Damascus Made for Smokeless

[jimcaron]

it is true that Fulminate of Mercury will create a hygroscopic salt after detonation, but the really nasty compound in older primers is the potassium chlorate. This was added to make the flame created burn even hotter. This is even MORE hygroscopic. On top of this it has the added curse that when wet, the potassium ions released will cause metal to rust even faster than sodium. This explains why all the "old Timers" like my uncle would rush home to clean their guns after a day of shooting.