Changing flame color of BP rounds...

[Croc Holiday 105]

I was chatting with my nephew about BP and the muzzle flash it has.  He said "it would be cool if you could change it's color."  Interesting thought.  I remembered something I read a while back about how to change flame color in fire by adding certain compounds like copper chloride to change it blue.  Was curious if anyone has tried adding something like that to black powder?

[The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 719]

Not a chemist, but seems to me adding any chemical to things that go boom could be iffy.

Maybe we'll get some bp/chem expert on here that can shed more light.

C'mon you soot lords, boom and flash ain't enough for ya? Lol

[Croc Holiday 105]

 

Not a chemist, but seems to me adding any chemical to things that go boom could be iffy.

 

I thought the same thing but thought I'd see.  I can see all sorts of ways it could go wrong.  But maybe it's been done with no issues.

 

 

C'mon you soot lords, boom and flash ain't enough for ya? Lol

 

Yea, I know.  There's something wrong with me haha.

[Hunt Mountain Drifter 24]

 

I was chatting with my nephew about BP and the muzzle flash it has.  He said "it would be cool if you could change it's color."  Interesting thought.  I remembered something I read a while back about how to change flame color in fire by adding certain compounds like copper chloride to change it blue.  Was curious if anyone has tried adding something like that to black powder?

Croc, I have added some colored chalk from a chalk line in my shotgun Hulls for some cool blue smoke.

 

[Croc Holiday 105]

 

Croc, I have added some colored chalk from a chalk line in my shotgun Hulls for some cool blue smoke.

 

 

That sounds fun too and I have some in the shop!

 

 

[Ozark Huckleberry 375]

Aren’t most modern fireworks made with BP? 
 

I thought most coloring compounds for fires were some kind of salt. Wouldn’t that bring up a corrosion issue, too?

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 4,665]

Ruby Redsmoke uses red, of course, chalk dust.

[Yusta B. 1,144]

Be aware - when shooting chalk loads, the wind direction becomes important. Some folks get a bit upset when colored chalk gets blown onto their favorite cowboy clothes ....  Just a thought. 

[Cemetery 191]

 

Be aware - when shooting chalk loads, the wind direction becomes important. Some folks get a bit upset when colored chalk gets blown onto their favorite cowboy clothes ....  Just a thought. 

 

And their lungs.

 

Who wants to breath chaulk dust.  

[Cemetery 191]

 

I was chatting with my nephew about BP and the muzzle flash it has.  He said "it would be cool if you could change it's color."  Interesting thought.  I remembered something I read a while back about how to change flame color in fire by adding certain compounds like copper chloride to change it blue.  Was curious if anyone has tried adding something like that to black powder?

 

I tried this for years.  Even read articles about making fireworks.

 

Unfortunately, we don't use enough powder to make it work.  Maybe in a full load of a 3" shotshell in 10g. 

[Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129 786]

I for ONE am perfectly happy with my FULL CASE loads of Goex 3F And see NO need and Have NO space to add anything to Color things ....

My .40 caliber plus rounds and my shotshells that seem to smoke plenty good ....

 

Jabez Cowboy

[PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L 3,619]

Just an FYI...there HAVE been some issues with a few individuals adding "stuff" to their loads to create additional pyrotechnic effects.

Currently, there are no rules specifically addressing the practice other than range rules (e.g. fire hazards).

Powdered chalk, glitter, etc. mixed with the shot present potential problems as mentioned.

REF: SHB p.27

 

[Abilene, SASS # 27489 589]

 

...Powdered chalk, glitter, etc. mixed with the shot present potential problems as mentioned....

 

 

There was one mention here a while back about someone incurring an eye injury from the glitter in another shooter's shotshells. 

[Croc Holiday 105]

I guess my dreams of a BP shotgun round that belches green flame and spits blue chalk smoke, feathers, glitter, confetti and streamers is dead... 

[Too Tall Bob 1,151]

Put a pea sized wad of 0000 steel wool between wad and powder. Spectacular long white flame!!

[Cemetery 191]

 

Just an FYI...there HAVE been some issues with a few individuals adding "stuff" to their loads to create additional pyrotechnic effects.

Currently, there are no rules specifically addressing the practice other than range rules (e.g. fire hazards).

Powdered chalk, glitter, etc. mixed with the shot present potential problems as mentioned.

REF: SHB p.27

 

 

Yeah people need to pay attention to range conditions.  There's a yearly I go to that outlawed pixie dust being added to BP round cause somebody went overboard, and caused issues, which resulted in no more pyrotechnic rounds being allowed.

[Cemetery 191]

 

Put a pea sized wad of 0000 steel wool between wad and powder. Spectacular long white flame!!

 

I tried this, I didn't think it worked, but was told otherwise from the posse.

