly available than traditional black powder.

United Kingdom

Prior to July 2024, Pyrodex was classified as UN0161 and therefore benefited for an exemption under the Explosives Regulations 2014, meaning that it did not require a certificate to buy or store in the United Kingdom; an RCA (recipient

competent authority A competent authority is any person or organization that has the legally delegated or invested authority, capacity, or power to perform a designated function. Similarly, once an authority is delegated to perform a certain act, only the competent a ...

) document was also not needed for transportation. In 2024, the manufacturer of Pyrodex changed the product's classification, resulting in the exemption previously afforded to it no longer applying and it can now only be purchased and possessed with an Explosives Certificate covering UN0499 and UN0501. It must also be stored in the same fashion as

, namely in a locked wooden box with adequate separation distance and internal volume. There are varying opinions as to whether Pyrodex bought prior to the reclassification and having the previous UN0161 number can be possessed without a certificate, with some English police forces considering one necessary while other organisations take a different position, namely that the applicable UN classification is the one that applied when the product was manufactured and packaged.

Citations

Pyrodex MSDS
Material safety data sheet
Triple Seven MSDS

External links

FAQ on black powder and substitutes
BLACK POWDER, PYRODEX, AND THE NEW LOW-RESIDUE POWDERS
by Randy Wakeman (2004).

��Information and comparative tests of various BP substitutes in high-power rocketry ejection systems {{Handloading Firearm propellants