laws

[Redcobra]

Yes. Dealers are required to be licensed and to record sales of powder in records that they have to make available to the Fire Marshal and all other LEOs.

Unless you buy it out of state. Better prices too.

 

[Rockzilla]

7000 Grains per pound.
Say 4 grains for 9mm and 22 for 223.
7000 / 4 = 1750
7000 / 22 = 318

Just an approximation depending on load and powder. But you see rifle eats up powder pretty quick.

I wish.. like the formula above for lil rounds but....
7000 / 84.3 = 83
7000 / 240 (avg.) = 29

or the economy mode
7000 / 24.5 = 295 5.56mm
7000 / 5.6 (avg) = 1250 .45acp

-Rock

 

[lx1x]

I don't recall ever seeing anything about "per location" in the code.

http://www.mdshooters.com/showpost.php?p=166079&postcount=27

Old post by eshell.

"In one place" debate..

 

[Pinecone]

Yes. Dealers are required to be licensed and to record sales of powder in records that they have to make available to the Fire Marshal and all other LEOs.

1) Bass Pro seems to be on of the few who log sales. Not sure if the fire marshal has ever actually CHECKED those logs.

2) Does not apply to purchases out of state (Shyda's, Trop, Cabela's, etc).

3) Does not apply purchases shipped to your house.

 

[Pinecone]

Thinking about getting into reloading, how long does 5lbs last? Lets just say for 9mm and 223/5.56?

Remember, once loaded, the limit does not apply.

So with a Dillon 650, you can load 10 pounds into 9mm in about 3 hours. Into .223 in about 1 hour.



And the law says storage. If I buy powder and get home for a marathon reloading session, am I storing powder?

 

[Bolts Rock]

I don't recall ever seeing anything about "per location" in the code.

NFPA

 

[K31]

http://www.mdshooters.com/showpost.php?p=166079&postcount=27

Old post by eshell.

"In one place" debate..

While I don't doubt multiple people in a house can each have there own 5lbs. the way it is written, I'm not a lawyer so I'm going to go with the Boolean logic interpretation of the "or"'s.

 

[K31]

NFPA

Also says that I can store 20lbs of powder. Not all of NFPA applies.

 

[K31]

1) Bass Pro seems to be on of the few who log sales. Not sure if the fire marshal has ever actually CHECKED those logs.

Not sure if they don't CHECK them hourly.

 

[sxs]

7000 Grains per pound.
Say 4 grains for 9mm and 22 for 223.
7000 / 4 = 1750
7000 / 22 = 318

Just an approximation depending on load and powder. But you see rifle eats up powder pretty quick.

So that's fine for 9mm and/or 223. But how many calibers do you want to reload.

I have the following (and reload for most of them - some I have multiple loads for some calibers for different purposes):

223/5.56
243, .244/ 6mm Rem (85 gr load and 100 gr load - 2 powders)
7/57, 7x57R
30-06, .308, 30-30 (lever rifle),7.62x54R, 7.62x39, 7.62x25
8mm Mauser
338 Win Mag
7mm TCU, 30 Herrett, 30-30 for the T/C (specific loads for the 14" bbl T/C)
32 acp

30 Luger, 38 (jacket full power loads and lead plinkers), 357 Mag (moderate and fast loads), 9mm parabellum, 44 Mag (lighter lead loads, & jacket full power loads) 45 LC, 460 S&W Magnum (200 gr and 230 gr loads)

12, 20 16 gauge shotshells

So, if I have 1 lb or less for each load (1 or more loads per caliber I will far exceed the 5 lb limit even if I just average 1/2 lb powder on hand per load

To be sure, I haven't reloaded for shotshells for a few years and have dies for, but no specific loads worked up for 30 Luger, 32 acp, 7.62x39

 

[Blacksmith101]

So that's fine for 9mm and/or 223. But how many calibers do you want to reload.

I have the following (and reload for most of them - some I have multiple loads for some calibers for different purposes):

223/5.56
243, .244/ 6mm Rem (85 gr load and 100 gr load - 2 powders)
7/57, 7x57R
30-06, .308, 30-30 (lever rifle),7.62x54R, 7.62x39, 7.62x25
8mm Mauser
338 Win Mag
7mm TCU, 30 Herrett, 30-30 for the T/C (specific loads for the 14" bbl T/C)
32 acp

30 Luger, 38 (jacket full power loads and lead plinkers), 357 Mag (moderate and fast loads), 9mm parabellum, 44 Mag (lighter lead loads, & jacket full power loads) 45 LC, 460 S&W Magnum (200 gr and 230 gr loads)

12, 20 16 gauge shotshells

So, if I have 1 lb or less for each load (1 or more loads per caliber I will far exceed the 5 lb limit even if I just average 1/2 lb powder on hand per load

To be sure, I haven't reloaded for shotshells for a few years and have dies for, but no specific loads worked up for 30 Luger, 32 acp, 7.62x39

Most people settle on a few powders that cover a variety of calibers/loads. See the thread Most Versatile Powder for TEOTWAWKI
http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=186044&highlight=4227

 

[Bolts Rock]

Also says that I can store 20lbs of powder. Not all of NFPA applies.

