DIY Smokeless Powder - IGP Smokeless Powder Manufacturing
I tried another iteration Golden Powder; using a formula/paper I found for “IGP” (Improved Golden Powder) reputed to provide a higher velocity compared to standard Golden Powder. There is a thread in the Muzzle Loading Section that is exploring the powder for Muzzle Loaders and Cap and Ball handguns. I wanted to focus on potential Centerfire use. Initial experimentation will be in my Remington 700 .308 Winchester with a 24 inch barrel.
Golden Powder and IGP (Improved Golden Powder) are usually cooked; but there are recipes for “Not-Cooking” the IGP; which interests me since cooking chemicals can bring risks such as volatility, breathing hazards, and potential fire hazards. I pulled this paper from a web site; but trying to open it today - it was not working. Here is the URL anyway:
https://pyrodata.com/PyroGuide/index...(Uncooked).htm
The Improved Golden Powder was:
Ammonium Nitrate 30.3% 105.7 gr.
Potassium Nitrate 30.3% 105.7 gr
Ascorbic Acid 37.3% 130.4 gr.
Sodium Bi Carbonate (Baking Soda) 2.1% 7.4 gr.
Above previously listed Potassium Bi Carbonate - when Sodium Bi Carbonate (Baking Soda) was actually used. (changed 19 May 2024)
Water 27.0 gr.
My Improved Golden Powder was mixed with water. Objective was to make a heavy paste or dough out of the chemicals. I actually weighed the water used in grains; so for the total of 349.2 grains of chemicals; I mixed in an additional 27 grains of well water (filtered through house reverse osmosis water filtration). This resulted in a total mixture weight of 376.2 grains. All the chemicals and water were stirred together in a small stainless steel bowl. Then while wearing a nitrile glove; I hand mixed the test batch until it was a heavy dough which was then placed onto a flat glass plate (taken from a broken microwave) and pressed the dough out as if making a small pizza dough. This flattened dough was then placed in an electric dehydrator at a temperature of 125 degrees Fahrenheit and allowed to dry for 24 hours.
After 24 Hours of dehydration the dough was slightly darker, a light tan color. The dough was scraped from the flat glass plate using a flat razor scraper. Scrapings were very difficult to achieve as the dough was firmly attached to the glass plate. Scraping resulted in thin rolls the width of the razor blade; or razor blade wide small flakes. The texture was like semi-dried out taffy or other type of cookie making operation; still tacky in texture and very slightly sticky. After scraping all of the “dough” from the plate; I put it back in the dehydrator at 125 degrees Fahrenheit for four hours for additional dehydration.
After removing the Mixture; it was ground with a Mortar/Pestel. Sizes of particles were reduced, but not easily. Gumminess of the mixture persisted. Mixture was returned to the Dehydrator for an additional 2 hours. When removed from the Dehydrator, the mixture was ground with a Mortar/Pestel again until all of it would pass through a 40 mesh screen. It still retained a slightly gummy feel, so it was returned once again to the dehydrator for an additional ½ hour. It was then poured into a small pill vial for storage.
2 Attachment(s)
Improved Golden Powder in .308W ; Test #1 Poor Results
The IGP was loaded into five .308 Winchester cases (33 Grains); primed with CCI #200 Large Rifle Primers, and topped off with an NOE 311644 boolit (about 206 Grains), that was Powder Coated and had a .014 thick aluminum Gas Check.
I wanted to capture velocities for this test - but that did not pan out. I am using a Lab Radar Chronograph and it has settings for Rifle, Pistol, and Archery. I recently discovered in my testing with what I call No.7 Powder that if velocities drop too low, the Rifle setting will not be triggered (No.7 a DIY Home Made Powder - see other thread on this site). . I reset the unit to "Pistol" to overcome this and was able to capture velocity readings in the 750 fps to 1500 fps from the Rifle using this setting. Unfortunately; the First Testing of the five rounds loaded with IGP captured NO VELOCITIES. This would seem to indicate that the velocity must be below 750 fps; or lower. May have to reset to archery in future tests if velocities can not be improved with this or other IGP formulas.
Results of the First Test were that I was not getting a good burn. Sound report was low; muzzle loader or less reports. After each round; I ran a cleaning rod through the barrel to remove debris. Below is a picture of one of the "Debris Fields" left in the barrel, the background is concrete from the Shooting Bench at the Range:
Attachment 325883
Boolit impact was "Way Low" indicative of low velocity. In fact; the highest impact was a single boolit impact at about 6 o-clock, just above the bottom of the cardboard, 23 inches Below the 7/8 inch Black Spotter Aiming point.
Attachment 325884
Over the next few months I will explore this more; but I am seeking higher velocities than this effort produced. I will see if a larger grain structure may help (20 Mesh instead of 40 mesh screening).
Improved Golden Powder – With Iron Oxide & Charcoal - Uncooked
Given the poor performance of my previous IGP (Improved Golden Powder) experiment in the Remington 700 Chambered for .308 Winchester; I thought I needed some form of change to seek dramatic improvement. Previous experiment indicated low and inconsistent velocity from the mixture. My thoughts have drifted to adding Iron Oxide and Charcoal to the mixture.
I had about 160 Grains of the First Test Mixture identified in post #1. My thoughts were to use that remaining mixture and add Iron Oxide and Charcoal at about 1.8% of the total mixture from each. I derived the following as the weight and mixture ratios from the previous mixture and the additional 1.8% plus 1.8% items. I did NOT liquify the previous mixture; rather I took the dry mixture and added 3 Grains of Iron Oxide, and 3 Grains of Charcoal to the mixture, then rolled the resulting mixture in the Pill Container for about 3 to 4 minutes to mix well.
The new mixture for this Second Test is:
Ammonium Nitrate 29.2% 48.5 gr.
Potassium Nitrate 29.2% 48.5 gr
Ascorbic Acid 35.9% 59.7 gr
Sodium Bi-Carbonate (Baking Soda) 2.0% 3.4 gr.
Charcoal 1.8% 3.0 gr.
Iron Oxide 1.8% 3.0 gr.
After rolling this mixture for 3 to 4 minutes to get the Iron Oxide and Charcoal evenly distributed throughout; I placed the entire batch in the dehydrator for a period of 4 hours at 130 degrees. The original dried mixture I had stored in the Plastic Pill vile had areas that were clumping – but if rotated and shaken the mixture was no longer clumping. I took this as an indication of a moisture content that was too high, thus the time in the dehydrator before loading.
Improved Golden Powder – With Iron Oxide & Charcoal - Test
I loaded 5 rounds of .308 Winchester using 32 grains of the IGP )Plus Iron Oxide and Charcoal). The bullet used was an RCBS 200 Sil, powder coated, and an aluminum gas check. I used CCI #200 Large Rifle Primers in this second test. Looking at the Weather on Internet; it cited a 61% humidity level for my area when I took the powder from the dehydrator and reloaded the 5 rounds.
With the powder loaded and sealed in the 5 rounds; humidity should not be a further issue for the Test. I will be testing these in the next few days if I can get to the range.
Tested 5 rounds this afternoon. Temp was 57 degrees and slight rain drizzle periodically. Captured average velocities at 671 Feet Per Second. Bullet drop was too much to register on my Target Backboard – let alone the 7/8” target paster on the 8 ½ x 11 inch white paper I shoot as Targets. Thus; no posting of target/groups today on this test. Seems that I will have to try “Cooking” the Improved Golden Powder as “Uncooked” does not seem to be performing, even with addition of Charcoal and Iron Oxide to the mixture.
