Ball propellant

Ball propellant was first used to load military small arms cartridges during World War II and has been manufactured for sale to handloading civilians since 1960.

Ethyl acetate distills off as pressure is slowly reduced to leave small spheres of nitrocellulose and additives.

The spheres can be subsequently modified by adding nitroglycerin to increase energy, flattening between rollers to a uniform minimum dimension, coating with deterrents to retard ignition, and/or glazing with graphite to improve flow characteristics during blending.

[9] Olin subsidiaries began manufacturing ball powder specification WC846 for .303 British ammunition during World War II.

Some propellant lots clogged the gas tube of M16 rifles until concentrations of calcium carbonate stabilizers were reduced in 1970 as reformulated WC844 for the 5.56mm NATO cartridge.

Some attributed the problem to residues of unburned deterrent coatings and suggested using magnum primers to improve ignition and burning at lower pressures.