I cant find any black powder for sale anywhere. I'm in Gilbert Arizona and I've tried pretty much every gun store around here.
I want to order some online but every place has a minimum of 5 or 10 lbs at a time which i cant afford. does anyone have any tips?
Please help me out. I'm dying to shoot my new flint lock.

I don't have a BP anything, however I was in a walmart in TN over the 4th of July and saw 1# bottles as well as the hard tablets in the sporting goods section.  1st time seeing BP in any walmart.  go figure.  sorry I can't help you, just thought it was odd.

Save your money and do a bulk order is my first tip.  It makes an 8-10 dollar a pound difference.

OR

Check around at gun shops and ranges and find a BP group/club.  Mine does periodic bulk orders so they can get the price break.

i get it in bulk (relatively 10 lbs) from Graf and sons.

Got a Bass Pro near you?

Local gun shops face some pretty daunting issues when dealing with black powder.

1. There are the hazmat fees as it has to be shipped as an explosive, rather than as a flammable solid like smokeless powder, so ordering small quantities incurs significant shipping costs.

2. It has to be stored in a powder magazine and some local fire codes can be a serious impediment.  For example, the gun shop in Ayden NC no longer sells black powder as they local fire code required it to be stores in a steel powder magazine with blow out panel that had to be painted red and left within 6 ft of the front door at night. Presumably so they could see it and keep a hose on it in the event of a fire.  That meant they had to wheel the powder safe out front every evening and wheel it back every morning.

3.  City ordinances also often limit the amount that can be stored in any one place, and that can cause issues with shops as while you can ship 50 pounds at a time per DOT rules, you can't always store that much per some city ordinances, so that causes issues for guns shops that either have to accept higher hazmat costs for smaller, more frequent shipments, or they have to split the shipment between multiple locations.

4. Insurance companies usually pitch a fit and want to charge an extra premium because you're storing an "explosive" in the building.

That more or less means that it's pretty rare to find a local gun shop that still sells black powder.  

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I normally order from Powder Inc.  They sell Goex, Swiss and Schetzen so they can accommodate a wide range of tastes.  Last time I ordered they would ship in 25 or 50 pound quantities, but they'l mix and match the powders in your shipment as long as the containers are compatible, so you can split the order between Fg, FFg, FFFg, etc. in what ever sub quantities you need.  

Buffalo Arms also ships black powder in quantities from 5 to 50 pounds, and has similar bulk pricing levels. The fixed hazmat fee however starts to get steep with a small powder quantity.  

I normally get 50 pounds at a time to minimize the per pound cost of the hazmat fee. Between the bulk pricing and splitting the hazmat fee over the entire shipment, the cost of powder is down around $15 per pound delivered to your door.  The downside of course is that you need to save up a fair chunk of change to buy 50 pounds at a time. Once you do that the first time though just throw $15 in a coffee can every time you pull a new pound out of the magazine and then just re-order when you get down to the last pound.  You can also split it 2-3 ways on your end if you've got a few BP shooters in the area.

This.. in bold above.. This is the best way to get BP.. as stated its not cheap, but i got 25 lbs in 92 and it lasted me until this past year im down to 2 cans of 3F.. So i can tell you the mileage before you have buy again.

Bass Pro is the only place I've seen to have BP for sale. At least the one near me in Texas.

Give your local BP a call. Just be prepared to spend $25 a pound for the walk-in convenience.

According to a thread here:
http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=10708.0

This place sells BP:
http://www.tbirdammo.com/

Welcome to Thunderbird Cartridge Company, Inc (TCCI). We have been providing ammunition and components to the American shooting public for over 50 years. We specialize in .50 BMG ammunition and components. We have ammunition and components for rifle, pistol and shotgun plus black powder for the folks that enjoy front stuffers. Please note that if you go to our powder store there is a separate shopping cart because of the hazmat items, therefore there might be two separate places that require your credit card. Please read our "Information Page" for details. Welcome to our new website. Thank you for your business.

Call Us Direct
602.237.3823
800.535.AMMO

Business Hours
Closed Monday
Open Tuesday - Friday
8:00A.M. to 4:00P.M.

Store Location
7215 W. Southern Avenue
Laveen, AZ 85339


Also this range in Mesa AZ has a BP Shoot twice a month (tomorrow) on Sunday and might have BP for sale or can point you in the right direction:
http://www.rsscaz.com/

Keep in mind, BP substitutes and BP are NOT the same thing.  For example, most substitutes (OK, none that I am aware of) will not work in flint locks.

