This is my idea for an impact detonated flashbang grenade made out of 3/4" PVC pipe, a coupling, endcap, nail, dowel, and primer section of a 12 gauge shotshell.  It works pretty well! I'm planning on putting this on the end of a rocket so I can shoot it from my pickup launcher :)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBic7JvgH_w&list=UURXE9HwPnYHZZ9o2NougX5w

Appropriate user name is appropriate.  

When I was a a kid, a buddy and I made something sort of like that with his old bow and arrow set (remember the green fiberglass bows?), some of his dad's 12 gauge shells (shot removed), pachinko balls and electrical tape.  We shot them up the street in front of his house until we ran out of arrows.  They worked and were loud.  Amazingly, no one scolded us or called the cops.  We did a lot worse than that, too.  It's a miracle we both survived and avoided criminal records...

OP, be careful not to run afoul of the BATFE's definition of a Destructive Device.

You have to watch PVC pipe. It holds static eletricty and the powder can go off just from moving around

I think you will either blow yourself up or get locked up.
not that i don't think its fun.....

Looks like all you've done so far is spend $10 making this $5 toy:

Some side notes:



-Flash bangs/stun grenades/distraction devices are Destructive Devices and require federal registration, you need to file a Form 1 and receive approval to begin constructing one.





-As you intend to launch your creation, it can only be assumed that the bore of your launcher is greater than .500" (12.7mm) in diameter, thus confirming that the launcher you have built is an unregistered Destructive Device as you intend to launch munitions that serve in an anti-personnel role.





-Both of the above win you free trips to club fed (10yr stay, you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave).
So my best advice about this path:




 

I am not a lawyer however:

I don't think a bow and arrow with "bird bangers" count as a DD. Bird bangers are legal, so long as the barrel and bore do not meet the definition of a DD. A rocket does not meet the definition of a DD, they are easily purchased through Estes, again so long as projectile does not have a charge greater than 1/4oz which is where I believe you walk the line by using anything more than a primer on the end. Rockets aren't fired form a bore either they simply require a motor.

Also from personal experience static electricity will not ignite black or smokeless powder, I have tried to do it and there are plenty of others who have done so, electrical sparks alone are not enough to do the job.

in?

Reminds me of the black powder filled co2 canisters with a primer in the point loaded into shotgun shells with only a primer shot out of a 12 gauge used as a grenade launcher.

  The thought of that makes my nuts clench....  Anyone who plays around like that should be hitting their knees every day that nothing bad happened...that sounds like a recipe for disaster

Bird Bangers require a permit now. And, a legit use.
Rockets can and have met the definition of destructive devices. Look at ammonium perchlorate and the fight the rocket people have had over it, and even black powder now.

I am on the fence about the ignitability of powders via arc. I've seen some very compelling videos, but it is counterintuitive.

Even if it's impossible to ignite certain products, it is exceptionally poor practice to dismiss the problem of static in the construction and operation of any kind of pyrotechnic or explosive.

With regards to the original poster:

That is a very old design. I know it's been done at least as far back as the 80's, and I'm willing to bet much longer if you researched IRA improvised devices.

I'd like to be able to advise you as to it's legality, but I can't. I know some state's laws would consider that, by virtue of using items adulterated from their intended purpose, as a bomb. Even with no main charge.

The ATF has scrambled the regulations (NOT laws) so fucking bad, and made up and constructed case law out of whole cloth, it would entirely depend on what one of them ate for breakfast that morning.

I'm not trying to piss on your parade. It would be incredibly hypocritical of me to do so. (Ain't it FUN building stuff??) I'm saying that what you've built... redo it with like cardboard tubing to protect yourself from fragmentation. Put the word 'firework' on it.

And, once you realize that you need an almost direct hit to effectively function your idea more often than not, start looking at point detonating fuze systems to see what people did in the 1800's on up to solve the glancing blow!

I remain, very pro-experimentation, and I refuse to be a dream shitter.

Amongst all of the bad ideas, this stands out as a particularly bad idea.

Deuce dropped, right on the dream.

IBTL  and nuke.

Maybe a notch below "let's invade Russia".

What could possibly go wrong?


Cue MC Hammer music "Hammer Time!" and the sounds of a giant lock...