[1][2] The targets comprise a combination of oxidizers and a fuel, primarily aluminium powder, that is supplied as two separate components that are mixed by the user.

[1] The explosive reaction, once initiated, occurs at a very high velocity, producing a large vapor cloud and a loud report.

Binary explosives like Tannerite are also used in some business applications, including commercial blasting, product testing, and special effects.

The product, developed by Daniel Jeremy Tanner, and initially formulated in 1996,[3] consists of two components: a fuel mixed with a catalyst or sensitizer, and a bulk material or oxidizer.

[4] The United States Forest Service in 2013 banned explosive targets on its property in five different states (Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas) due to the targets igniting 16 fires on Forest Service lands, which cost more than $33 million in order to extinguish the fires.

[13][14] In Ohio, the act of mixing the components of explosive targets, including "products sold under the name 'Tannerite'," without a permit, can be a 2nd degree felony.

[19][20] A Minnesota man was fined $2,583 and sentenced to three years' probation[21] on charges of detonating an explosive device and unlawful possession of components for explosives after he detonated 100 lb (45 kg) of Tannerite inside the bed of a dump truck by shooting it with a rifle chambered in .50 BMG from 300 yards (270 m) away on January 14, 2008, in Red Wing, Minnesota.

The explosive noise caused numerous phone calls to the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office, the New York State Police, and other law enforcement in the area.

At the time, winds were gusting up to 40 miles per hour (60 km/h) and the National Weather Service had issued a fire watch in the area.

By the time the wildfire was mostly contained one week later, it had jumped over the Santa Rita Mountains and crossed State Route 83, spreading into the historic Empire Ranch and the surrounding 42,000-acre (17,000 ha) Las Cienegas National Conservation Area.

[28] Dickey pleaded guilty in September 2018 to a misdemeanor violation of U.S. Forest Service regulations and was sentenced to five years' probation.