44 Magnum blanks with modern powder question

[George]

Hi, have a question about making some blanks up with modern smokeless powder. I've watched videos and looked up a lot on the internet for cowboy shows breaking balloons and such in the making of blanks but they always use black powder. Seems like a very easy process no high pressure to worry about as you're not throwing any lead! But I can't seem to find out about making blanks with modern powder. I'm not sure of the reason. I know modern powder depending on the type is very fine most of my powders are fine I have unique Western in number 2 5 7 and 9 also have some x700. But that's pretty much it. Not going to really explain why I want a couple blanks but it basically boils down to my wife is very arthritic we live in Bear Country we have bear coming around. I know most bear you can just sing happy birthday or talk to him and most all will run away but a lot are use to people and don't! In any case my wife is very arthritic and she would rather shoot a round or two at the ground or in the air and have no recoil before she has to fire a live round at a bear. Can't say I blame her. So this is the reason. I have the powder I don't want to worry about having to clean my gun with soap and water with black powder. I know nothing about black powder. Can someone explain if and how it could be done with modern powder. I know with black powder a lot of guys just fill the case up Tab it down top it off tap it it down again put a piece of cardboard over the powder, the case is cramped and seal it.That works wonderfully the black powder puts on a nice smoke show with a nice smoke ring and love that part of it but I don't need it I just wanted to go Bang without recoil for the wife! Thanks for your help! George PS shooting a 44 Magnum Ruger single action short barrel 3 and 3/4 in. I'm now thinking of a 44 Magnum lever action Marlin for that use. Have a few 30-30's both in Winchester and Marlin but again too much gun for the wife.

 

[nvbirdman]

In a .44, try about 5 grains of Accurate #2, or 700x with a card wad and see if that's enough noise for you.

 

[wwb]

Haven't tried it, so I'm not certain....

But I'm willing to bet that without the resistance of a bullet to create the high pressure needed for a rapid burn with smokeless powder, all you will have is the primer spitting out some half-burnt powder.

 

[mikld]

Not sure about smokeless blanks, I know they are made, but modern smokeless needs to be "confined" to burn quickly enough to make a "bang". Mebbe a card wad would provide enough resistance/pressure for a quick powder burn (BTW, modern blanks often use extremely fast powder, kinda like fire cracker powder).

 

[George]

Thanks for the info! I posted from my phone and used voice to text. Sorry for all the errors! Am I wrong in thinking I need to clean my Stainless gun with soap and water if I use black powder?

To be truthful that's the only reason I just don't go out and buy some black power, I cringe at the idea of soap and water to clean a gun. I know it's been done for many years! Is that still the preferred way of gun cleaning with black power? George

 

[nvbirdman]

Fire black powder, take the grips off the gun, clean the barrel and cylinder with water, pop it in the oven and set the oven to 250*. When the oven hits 250, turn it off and let it cool naturally. Put the grips back on. You're done.

 

[grobin]

I've been reading the western powders reloading manual and they recommend Blackhorn as a black powder sub and an oil based cleaner with both. No need for soap!

 

[leemar28]

Shot shells in a hand gun make for a wonderful deterrent for bears. Noise and a burning sensation ! Don't shoot them in the face.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

You could use just the primer for a pretty big bang but be sure to drill the primer hole out so the primer doesn't back out and lock-up the gun. I don't see why a few grains of powder wouldn't add to the bang. Give it a try, experiment a little. I shoot primers off in my garage once in a while when I have a mistake loading or I need to take down a round. Also be aware that small pieces of metal from the primer can leave the barrel.

 

[George]

Jim thank you! I willl look for that non water-based gun clean you suggest for black powder! I just have the Willies about using water on a gun. I know years ago in the military when the guys cleaned a lot of guns they threw them in a bucket of boiling water boil them for 3 minutes took them out and naturally they're so hot they dry never had an issue.. But I don't know maybe it's a phobia maybe it's i'm old stuck in my ways that's probably it! What the heck maybe I'll try a few blanks with regular powder . Yes only point at the ground or at the air at nothing else th,ey're not cor a show! As far as shot goes for bears well that's a matter of opinion. I seen many bear shot in the ass at anywhere from 10 to 30 yards or less with number 6 or number 7 1/2 or #8 birdshot from a 12 gauge. I'll tell you what you end up with a extremely angry bear all of the time! Yes I few go back into the woods many don't they will come back towards you and you have to end up shooting them. My father-in-law was a fish and game officer for almost 40 years he's dealt with there a lot where he lives with me there when I was much younger. So I know what to do with theim. Just thought if I was going to make some noise and didn't actually hurt the bear just put a little fear in him I would be better off either the bigger ones are older and smarter they think more move slower usually make the right decisions even though they're slow to do so younger bears not not so much. They're either used to people and will come at you or they will runoff just by talking to him yelling at them but not provoking them. Yes you have to be Mighty close but most of the time I am within about 10 ft or closer at first encounter the smarter bears or I should say people fearing bears even reluctant ones will put a little distance between us themselves without much thought. In any case hey if shot works for you that's fine I have seen a few bears go the other way with shot when shot in the ass at 30 or 40 feet. It is a Gamble! I am 60 years old had a gun in my hand since my early twenties took my hunter safety in 1999 but have never shot an animal. At this point I don't think I'm going to start now I have nothing against it at all but just found its not for me. Giving the right situation I may go deer hunting that was my primary goal for hunter safety. This is text to speech from my phone so I know it's going to be horrible as far as grammar spelling and even words will be totally wrong I will try to check it over but again it's hard I can barely see it using the keyboard forget it. Okay sorry we got off subject and for those of you thank you very much for your service keeping us safe secure and free! In my state state the motto is s Live Free or Die! Love it! NH is a great state to live in. George

 

[mikld]

Water is only bad for guns if it's allowed to stay on the metal for any extended period of time. Clean with soap and water and make sure the water is gone completely, and oil it right after cleaning. The oven method works fine, but I've used a heat gun to warm the gun and evaporate the water off of my black powder revolver...

