How much gun powder is in a typical fire cracker compared to a .22 round?

Question

My friend lit off a fire cracker for nostalgic reasons today, and it was a nice loud crack. I just picked up my new semi auto .22, and assumed from prior experience that it would be louder... However, when we got to the range, it sounded much quieter, and much less of a crack. I figure it would be louder if I was on the business end of the rifle given the physics involved, but the round itself is much smaller than a firercracker. So the question popped into my head... Thanks! peace and love happy v day

Answer 1

First of all, modern firecrackers don't have gunpowder at all. They are made with flash powder which has a large amount of powdered aluminum.



the reason the firecracker is louder than your .22 rifle is the fact that the firecracker is un contained. The .22 cartridge, being contained directs all it's gas in one direction. Depending on barrel length, the powder gases might have reached maximum expansion before the bullet exits the barrel. In which case you actually are hearing the crack of the bullet breaking the speed of sound, not the sound of the powder explosion.



Short barreled .22 pistols can be very loud, but the longer the barrel, the quieter the report.



Doc.

Answer 2

depending on the firecracker, it can be 50 mg blackpowder up to about 7-9 grams of flash powder. Or more.

Legal firecrackers I believe since the 1960's are limited to 50 mg flash powder. In California (where I live) its 50 mg blackpowder , weaker than other state's firecrackers since there are too many retarded kids in this state who eats fireworks rather than using them safely.

illegal tpye firecrackers can b the M40 or M80, the M80 can have up to 50 grams of flash powder. Up until recently most M80 type firecrackers (called "bombs" by the government) came from Mexico, which can vary from 25 to 80 grams of some kind of low explosive like gunpowder, blackpowder, or flash powder.

Other lesser used but still available firecrackers can have between 10 grams to 8 ounces of various types of pyrotechnic material.

Even though I live in California where safe and sane fireworks means safe for retarded idiots to put in the mouth and not get injured at all, I had the pleasure to experience some real firecrackers, several M40s used to blow apart textbooks and dinner plates, a waterproofed M80 in the local pond, a couple dozen 12gram CO2 cartridge firecracker variants (gunpowder, flash powder, nitrocellulose), one 9oz paintball co2 tank packed with some kind of explosive, and lastly a real sparkler bomb type firecracker a neighbor bought back from a trip to Texas.



a typical .22 rimfire round has 4.9 grains of gunpowder, or about 1/4 of a gram. gunfire can sound louder or quieter depending on environment fired in, and also if you're wearing ear protection or not. A open environment like a open field can make a .22 sound like an airsoft gun. the same gun fired in the confines of your bedroom can make your ears ring. The smaller the area, the more concentrated and confined the noise is, the louder it is and powerful the sound waves are. An open area has nothing much nearby to reflect that noise back in your direction, so all the sound waves spread out and you don't hear as much noise.

Answer 3

Fire crackers actually have more gun powder or explosive in than a .22. The reason for that is that a .22 is used in a barrel and the gases provided by the smaller amount of powder is able to propel the bullet at a proper speed.