Tannerite (and the knock-offs)

[JackEllis]

I do most of my shooting on a National Forest Service plot that used to be a gravel pit. The "upper range", which is behind a locked gate, is covered with grass. There are burned trees behind the parking area and across the access road. There's evidence of a fire on the lower range as well.

Yesterday as I was leaving a shooter started setting up Tannerite targets (brand name on the box). It's been hot and dry, but yesterday the wind was relatively mild. Even so I was flabbergasted. It's a public range, I'm not the RSO or a Forest Service employee and I'm no expert on Tannerite but I asked him if he had a fire extinguisher with him (he did). He claimed the explosive reaction doesn't create any flame. I let it go since I wasn't sure of my facts.

What's the collective wisdom on shooting Tannerite targets (the real thing and/or knock-offs) in the middle of the summer when everything is dried out and the fire danger is very high?

[Trriemferent]

Doesnt matter if its summer or winter.... Tannerite is illegal in California

[racinjason233]

I know a little and make my own.

A 2000 ft/sec or faster projectile must pass through the inert solid state chemicals. That creates a very fast reaction with the benefit of a small flash and a loud bang. The after effect is water vapour. I don’t see any harm in setting of a small container as long as it’s not inside anything. Well other then a pumpkin...

[GW]

How do you get water vapor from aluminum and ammonium nitrate?
Yes there's Oxygen and hydrogen in those compounds, but what happens to the rest? I've seen some you-tube videos where they claim to be using tannerite (And lots of it, too) and that sure looks like a flame. Maybe there's other stuff involved that they aren't mentioning...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjlOEhUr4Ys

[Vlad 11]

It makes a fireball and it will set stuff aflame.

[freonr22]

It works better with a jar of Coffemate from Costco

[Jeepergeo]

Illegal in California. It's slack jaws like those you saw that get our shooting areas closed. I'd call the local sheriff and fire and report them, along with their vehicle plate numbers. Maybe even stick around and watch the felony arrest.....they probably have all sorts of illegal stuff and warrants too. It will be entertaining at a minimum and will help keep our ranges free of these idiots.

[-hanko]

Yet another stupid wastage...

started a fire via Tannerite...which we all know implodes and can't set anything on fire.

Link here... Idiot with Tannerite

Last year, "just a few" beers + bottle rockets = 2 homes destroyed. The idiot responsible was arrested and fined the cost of stopping the fire...~ $380,000.

[Rusty Scabbard]

..the coffemate will definitely help it start a fire. If mixed properly, tannerite itself should not start a grass fire. Afterall, nitroglycerin is used to put out oil-well fires. But it is a senseless risk to use tannerite in the hillside conditions around here. Its products of combustion are Al2O3, a bunch of water, N2 and NO, formed at thousands of degrees. Non-uniform mixing, degraded mixture chemicals or the fireball enveloping dry grass-flower blooms could easily start a fire. That's how it lights coffemate as it's blown into a cloud of dust.
Mixing the components without an explosives license in California is a felony. Mr Tannerite at one point said the company would pay legal fees if a user is prosecuted. The California statute on unlicensed manufacture of explosives is clear. Free legal help or not, it may be a hard rap to beat.

[God Bless America]

I can tell you that Tannerite does not catch things on fire. Not even gasoline perched on top. Mr. Tanner formulated it that way. He was an explosives engineer. Permissible explosives don't start fires.

The other brands most certainly will light gasoline.

[BrokerB]

I shot tannerite on top of s burn pile soaked with diesel and gasoline, we ran out of diesel.

It did not start a fire from the explosion.

Next year i had a motlov cocktail burning in a bottle on top of diesel soaked brush pile. Hit tannerite and it extinguished the flame.


From my 2 times using brand name tannerite on gas/diesel. It did not work.

[CMBrowning]

Doesnt matter if its summer or winter.... Tannerite is illegal in California

Really? I purchased some within the last two years in CA

[CMBrowning]

Illegal in California. It's slack jaws like those you saw that get our shooting areas closed. I'd call the local sheriff and fire and report them, along with their vehicle plate numbers. Maybe even stick around and watch the felony arrest.....they probably have all sorts of illegal stuff and warrants too. It will be entertaining at a minimum and will help keep our ranges free of these idiots.

Get a hard on for being a narc? You sound unstable in the head.

[GW]

Really? I purchased some within the last two years in CA

Yeah, that's problematic. I still saw it on shelves at Bay Area gun shops. The 2 components are inert by themselves. They become illegal when you mix them. YOU are now making explosives and in violation of the law the moment you pour the black into the white.

[edgerly779]

It has been illegal for years in ca. Does not matter if sold here.