Craig's post reminds me how back in the day my friend George had a 12 gauge double muzzleloader his dad got in a barroom deal, and we shot the heck out of it using homemade black powder and even "better stuff" made with Science Club access to the stock room at the school chem lab. Wadding was usually a plug of newspaper and we shot regular steel BB's to good effect while rabbit and squirrel hunting. Percussion caps weren't available locally but we made our own with tiny dabs of another chem mixture held in small cups made of aluminum foil. All that and an interest in amateur rocketry started my life-long interest and schooling in chemistry. But for years now I've felt badly about scarfing those and other chemicals
and have tried to repay by being generous with the school's Alumni Association and its goal to help needy students with tuition. Paybacks can be long overdue but good.
