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Cap gun ammo?


MWJ

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What is the comp in cap gun ammo? Is it FP. If it is, it sounds dangerous to even sell it to kids. Just wondering.

 

Thanks

Edited by MWJ
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Sounds like some nasty stuff. Thanks for the comments.

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Most of the novelty fireworks like caps, party poppers, and those fun little booby trap/pull string firecrackers use something called armstrong mix which is a highly unstable and sensitive composition of potassium chlorate and red phosphorous, it can explode unconfined in small amounts (In milligrams!) from heat, friction, and shock; and because of this consumer fireworks are only allowed 10mgs in a device.

 

Just to give you an example of what damage this stuff can do I found a little snippet from an article about explosives:

 

"To illustrate the dangers of fireworks, the explosion in a Paris toy store on 14 May 1878 can be adduced. It happened in a storage room where six to eight million amorces, paper caps each containing only 10 mg of explosive, were stored. Individually, these were innocuous devices. Somehow, a few caught fire (probably someone was smoking) and although they were soon extinguished, the fire caught on a storage box, and all the millions of caps, containing about 64 kg of explosive, went up in an explosion that killed 14 people. Such high-order accidents are the reason why manufacturing and handling fireworks is a job for experts only."

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this mix is very scary stuff just removing your hand from it can set it off

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I'll never look at toy cap guns the same way any more. Wow! The pull string ones are kinda neat though. I've seen enough damage that HE can do in the Marines for me to be messing around with stuff like that. At least C-4 is fairly safe to use if you know what your doing. I was told you can light it on fire but don't try to stomp it out. In my profile photo (1980), I'm holding 2 Kilos of C-4.

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They tested it in mythbusters... they set C4 on fire and tried to stomp it (of course with remote robots) and even shot it. It did not go off in both cases.

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Interesting. But even though I like to watch the myth busters, I don't feel that they are what I call professionals. Some things they do are stupid and careless. I had real military explosive experts teach me how to use high explosives in combat. If someone wants to try stupid stuff with HE then let me stand back and watch. I'll be happy to pick up the little pieces of burnt human flesh. I've seen a lot of stupid things people do while I was on the range, including the "Range safety officer".

Just like so many intelligent people on this forum has said. "Don't mess around when it comes to safety".

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Mythbusters is far from a safe or legitimate show anyways. Just some idiots with money to burn IMO, take what they do with a large grain of salt.

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Just to give you an example of what damage this stuff can do I found a little snippet from an article about explosives:

 

There's more detail about that Paris explosion, and others, in this fatal accident report from 1888. Dangerous stuff, that Armstrong mixture.

Report on explosion at toy cap factory.pdf

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Shimizu talks about a similar composition, minus the red phosphorus, containing realgar, what it seems to be less sensitive (very slightly), it makes up for in toxicity.

 

Its not something I would want anyone to make.

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This is somewhat off topic, but another funny thing to note is that the stuff in those "pop-its" is actually gravel coated in a silver fulminate solution which is a sensitive primary explosive thats wrapped in cigarette paper.

 

I find it ironic how these are meant to be harmless novelty items yet they use high explosives in them :P

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It really is ironic, HE honestly seems much less harmful in such small quantities than BP or something along those lines. BP can burn you while some HE mixtures have such a fast burn rate, the fire is harmless. Although, I have seen BP tests in someone's hand before and if it's fast enough, it won't burn you. I wouldn't want to try it though, haha Edited by LambentPyro
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............. Although, I have seen BP tests in someone's hand before and if it's fast enough, it won't burn you. I wouldn't want to try it though, haha

 

ummm, yeah. Might as well tape some firecrackers to their lips too. :wacko:

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I've used a lot of HE, but never made any. And don't plan on making it any time soon. I would like to know whats in them though, just curious. :) Right now I just want to learn how to make Rockets and shells. Another topic and another thread.

Edited by MWJ
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I'll bet that he's real proud of himself.

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And he video tapes it for youtube, for what reason I wonder? Just an idiot I guess. I hope he never ever finds this forum, too much good info for him. Next he'll use thermite or FP on his lips or what ever.

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