The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

so all powder needs to be stored in a wooden chest now? great :( wonder if its worth making up an individual bottle, size box and just having a few of them, rather than one great big box?

are there any rules on construction apart from the size and material? IE are you allowed to use screws? does it need to be lockable or have the top fastened or can it just be hinged shut?

Has any of the concerned posters on here asked any of the "national" shooting organisations about this?

Two questions.

1. Doesn't anyone remember that this very same "new" requirement regarding the storage of nitro shooters powders arose some years back and it caused confusion then?
The requirement was apparently introduced at about the same time as the requirement for such boxes with black powder but after consultation with the HSE they back tracked saying it was only required for BP and not nitro. What has changed?

2. If shooters have to store their nitro powder in a wooden fire resisting box what about shops and dealers. Will all shops be required to store nitro powder in a similar manner or will they be required to have powder magazines?
Think about it, I know a number of gun shops where reasonably large quantities of nitro powder are displayed for sale on open shelves.

I've spoken to Basc firearms , the guy who specifically deals with this area was out on Thursday and they are coming back to me but the other gent in the forearms dept I spoke to was not aware of this and his comment was
" if this is new rules we need to change the Basc website " nothing about challenging it if it's been slipped in thro the back door ! Let's role over and let it happen eh !!! By the sound of it Basc we're not even aware there was a new guidance issued . I'll keep u posted when I get an answer and need to speak to my FLO about other stuff this weekend so will as him aswell, then will ask nra .

One other que , if it's all in small tubs does that mean if we have any 3.5 large containers we have to decant it ?

My understanding is that the size of the containers that may be sold to shooters or held by shooters has been limited for many years as has the material and actual construction of the containers. A period of grace was allowed so that powder in non compliant containers and already in the country could be used up. I know that a number of retailers have been selling powder in 3.5 kg to shooters but my understanding was that this has been technically illegal for many years, perhaps someone can enlighten us as to the legalities of such sales.

Types and sizes of Containers I believe have always been debated , my concern is the need for another subdivided box for the smokeless powder. containers to then go in . Before we know where we are everything will have to have a special box !!! ( well maybe a bit of an exaggeration:-)). ) we shall see

Spoke to Basc firearms rep yesterday , the code of practice is badly worded and should not define both powders as needing to be stored as black powder is in boxes however it may be suggested that if you have space in the black powder box it may not be a bad idea to use that for smokeless as well but also to ensure you store the black powder box in such a way that does not reduce the effectiveness of the box eg don't stack your smokeless round it or ensure in different areas .
Revised document explaining things in laymans. terms to be released soon and bAsc involved with other so keep eye out on Basc website . Effectively no real change but ensure you store sensibly .

Thanks Dustyman.

Out of morbid curiosity, why is an airtight, sealed container like an ammo tin frowned upon? Yes, I know it would create a 'bomb' if it went up but how is that even likely with nitro?

SevenSixTwo wrote:Thanks Dustyman.

Out of morbid curiosity, why is an airtight, sealed container like an ammo tin frowned upon? Yes, I know it would create a 'bomb' if it went up but how is that even likely with nitro?

Nitro powders can cook off and act very similar to black powder if contained and subjected to extreme temperatures. An example of this is pipe bombs using powder taken from shotgun cartridges.


Dusty so it looks like they made the same errors as they made before when drafting the new regulations. I suppose they simply copied and pasted the relevant section from the previous document.

Looks that way bud and seems that the Basc were in discussions about isuing a sensible guide to storage , albeit the gentleman I spoke to said they were not aware of how the new guidance classified shooters powders on page 100 and how it described their storage on the next few pages and said thankyou for bringing it to his attention and he would raise the issue at the next review meeting to ensure its clarified . So sounds like a bit of a thank you to the forum for identifying the area of confusion . He did say this should have nothing to do with police visits and they are only based upon either information recieved or if the person being visited has been flagged u in the last prob 12 months for security issues . He intimated that really anyone who has had no issues with the police over the last few years should expect a visit without any additional /new "intelligence " .