 

[leemar28]

Shooting a Bear with a "12ga @ 10 -30 yds or less" is wounding a Bear. Of course he may be a bit testy...... Use a water pistol full of ammonia ......... They make Bear spray too.

 

[George]

If done right it's just a glancing blow of just a few pellets 7 1/2 or 8. Chula Bears hine section Never shoot directly at any part of the bear at that range. It's more of a show for him and a light deterrent. My father-in-law work for the fish and game for over 40 years he dealt with a lot of bear he knew how to do it just right. Never any blood and yes the same bear will come back but tend to respect your request to leave after a few incidents like that. I on the other hand I'm looking for alternative. Figuring a loud noise in a little Smoke. Just asking them to leave will usually work. Never tried ammonia in a spray bottle. That does not sound appealing to me although if a bear was close enough and that's all you had I don't have any doubts it would probably help. My choice is a firearm in hand preferably non-lethal loads for the first one or two shots at safe distances unless the situation changes hence the firearm in hand. I think I'm going to try Some rubbery foam the kind that is packed with hard drives and sensitive equipment much stiffer much more rubbery substance than just styrofoam. I can make them a little larger and form a nice crimp that will hold them in place for moving forward or backward going to try 6 grains of unique. I'm a seal the top the cartridge if I decide to set the foam flush with Hot glue after placing a piece of shiny cardboard like what comes with primers over the top of the foam then seal with hot glue. I'll let you know how that works out when I do it. I'll also make sure it's reliable. Again sorry for the errors I'm using the phone again speech to text which I know is horrible and most of the time not only misspells misinterprets but gets things totally wrong! Not going to reread this post it's too darn small for my eyesight right now I will check and correct sometime later on the computer! Again thank you all any more interesting ideas are welcome I do appreciate all the ideas! George

 

[woodsy]

I do not have the time to do this for you, but Winchester used to make smokeless blanks. I have a box of .357's of them. Perhaps they still make some for your .44. Google Winchester ammo, or some such. That's how I found out about them initially. And, they came from an online retailer no one would ever have expected would have gun stuff. Apparently many movie sound people use them a lot.

 

[grobin]

Check out http://www.atlanticwallblanks.com/44-MAGNUM-BLANK-12-LOAD-SMOKELESS_p_81.html
I've been using them for video effects.

I'd add that just a loud noise will generally not discourage a bear. The common black bear is the most dangerous in NA as they are acclimated to people! Using a light load of shot-particularly from a handgun is a very bad idea. It's likely to piss him off so he will attack. Using Lightfield Wildlife Control Less Lethal Ammunition 12/20 Gauge will discourage the bear from coming around. The problems are:
They come in three strengths: Close range 8-25 yards, Mid-range 15-40 yards and Extended range 30+ yard. If you use the wrong one it will be wasted or injure the bear and trigger an attack.
They are expensive ~$2.20 at Midway.
And you need to practice!

 

[woodsy]

I do not have the time to do this for you, but Winchester used to make smokeless blanks. I have a box of .357's of them. Perhaps they still make some for your .44. Google Winchester ammo, or some such. That's how I found out about them initially. And, they came from an online retailer no one would ever have expected would have gun stuff. Apparently many movie sound people use them a lot.

Those blanks I mentioned were actually quite a bit louder than my full-house .357 loads, while testing outdoors in VT.
And, how did this veer away from the OP's initial question about a revolver, to a shotgun?

 

[Rick Courtright]

Water is only bad for guns if it's allowed to stay on the metal for any extended period of time. Clean with soap and water and make sure the water is gone completely, and oil it right after cleaning. The oven method works fine, but I've used a heat gun to warm the gun and evaporate the water off of my black powder revolver...

Hi,

Another trick to try: boil a pot of water, put the gun in a dish rack in the sink, and pour boiling water over it as the last step. It'll get hot and dry real quick. I pour boiling water down the barrel of my inline, and everything's bone dry before I can handle the barrel without gloves...

Rick C

 

[grobin]

There is no need to mess with blackpowder! The link I posted above is reasonably priced blanks used by movie and video effects. They are available in 357 and 44 both and are louder than normal loads.

Bears will usually run off when you make a loud noise with a blank but they Wii be back!

 

[George]

Gorbin, thank you so much for your reply! This is exactly what I am looking for! Sorry was going to wait till I got on my computer before replying but as you can see from the length of time I rarely get on my computer anymore.. Text to speech never works right on this phone. My digits are too fat to tap it out myself!
As far as the shotgun being off topic, really I brought it up it was something my father in law learn how to use in 40 plus years with game. So the rubber slug idea is wonderful. I would use the shortest range plugs cuz I have nothing I'm protecting at any distance. Hence a few blank shots before a live round would go off at close range in the 44 if need be.
Last thing I want to do is to shoot a bear. And as a rule they don't bother anyone. That is until they get used to people! in any case this is the info I need and thank you so much! Also thank you to everyone!. I just feel safer using modern powder then black powder in reference to clean up. I know in the military they used to boil there AR barrels and parts in water take them out and they're dry because of the Heat always work for them not saying it was not definitely good suggestions this is just my choice to go with modern powder and maybe have a few safety slugs on hand! Again thank you! George