BUYING EXPLOSIVES AND PROPELLANTS

     Almost any city or town of reasonable size has a gun store and one or
more pharmacies. These are two of the places that potential terrorists visit
in order to purchase explosive material.  All that one has to do is know
something about the non- explosive uses of the materials.  Black powder, for
example, is used in blackpowder firearms.  It comes in varying "grades", with
each different grade being a slightly different size.  The grade of black
powder depends on what the calibre of the gun that it is used in; a fine grade
of powder could burn too fast in the wrong caliber weapon.  The rule is: the
smaller the grade, the faster the burn rate of the powder.


                             BLACK POWDER

     Black powder is generally available in three grades.  As stated before, the
smaller the grade, the faster the powder burns.  Burn rate is extremely
important in bombs.  Since an explosion is a rapid increase of gas volume in a
confined environment, to make an explosion, a quick-burning powder is desirable.
The three common grades of black powder are listed below, along with the usual
bore width (calibre) of what they are used in.  Generally, the fastest burning
powder, the FFF grade is desirable.  However, the other grades and uses are
listed below:

     GRADE              BORE WIDTH               EXAMPLE OF GUN
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