[flintlock62]

When purchasing black powder, there is a haz mat fee imposed. Does anyone know where this money goes?

 

[unclenick]

Probably to insurance companies to cover the cost of replacing the rest of the payload traveling with it. Particularly the driver.

 

[Davers]

haz mat fees are unfair, In my opinion.

 

[MMichaelAK]

Best thing to do is order in bulk then Davers, cause Nick is right. Spread the cost out over your larger order. That's what the shipper is doing.

The other option isn't an option for most of us. Going and getting it ourselves and transporting it in our own vehicles for the same miles. That one makes shipping and Hazmat fees kinda cheap.

Now, if MidwayUSA, Natchez and Midsouthshooters were all in Alaska, Id drive.

 

[M1Garand]

I agree with the others. I order from Powder Valley and as long at I order several lbs, it's actually cheaper than local stores (some as much as $5 or $6/lb less). And I can get powders not sold at local places such as Ramshot or Norma. Shipping from PV isn't bad, I think my last order was around $11-$12 for 15 lbs.

 

[broom_jm]

I think the problem most people have with the hazmat fees applied to primers and powders is that, properly packaged, there is very little "haz" in the "mat". In other words, it isn't really all that dangerous to ship the stuff, it's just another form of taxation, imho.

 

[flintlock62]

I know HOW to purchase powder, in 25# lots. What I want to know is WHO gets the hazmat cash? Where does it go? Who benefits?

 

[bldsmith]

The HAZMAT fee goes to the carriers insurance company. Some carriers are self insured so they put it into their own pocket. If they have a truck blow up then they can pay off all who were inconvenienced, injured or killed. Just like unclenick said in the second post.

 

[magnumitis]

It goes to pay carriers' insurance, employee training & certification time and it goes to pay for the extra time, effort and B.S. a carrier has to go through to handle haz-mat materials. Haz-mats are handled separately and not just tossed into package sorts with all the other packages. To be quite honest......I don't know why small package carriers even screw with haz-mat materials. The training, safety procedures and extra handling are not worth the aggravation.

I guess be happy to be able to pay the fee. It means you can still have the stuff delivered to your door.

 

[MZ5]

Until fairly recently, a local store here had powder priced low enough that I couldn't beat them by mail-ordering unless I bought WAAAYYY more powder than I'll probably burn for years, at which point the time-value of money would have made it cheaper to buy locally anyway. A couple or so months ago (?? I've been gone a month), powder prices started jumping at that local place. It's still not as bad as the shop across town, who are outright robbers, but it's now high enough that I can pay the Haz-Mat fee just on the savings from a single 5-lb. jug of powder. Now if only I had a streamlined enough set of cartridges that I only needed/wanted 2 powders!

 

[Davers]

Best thing to do is order in bulk then Davers, cause Nick is right. Spread the cost out over your larger order. That's what the shipper is doing.

The other option isn't an option for most of us. Going and getting it ourselves and transporting it in our own vehicles for the same miles. That one makes shipping and Hazmat fees kinda cheap.

Now, if MidwayUSA, Natchez and Midsouthshooters were all in Alaska, Id drive.

I agree, buying in bulk is about the only way to save on shipping & other costs. Myself, there are NO stores in my town that sell powder, and the closest store is 30 miles from where I live.

 

[marsms]

I agree, buying in bulk is about the only way to save on shipping & other costs. Myself, there are NO stores in my town that sell powder, and the closest store is 30 miles from where I live.

Well, I got you beat. My closest store is just a tick under 100 miles away, with a second store being about 110 miles away from my house, and about 60 miles away from the first store. All I can say is thank God for the wonderful folks putting on the gunshow in town this weekend!

 

[MZ5]

I agree with you cvc944, though I think we should remember that "Hazardous Materials" requirements have as much or more to do with first responders' safety and their handling of a situation as they do with safety of a truck driving down the road.

For example (not to do with transportation), it isn't particularly hazardous in and of itself to have a fairly large propane tank in the garage or back of the house. However, if your house catches on fire and you call the fire department (and clear out of there!), that tank's presence suddenly becomes critically important and hazardous to many people's lives.

This doesn't necessarily comment on 'Haz Mat' fees themselves, just trying to help explain the origin of haz mat handling requirements.

 

[M1Garand]

I think the problem most people have with the hazmat fees applied to primers and powders is that, properly packaged, there is very little "haz" in the "mat". In other words, it isn't really all that dangerous to ship the stuff, it's just another form of taxation, imho.

I couldn't agree more.....

 

[unclenick]

And it brings up another issue. The carriers have many trucks on the road each day, so it is a certainty that some percentage are involved in accidents with varying degrees of severity. If your brown truck gets in an accident, you not only have all the firemen to tell about what's in it, but if the vehicle is to severely damaged to drive away, you probably get billed for having a hazmat cleanup crew come out and pick up the contents. Then there will be a fee for whatever special disposal steps the regulations make them to take with the content afterward. The regulations may be overkill, but the carrier doesn't get to decide that.

 

[MMichaelAK]

Well, I got you beat. My closest store is just a tick under 100 miles away, with a second store being about 110 miles away from my house, and about 60 miles away from the first store. All I can say is thank God for the wonderful folks putting on the gunshow in town this weekend!

110 miles...

two and a half hour drive there.

If the one gun shop is out, which they have been for too long now, and Sportsman's Warehouse is out... *laughing*


The other thing is that to drive that truck transporting that powder, the driver has to have a hazmat cert on his CDL. Your CDl costs more than a simple driver's license and the HazMat fee is extra. Costs the driver more to get adn costs the shiping company more to pay the driver IF they pay for additional certifications and skills.