Coloured Smoke

[Dave A]

Does any one out there have any good ideas on how to produce coloured smoke along with a decent report (loud boom)? We are trying to make coloured smoke for a flag ceremony colour guard salute using muzzle loading firearms. The white smoke from the powder tends to overwhelm colourents tried so far such as carpenters stringline chalk loaded on top of the main charge.

 

[DixieTexian]

You might try Googling "colored smoke." Ijust did and got a few hits that look interesting. You might have to make some sort of small projectile that would burn up quickly enough to safe and not cause any damage. I would experiment a lot before trying anyhting in public, and most of that stuff would probably not be very kind to the gun.

 

[SaMx]

buy some colored smoke bombs, crack them open, and mix the powder inside with the BP.

 

[Phantom Captain]

Ha!

I remember reading in the Master and Commander series by Patrick O'brien how at one point being low on powder they were forced to buy firework powder. Jack had them train at night so they could all see the cannons going off blue and red and green etc. etc.! This was the flame though of course, not the smoke. I'm sure they must have done the same in real life.

 

[Aries-]

anything i can think of to make colored smoke you wouldent want to breathe.

fireworks wouldent give colored smoke just colored flames, the colored smoke bombs would likely work, hopefuly it would burn right not to fast and not to slow (to slow would be funny a long tube of smoke coming out the barrel) to fast could be dangerous.