Need your expertise...

[Coyote Chris]

While 8 of us were practiceing shooting our black powder cartridge rifles, a very small fire started in front of a rifle...not uncommon with black powder but there was no grass...the fire was only less that a foot high and two feet in diameter and spreading out slowly...in the dirt....suddenedly, the fire exploaded into a huge cloud of yellow smoke....I managed to find my way out of the shooting area and take this pic....the area emitting smoke was very limited and we put it out with water and an ABC extinguisher.....Thoughts?
There are many who wants this range out of business.......

 

[Mellow]

Bad Battery? glad no one was hurt.

 

[DirtFlier]

Probably Rumiko dropping her Hayabusa (again!) and starting a fire?

 

[ARKNT]

That looks a bit odd. I have a couple muzzleloaders and use pyrodex. My guess is someone dumped some old or extra black powder in front of shooting area.
I have a hard time imagining that happening at our range here but you want to be ready for the unexpected. Also don't seem to be all that many old school shooters at our range.

Arknt

 

[mikesim]

If my chemistry remembery isn't faulty yellow smoke usually is an indication of burning sulfur or sodium. I'd almost bet that it was sulfur dioxide smoke that you were seeing which makes sense since sulfur is a constituent in crude gunpowder. Perhaps some was spilled and a hot ember from a rifle ignited it. When sulfur burns with sufficient oxygen it has a bright blue flame.

Mike

 

[Coyote Chris]

Things are still a mystery at this time...the range owner doesnt appear to want to bring in the fire dept experts in on this one. I think it would be a good thing as they could do tests for the accellerant. The sudden rapid burning to a circle of about 6-8 ft, then stopping, is odd....There are claims this happened once before but no proof.

Sharps rifle at dusk....

 

[junglejim]

1. Some foreign substance was ignited.

2. People shoot at all kinds of stiuff at unsupervised ranges.

3. Very unlikely that it came from a black powder load. Do any of your old school shooters make their own powder? (I remember doing that when I was a kid). Any lump of sulfur in black powder would have been visualized when loading the cartridge.
I’ve foundI in exploded Tannerite at ranges. I never investigated further. So I don’t know how it burns. Since that is 2-part material mixed on site it could have come from one of spilled components. Maybe someone had their own homemade version of Tannerite.

4. I doubt that any crime lab would analyze anything unless a crime was involved. A private lab might be able to help you. Maybe you should have a security camera.

 

[Coyote Chris]

1. Some foreign substance was ignited.

2. People shoot at all kinds of stiuff at unsupervised ranges.

3. Very unlikely that it came from a black powder load. Do any of your old school shooters make their own powder? (I remember doing that when I was a kid). Any lump of sulfur in black powder would have been visualized when loading the cartridge.
I’ve foundI in exploded Tannerite at ranges. I never investigated further. So I don’t know how it burns. Since that is 2-part material mixed on site it could have come from one of spilled components. Maybe someone had their own homemade version of Tannerite.

4. I doubt that any crime lab would analyze anything unless a crime was involved. A private lab might be able to help you. Maybe you should have a security camera.

This in from the manufacturer of the deicer we use with magnesium cloride. In a deluded form, it acutally COULD be resonsible. Like being swept off the apron and rained on and sit for months.

 

[basketcase]

Yikes! That's nasty loooking. I'm glad to read no one was injured and no property was lost.

Otherwise I have no knowledge to share or wisdom to offer, but I would encourage never inhaling any type of chemical smoke. Or any other smoke, for that matter.

 

[Coyote Chris]

Yikes! That's nasty loooking. I'm glad to read no one was injured and no property was lost.

Otherwise I have no knowledge to share or wisdom to offer, but I would encourage never inhaling any type of chemical smoke. Or any other smoke, for that matter.

I couldnt avoid inhaling the smoke...it was so thick I couldnt even see. A couple of years ago someone fired a tracer against rules and burned down 50 acres of the range.....now the range safety officer has magnets to check for steal cores and steal jackets and makes sure everyone knows the rules....

 

[Coyote Chris]

1. Some foreign substance was ignited.

2. People shoot at all kinds of stiuff at unsupervised ranges.

3. Very unlikely that it came from a black powder load. Do any of your old school shooters make their own powder? (I remember doing that when I was a kid). Any lump of sulfur in black powder would have been visualized when loading the cartridge.
I’ve foundI in exploded Tannerite at ranges. I never investigated further. So I don’t know how it burns. Since that is 2-part material mixed on site it could have come from one of spilled components. Maybe someone had their own homemade version of Tannerite.

4. I doubt that any crime lab would analyze anything unless a crime was involved. A private lab might be able to help you. Maybe you should have a security camera.

They did have game cameras for awhile, but with someone wearing a black hood, they dont do much good. We thought about Tannerite...I have never seen it burn....I never knew anyone who made their own black powder and very few reload at the range and fewer still would put that much powder out there. I doubt that the local fire depts would do an analysis unless we could prove arson. Developers would love to have this land for the people with money. The range goes out to 1000 yards

 

[junglejim]

Wow! 1000 yards. I want to come shoot there. The longest range we have near me is 300 yards. Shooting my 22LR at 200 yards is equivalent to shooting my center fire guns at 1000 yards (in terms of “hold over”).

 

[Coyote Chris]

Wow! 1000 yards. I want to come shoot there. The longest range we have near me is 300 yards. Shooting my 22LR at 200 yards is equivalent to shooting my center fire guns at 1000 yards (in terms of “hold over”).

It has been much improved...real berms have been installed as you can see, which makes missing the metal targets easier to see. Many stations have multiple sized targets...you can see the 1000 yard (meter?) berm at the top of the ridge.

 

[Coyote Chris]

new distances. White targets can be painted black depending on lighting.

 

[junglejim]

Yes, very important to be able to spot your impacts.

 

[mikesim]

Yes, very important to be able to spot your impacts.

Hopefully, no Maggie's Drawers..

Mike