Black Powder and How to Make it. For use in Black Powder Firearms, muzzleloaders, guns, pistols, rifles, flintlock, cannon

History of Black Powder

In all the publications that we have researched, we have found that you can make your own guns, cast your own shot, and make all the tools necessary for shooting black powder firearms, but there is no detailed information anywhere on the production of black powder by an individual for use in black powder firearms.

The history of black powder started at some time prior to 1000 A.D. The discovery of a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal that is capable of doing useful work is one of the most important discoveries of mankind. Black powder made huge engineering projects possible and gave access to minerals deep within the earth, and as such, helped in bringing about the Industrial Revolution.

The first black powder mills were established in America around the year 1775. Prior to this time, the making of black powder in the 13 colonies was a small scale household industry. In 1775, there was a small pamphlet published by Henry Wisner, a member of the Continental Congress, on the making of black powder by individuals. By the late 1700's, there were more than 200 black powder manufacturing facilities in operation in the United States.

The chemicals used for making black powder have remained the same since the Chinese wrote about it in 1044 A.D. The ratio has varied with time and location and the particular type of black powder desired, but by the 19th century, the procedure had been well standardized.

We took years of testing and experimentation to come up with ways to make black powder as easy as possible, so that an individual with limited resources can make a high quality black powder for rockets, Fireworks, fuse and blasting, and especially for use in black powder firearms.

We have broken the production of black powder into two sections; the first section shows how to make a fine powdery black powder that may be used as it is for rockets, fireworks and blasting. Section two shows how to take this fine powdery black powder and further refine it into dense grains for use in black powder firearms.

We've done a lot of research and put a tremendous amount of time, energy, and work into researching and writing this manual, and it is our sincere hope that you make this into an enjoyable hobby as an extension of your interest in black powder firearms.

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