BLACK POWDER, GOLDEN POWDER, CRIMSON POWDER - Not for the colour conscious:

 There's a phrase "There's more than one way to skin a cat".

Governments of all flavours fully consider that they - and their wealth would be safer and stronger if NOBODY other than themselves had guns .. This is a "UNIPARTY" commonality where they adopt the political 'middle ground' while accepting $$ legal bribe donations from weird minorities in exchange for preference.

'Guns are BAD unless they are OURS. All shooters will have to be government approved or government employed.'

Nitro based SMOKELESS POWDERS are what propels most bullets to the target from modern cartridge guns.

But - for some 500+ years before these modern powders, - society mixed saltpeter with charcoal and sulfur - using this MIXTURE for many years in the "new" self contained cartridges that greatly facilitated rapid firing and multiple shot firearms.

But - there were and are other mixtures that work to produce high pressure gases that will accelerate bullets out of a barrel ..

There's all sorts of dodgy stuff used in explosives - fireworks and rocketry that personally don't interest me much, - as life is too short anyway .. but slings, bows and arrows and guns do appeal as tools for independence.

GOLDEN POWDER is a 60:40 (or 64:36) blend of POTASSIUM NITRATE with ASCORBIC ACID (vitamin C).

CRIMSON POWDER is the same stuff modified by adding some 5% ferric oxide- RUST red oxide.

I have NOT made this but read that the technique is simply to add the ingredients to water in a pan and boil them evaporating the water until the fluids turn gooey and change colour from grey-white to yellow tinged - remove from heat - cool & break-up. Link to them that do cook it:

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?464557-My-homemade-Golden-powder!

This stuff has been produced commercially as a Black Powder Substitute but not currently that I know of. One BIG PLUS is it doesn't foul like BP and is not corrosive in barrels .. BUT it is hygroscopic and clumps into a cake when carelessly moist. - GP/CP is less powerful by volume than the best BPs but is usefully adequate while simple to make and CHEAPER. The guys report that GP/CP is as powerful as Blackpowder measured by weight and while it is clean & non-corrosive to STEEL - it is bad for your brass.

This Golden Powder works better than United Kingdom's NUCLEAR DETERRANT TRIDENT missiles burping from their rusty submarines .. Do the British submarines have to be close off the Florida coast so that the Pentagon can release their nuclear arming system?

I did buy a book from U S some years back 'WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE REAL GOLDEN POWDER by Skip Kurtz - a personal tale of intrigue and criminality from the American capitalist jungle that casts flickering light on shady dealings .. a sort of low level corruption story much like the High Level world of  U S Banking-Sex-Blackmail-CIA-Mossad-Politics-Corruption & Power/ Epstein-Maxwell-Clinton - Assasinations, Ukraine-Israel Slaughter type existance that we tolerate in this Century ..

Imagine the world's "most powerful nation" being offered the choice of criminal dotards Biden or Trump - to rule over all in the land of the free ...

There is a further propellant that I won't mention - known widely as CANDY PROPELLANT - made from a mix of Potassium Nitrate and Dextrose/Sucrose  65:35 ratio. I don't know much about it's features ..

Marty K.

The book is still offered by Amazon whereas Golden Powder author Skip is departed ..