I didn't say it did. It does however tell you exactly how much you can have and how specific amounts must be stored per Federal law. If I wasn't replying via phone I'd have posted the relevant section only.

 

[lazarus]

As others have said, 7000 grains per pound divided by the number of grains per round in your load. That said, to work up a load you are going to expend many rounds that won't be useful for anything else.

Also, best practice is to back off on your loads and work back up between different lots of powder which is pretty much impossible with the 5 lb. limit and why the law is not only stupid but dangerous.

Now I don't disagree on stupid, but how is that dangerous? How many rounds does it take to "work back up" again? Never having reloaded I'd assume only a few rounds. Maybe a few dozen at most. 5lbs x 7000gr/40 for something like .308 still gets you in the ballpark of 800 rounds. Even if it was 80rnds it took to dial back in, that is still 720 rounds reloaded for that lot. Unless I become a competitive shooter, I can't imagine shooting that much in a year (of .308, maybe 22lr)

I want to get in to reloading soon, but I still imagine I'll be reloading once a year and probably 200-300rnds in one go.

I can understand the difficulty of you want or need several different powders. Also if the smokeless and BP are combined and not seperate (I've got 2.5lbs of BP substitute).

I feel like to me if it is a fire code thing, they should be more specific, like stored in an occupied dwelling or attached structure (I have a shed 100ft from any dwelling I could store stuff in, just saying).

 

[Sharpeneddark]

Now I don't disagree on stupid, but how is that dangerous? How many rounds does it take to "work back up" again? Never having reloaded I'd assume only a few rounds. Maybe a few dozen at most. 5lbs x 7000gr/40 for something like .308 still gets you in the ballpark of 800 rounds. Even if it was 80rnds it took to dial back in, that is still 720 rounds reloaded for that lot. Unless I become a competitive shooter, I can't imagine shooting that much in a year (of .308, maybe 22lr)

I want to get in to reloading soon, but I still imagine I'll be reloading once a year and probably 200-300rnds in one go.

I can understand the difficulty of you want or need several different powders. Also if the smokeless and BP are combined and not seperate (I've got 2.5lbs of BP substitute).

I feel like to me if it is a fire code thing, they should be more specific, like stored in an occupied dwelling or attached structure (I have a shed 100ft from any dwelling I could store stuff in, just saying).

The BP is separate from smokeless. You can have up to 5 Lbs of Smokeless and have an additional limit of 5 Lbs of BP laying around.

As for working up: Working back up is more important if you intend to go to the redline of how much pressure your gun can take. If you're plinking and you're keeping a margin from the maximum load, you're likely to be fine. However, I'm relatively new to this and will let others chime in with their experiences. This is just my observations as a reloader that makes plinker rounds.

 

[lazarus]

I was thinking something a little like that. I am just wondering the unsafe part, at least if you are backing it off. I certainly see how it wastes time and money. If you need to drop a load 5-10% and load something like 20 rounds. Test, possible load another 20 a little higher and then another 20 a little higher. Could be 2-3 range sessions.

I guess I just don't see how it is unsafe unless you are throwing caution the the wind

 

[Rhome3]

Just curious, if I buy 8lbs of powder online and have it delivered, am I breaking the law ? I feel like I should probably load 1k rounds real quick to bring it under 5 lbs.

 

[Sharpeneddark]

I was thinking something a little like that. I am just wondering the unsafe part, at least if you are backing it off. I certainly see how it wastes time and money. If you need to drop a load 5-10% and load something like 20 rounds. Test, possible load another 20 a little higher and then another 20 a little higher. Could be 2-3 range sessions.

I guess I just don't see how it is unsafe unless you are throwing caution the the wind

It's unsafe because if you're reaching the maximum load and the new batch lot is slightly hotter than the previous, you run the risk of causing a catastrophic failure of the gun. I just don't approach the maximum load like that, so I generally don't care about the lots being slightly different.

Just curious, if I buy 8lbs of powder online and have it delivered, am I breaking the law ? I feel like I should probably load 1k rounds real quick to bring it under 5 lbs.

That would be against the firecode. There would be a (digital) paper trail saying you had 8 lbs of powder at your place at one point. I'd recommend you stick to 1 lbs canisters. Also, consider buying powder out of the state of Maryland, if you can. For two reasons: No logs for the fire marshall and shipping gun powder includes an extra hazmat shipping charge.

 

[John from MD]

Take a ride to Shyda's in Lebanon, PA. You can take the wife to eat some good Amish food while stocking up on supplies. They are a wholesaler and have the lowest retail prices around.

John

 

[Muleskinner]

Yes. Dealers are required to be licensed and to record sales of powder in records that they have to make available to the Fire Marshal and all other LEOs.

That's why you should buy powder in DE...no record of the sale and no sales tax...(bonus)

 

[Sharpeneddark]

That's why you should buy powder in DE...no record of the sale and no sales tax...(bonus)

That's if you're close to DE. For me, the sales tax wouldn't approach the gas price of doing that. Hanover, though, is within reach.