I've searched all over this forum but I haven't been able to find the info I'm looking for so I assume I'm not wasting your time asking this. I'm very new to reloading and I got to thinking that if somehow we no longer had access to smokeless powder, could blackpowder be used as a dirty alternative? I'm talking about loading say 9mm or .308 brass with bp and firing it out of semi-autos. Anyone try this? Results? I know that blackpowder is relatively simple to make and that's why I ask.

Thanks for your time,
Brett

Question:
I've searched all over this forum but I haven't been able to find the info I'm looking for so I assume I'm not wasting your time asking this. I'm very new to reloading and I got to thinking that if somehow we no longer had access to smokeless powder, could blackpowder be used as a dirty alternative? I'm talking about loading say 9mm or .308 brass with bp and firing it out of semi-autos. Anyone try this? Results? I know that blackpowder is relatively simple to make and that's why I ask.

Thanks for your time,
Brett

Choices:
yes
no

 

Waaaay back when, that was considered a viable alternative. The 30-30 and the 32 spl are two that come to mind.
I would think that trying to reload .308s with BP and then run them thru a auto would foul up the works in short order.
Many of your pistol cartridges started out as BP rounds. Just takes a little research to find out which ones.

I used to shoot BP loads through my M29 44 mag years ago just for a laugh and to annoy my mates when they took too long shooting a string.
6 rounds and break out the boiling water, it's filthy stuff and gets everywhere.
I wouldn't fancy putting BP through a semi auto (pistol or rifle), way too many bits to take apart and clean thoroughly afterwards.

BP is bulkier than smokeless, so it typically requires a larger case to hold the extra volume.

Some cartridges started out life with BP, such as the .38 SP, 45-70, etc. These could probably be loaded with BP as originally intended. Mostly revolvers and single shot rifles. As mentioned above, stay away from autoloaders.

BP is bad enough, I think home made black would be really nasty. I suppose if the straights were dire, it would be better than nothing.

I've loaded both .45 colt and .45-70 with BP. The secret it a drop tube and compress the powder. Really messy in any repeater. Don't shoot it in anything that requires a lot of disassembly to clean.

I don't know about a 9mm, but a .45 M1911 will work with a case full of FFFg and a 230 grain hardball bullet. It's not that hard to clean up, either. Gas operated mechanisms would likely quickly foul.

If you read the patent number on the side of a bottle of Pyrodex and look it up, you'll find that the patent is for a spurious (IMHO) claim about finishing just about any possible combination of solid fuels and oxidizers with a controlled amount of residual water that's supposed to control combustion. (You can also find what's probably the real composition among them.) But there's a ballistics table showing the results of loading a .222 Remington with 50 grain soft point bullets with Pyrodex containing varying percentages of moisture, right up to a wet slurry.

The .303 British and 7.62x54R Russian cartridges were originally loaded with compressed black powder and jacketed bullets. The Russians didn't convert to smokeless powder till 1908. The original 7.5mm Swiss loads used a semi-smokeless powder till 1911.