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437 416]

I've added colored chalk for use in a carpenter's line.

[Yusta B. 1,144]

I heard tell of a feller once put a bikini thong in a SG shell. The story goes - it stuck perfectly on the SG target & it took 10 minutes to settle down the posse !!   

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329 1,208]

The color comes from a substance burning.  Burn a colored comic strip in the fireplace and look at the colors these compounds produce.

The yellow produced in flames comes from sodium ions, because there is so much salt in many things.

Copper ions produce a pretty green, so burning copper chloride yields a green color.

Potassium ions show lavender, so burning a salt substitute (KCl).

The difficulty might be that the smoke and flame from burning black powder may mask the other colors, and they might be impossible to see.

—Dawg

[Titus A. Gnatsass, SASS #71705 168]

 

I heard tell of a feller once put a bikini thong in a SG shell. The story goes - it stuck perfectly on the SG target & it took 10 minutes to settle down the posse !!   

 

Yup, and he is a proud member of the Insane Clown Posse.

[Yusta B. 1,144]

 

 

Yup, and he is a proud member of the Insane Clown Posse.

Sounds like somethin mighta happened at Possum Trot   

[Titus A. Gnatsass, SASS #71705 168]

I wasn't present to witness the incident, just remember him telling me about it.  Don't know that he told me where he was at the time.  And since you mentioned Possum Trot, it may not be who you are thinking of.

[Dusty Devil Dale 437]

 

Be aware - when shooting chalk loads, the wind direction becomes important. Some folks get a bit upset when colored chalk gets blown onto their favorite cowboy clothes ....  Just a thought. 

Contractors will tell you that red colored construction marking chalk doesn't wash out completely on   clothing, leather, etc.   Just sharing. 

Edited January 1 by Dusty Devil Dale

[Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646 1,475]

I have no knowledge of said thong incident, however i can tell you that roman candle balls go down range nicely and even strike targets very accurately. Shot over fresh straw mat and new grass seed it makes predictable results, therefore pyro loads are now banned at Wartrace. When Willy McCoy was loading Insane clown loads he told me he did not have any success loading over BP and only used smokeless for the loads. I have been told fireworks are BP so who knows? Glitter, cracklers, roman candle balls- all great fun until you start a big fire two weeks before a state level match. Jersey Bratt watched me do the fire dance that day, and she stays with me anyway.

 

Imis (who shoots smokeless loads without augmentation now) 

[Ramblin Gambler 871]

@Texas Jack Daniels had a thread about this a while back. I think he was planning something for the 4th of July. I never found out if he made his special loads but maybe you can find that thread. Or maybe he'll show up here and recount what he learned. 

[Cusz M. Dutch SASS Life 55326 81]

Best chance might be to try and make your own BP using copper nitrate.  

[Lone Rider, SASS# 73063 151]

I have seen some folks add little yellow feathers to their loads for an after effect,

[Texas Lizard 741]

On 12/31/2019 at 2:28 PM, Yusta B. said:

I heard tell of a feller once put a bikini thong in a SG shell. The story goes - it stuck perfectly on the SG target & it took 10 minutes to settle down the posse !!   

Be careful where you get it from....A boyfriend or husband might be watching and wonder how you got it.......Or girlfriend, I am in California...Need to be equal or someone upset....

 

Texas Lizard

[wyliefoxEsquire 43]

Try colored paper 

use a cross cut paper shredder (comes out like easter grass)

stuff the shredded paper in with the shot.

[Nawlins Kid 115]

On 12/31/2019 at 4:05 PM, Cemetery said:

 

Yeah people need to pay attention to range conditions.  There's a yearly I go to that outlawed pixie dust being added to BP round cause somebody went overboard, and caused issues, which resulted in no more pyrotechnic rounds being allowed.

Pyrotechnic effects may look cool but is it worth causing problems. Like possibly starting a fire (that water may not be able to put out), blow back that could burn someone or their clothes? Lastly adding a substance to BP with a different “burn rate” that overtime could possibly cause fatigue of the gun parts. IMO someone that could get hurt with a gun coming apart because of “pyrotechnic effects” is not worth it.   

Nawlins

[Isom Dart, SASS#8096 80]

Once and a while I'd put "stripper glitter" in with the shot, or the blue carpenter chalk. If you want more smoke and fire ,,, try some 1F powder.

Isom

[Ruff Kut 17]

I actually looked into this a while back and played around with a few different additives.  Short story is nothing was really satisfactory.  The problem is the burn rate of all of the mentioned chemical additives is so much slower than BP that you get minimal effect if any at all.  If you throw these additives in a campfire?  You will see some great color changes that show for a good while because they burn extremely slow.  My experience was they simply do not have time to get a good burn going and show color from a shot blast.  That was my experience.