 | |
| Industry | Manufacturer of ammunition components |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | 7121 Coastal Hwy, Crawfordville, Fla. 32327 |
| Products | ball propellants |
| Parent | General Dynamics |
| Website | https://www.gd-ots.com/commercial_powder.html |
St. Marks Powder is a subsidiary of General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems manufacturing ball propellant [1] in Crawfordville, Florida. The company is a member of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI). [2]
Large-scale ball propellant manufacture began during World War II at the Olin Corporation plant in East Alton, Illinois. Population growth of the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area encouraged finding a more remote location for a modern production plant. The St. Marks manufacturing facility was built in 1969 on a large plot of undeveloped swampland south of Tallahassee, Florida, at near sea-level elevation between the St. Marks River and the Gulf Coast. [3] Plant operation was transferred to St. Marks Powder in 1998. [4]
The facility manufactures over 95 percent of propellants used in United States military small arms ammunition. [5] Similar propellants are sold to commercial manufacturers of rimfire and centerfire ammunition [1] or marketed by Winchester and Hodgdon Powder Company for civilian handloading. [6] Other propellants are used for military mortar rounds, [7] rocket-assisted projectiles, [8] or dispersing non-lethal agents used for crowd control, marking, or area denial. [9]
A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun. This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading firearms. The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to the marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber.
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load.
Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder. The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared to around 55% solid products for black powder. In addition, smokeless powder does not leave the thick, heavy fouling of hygroscopic material associated with black powder that causes rusting of the barrel. Despite its name, smokeless powder is not completely free of smoke; while there may be little noticeable smoke from small-arms ammunition, smoke from artillery fire can be substantial.
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several American National Standards that provide safety, reliability, and interchangeability standards for commercial manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. In addition, SAAMI publishes information on the safe and responsible transportation, storage, and use of those products.
The .44 Smith & Wesson Special, also commonly known as .44 S&W Special, .44 Special, .44 Spl, .44 Spc,, or 10.9x29mmR is a smokeless powder center fire metallic revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1907 as the standard chambering for their New Century revolver, introduced in 1908.
The .303 British or 7.7×56mmR, is a .303-inch (7.7 mm) calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows the traditional black powder convention.
The .458 Winchester Magnum is a belted, straight-taper cased, big five game rifle cartridge. It was introduced commercially in 1956 by Winchester and first chambered in the Winchester Model 70 African rifle. It was designed to compete against the .450 Nitro Express and the .470 Nitro Express cartridges used in big bore British double rifles. The .458 Winchester Magnum remains one of the most popular large game cartridges, and most major ammunition manufacturers offer a selection of .458 ammunition.
The .416 Rigby is a rifle cartridge designed in 1911 by London based gunmaker John Rigby & Company, for hunting dangerous game. It is the first cartridge to use a bullet of .416 inch diameter. The rifles, as built by John Rigby & Co., were initially made up on the Magnum Mauser 98 action, although in later years, some were made on standard length actions, a perfect example being the rifle used by legendary professional hunter Harry Selby. Other famous users of the cartridge were Commander David Enderby Blunt, John Taylor, and Jack O'Connor.
Olin Corporation is an American manufacturer of ammunition, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide. The company traces its roots to two companies, both founded in 1892: Franklin W. Olin's Equitable Powder Company and the Mathieson Alkali Works.
W231 is a smokeless powder manufactured by General Dynamics at the St. Marks plant in Florida. It is packaged, distributed, and marketed by Hodgdon Powder Company and marketed under the Winchester trade name. Hodgdon licensed the Winchester brand in January 2006, assuming all packaging and support responsibilities. Prior to this Winchester brand powders were manufactured by the Olin Corporation.
Overpressure ammunition, commonly designated as +P or +P+, is small arms ammunition that has been loaded to produce a higher internal pressure when fired than is standard for ammunition of its caliber, but less than the pressures generated by a proof round. This is done typically to produce rounds with a higher muzzle velocity and stopping power, such as ammunition used for defensive or hunting purposes. Because of this, +P ammunition is typically found in handgun calibers which might be used for defensive purposes.
The Indiana Army Ammunition Plant was an Army manufacturing plant built in 1941 between Charlestown and Jeffersonville, Indiana. It consisted of three areas within two separate but attached manufacturing plants:
The Badger Army Ammunition Plant or Badger Ordnance Works (B.O.W.) is an excess, non-BRAC, United States Army facility located near Sauk City, Wisconsin. It manufactured nitrocellulose-based propellants during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It was a large munitions factory during World War II. As of 2013, the facility was in the end stages of demolition and remediation in preparation for property transfer.
Barwick, Great Barwick, and Little Barwick are hamlets in the civil parish of Standon in Hertfordshire, England. They are near the A10 road and the village of Much Hadham and the hamlet of Latchford. The River Rib flows behind Barwick and through Great Barwick. There is a ford crossing at Great Barwick.
The Hodgdon Powder Company began in 1952 as B.E. Hodgdon, Inc., and has become a major distributor of smokeless powder for the ammunition industry, as well as for individuals who load their own ammunition by hand. The company's corporate office and manufacturing facilities are located in Kansas, United States. Hodgdon acquired IMR Powder Company in 2003. Winchester branded reloading powders have been distributed in the United States by Hodgdon since March 2006.
The .276 Enfield (7×60mm) was an experimental rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire military rifle cartridge developed in conjunction with the Pattern 1913 Enfield (P'13) rifle. Development was discontinued by the onset of World War I.
Laflin & Rand Powder Company was a gunpowder and early smokeless powder manufacturer notable for producing the smokeless powder used by United States Army infantry rifles from 1896 to 1908, which included the period of development of the M1903 Springfield rifle and .30-06 Springfield cartridge.
The Small Arms Ammunition Factories (SAAF) were ammunition manufacturing plants run by the Australian government. Nearly all of their production was for domestic use by their military, the police forces, and government-appointed agents.
Ball propellant is a form of nitrocellulose used in small arms cartridges. Ball propellant can be manufactured more rapidly with greater safety and less expense than extruded propellants.
Rio Ammunition manufactures shotgun shells at a factory in Marshall, Texas. This subsidiary of the Spanish explosives firm MAXAM is a member of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI). MAXAM originated as Unión Española de Explosivos (UEE) in 1896, and began marketing shotgun ammunition in the United States in 2002. The Rio Ammunition plant in McEwen, Tennessee, was damaged by an explosion in 2014. The Texas factory began operations in 2015 loading locally manufactured shotgun shells with smokeless powder, wads, primers, and shot manufactured in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The labor pool for the Texas manufacturing site includes skilled personnel formerly employed at the nearby Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant closed in 1997. Rio Ammunition produces conventional target and hunting ammunition plus specialized cartridges for law enforcement use. Non-lead hunting cartridges are loaded with steel or bismuth shot. Combined production of factories in Spain, Texas, the United Kingdom and Turkey is estimated at 500,000,000 shotgun shells annually.