Thanks for all the reply's guys. sadly I'm not able to afford bulk powder like you guys. but I guess Ill check out the bass pro near me.
Its not like I'm going to shoot my flintlock so much that I would even need that much bp, so hopefully I can buy just a couple pounds from bass pro.

That Thunderbird company I listed has a store front. You'll most likely need to ask the for it once you go in there as most shops don't have it sitting out on the shelf.
They will ask you for a copy of your Drivers License so they can fill out their Black Powder logbook.

Bass Pro is hit or miss. While home last month in Missouri I called the Springfield MO Bass Pro - they didn't have any and that is BP's HQ store. I then searched around / called around and found a gun shop in Springfield MO - Cherokee Firearms that had it in stock. Not much selection - only carried 1 brand, but they had all grades, 1F - 4F of Schuetzen BP. I picked up 2 x 1lb containers for $20 per pound = a better price than what Bass Pro sells it for, if they had it in stock.

Regarding your flintlock - you can prime and load w/ 3F. No real need to by 4F for priming.

Ask the guy at the gun counter.

BP isn't kept out on shelves.

You need to go to a blackpowder shoot. The old timers there will help you score a pound or two somehow. You need to know how to find flints and other stuff and learn tips on how to maintain and shoot and keep your flinter fed. This is not a gun you feed from Walmart or gander mountain

Sent you an IM.

Those were BP substitutes, real black can't be out on a shelf as far as I know, It has to be kept in a special containment until sale.  Never seen or hear of real black in pellet form either.

I don't have a flint yet, maybe some day.

Would the main charge be ok using a substitute?

No, it usually won't ignite correctly. You'll need 3F for smaller bore flintlocks and you can use 2F for most military flintlocks with big bores, like a Brown Bess. I use 2F in mine.

I get mine from http://www.powderinc.com/  It is worth ordering 5 to 10 cans for the savings and the hazmat fee

Does it have to be actual black powder or is a substitute acceptable?

If it's a flintlock (ie: revolutionary war type), then you will almost certainly need the real stuff (FFFFg or FFFg for the flashpan) & FFFg or FFg (depending on caliber) for the main charge.

If it's a percussion (ie: civil war type), it may ...or may not, fire if using a percussion cap & BP substitute for main charge depending on how hot the cap fires & the musket / rifle design. My experience has been that it's better to use actual black powder in these type weapons than any of the substitutes.

Lastly, though most modern in-line muzzle-loaders (which tend to use shotgun-type primers to initiate the main charge) are capable of using either real black powder or bp substitutes, these types of weapons often actually shoot better (cleaner & faster) when using the substitutes as most were originally designed from the get-go to use them (the substitutes).

Looks like Graf's has BP in stock in several different varieties.

Also, if you have a Bass Pro near you and have your order shipped to the store there is free shipping and no haz-mat fee.

hmm thats good know if i need small quantities

IIRC you can't legally sell it if you order more than you need but you can split an order with someone else if you can find someone close.

I ordered mine straight from Powder Inc. through their online store.
Bought a mixed-weight 25lb case lot for @ $450. & 2 days later via Fed-x...




Equals out to roughly $18 per 1-pound can which is a WHOLE LOT LESS than if I were to buy each can individually locally (roughly $38 for each if I were to buy them @ here.)
This should last me at least a few months.

On a side note... Be sure to research the relevant local, state, & federal laws & regulations regarding black powder ownership, storage, & use for your area, as there are often little known, though serious regulations, that can potentially get you in a bind under the wrong set of circumstances. For instance, while federal law limits the maximum amount of black powder that can be owned, bought, or stored by any private individual to 50lbs. - here in Florida, there is also little known regulation that states that no individual may own, or store more than 25lbs of black powder without being licensed by the state as an explosives handler. There is also a local building code here that states that black powder magazines must be something like 600ft away from any private dwelling or school, though technically the code only relates to commercial structures, and the magazines are only required by businesses which store more than 25lbs of powder or some such. It's somewhat of a minefield to navigate your way through all the laws, regs, & ords of many areas, but it still doesn't relieve you of the responsibility of wading your way through it to know them...go figure.

Go find a bass pro that has an explosives liscense.

If you want to involve "the man". I believe you can call the atf and ask if there are any dealers with an explosives liscence in/near your area

if you are into doing it your self. try this.
http://www.skylighter.com/Black-Powder-Kits.asp

http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to-make/high-powered-black-powder.asp