Tannerite @ Redington Pass

Was up at Redington Pass over the weekend, and a guy was shooting 1/2 lb tannerite. He was safe with it and wasn't putting fax machines or something on top so I had no problem with it.

About an hour into shooting an Arizona Game and Fish officer pulls up and asks who is shooting the tannerite. The other shooter stepped up and admited to it and was promptly told he will be getting a ticket and it's a class 4 felony! He said if the shooter had been putting things on top he would have arrested him. The game warden then tells all of us we need to stop shooting cause he needs to call bomb control to come blow up the already mixed tannerite down range. Ridiculous!

I cleaned up and stayed for another 30 mins as we waited for a sherriff. I asked him about the law the forbids tannerite and he said it was 13-3101. I haven't looked it up yet.

So just a heads up... Only use tannerite type products in a safe way on private property here in Arizona.

That's a big section to read and contains a lot of legaleze.. :confused: Ron

http://www.tannerite.com/frequent-questions/. I just read the statute and assuming that what was posted by the Tannerite people is correct then the Game officer was incorrect.

It's also sold locally in many stores so if it was unlawful then it wouldn't be able to be legally sold.

In the United States, it is a primary tool for avalanche control and police use. Tannerite falls under the same laws as black powder and all other explosives that are exempt for sporting use. ATF regulations allow the manufacturer to produce the two components separately since neither compound is an explosive by itself. However, the mixture is an explosive once mixed, and you cannot transport it without following strict regulations including insurance, packaging, and signage on the vehicle. Various regulations also govern the storage of mixed Tannerite. The compound is so stable, that low-level rifle and pistol ammunition will not set it off. Only high-velocity rounds have the energy to make Tannerite explode.

ARS 13-3101 "Explosive" means any dynamite, nitroglycerine, black powder, or other similar explosive material, including plastic explosives. Explosive does not include ammunition or ammunition components such as primers, percussion caps, smokeless powder, black powder and black powder substitutes used for hand loading purposes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AO520

Was up at Redington Pass over the weekend, and a guy was shooting 1/2 lb tannerite. He was safe with it and wasn't putting fax machines or something on top so I had no problem with it.

About an hour into shooting an Arizona Game and Fish officer pulls up and asks who is shooting the tannerite. The other shooter stepped up and admited to it and was promptly told he will be getting a ticket and it's a class 4 felony! He said if the shooter had been putting things on top he would have arrested him. The game warden then tells all of us we need to stop shooting cause he needs to call bomb control to come blow up the already mixed tannerite down range. Ridiculous!

I cleaned up and stayed for another 30 mins as we waited for a sherriff. I asked him about the law the forbids tannerite and he said it was 13-3101. I haven't looked it up yet.

So just a heads up... Only use tannerite type products in a safe way on private property here in Arizona.

---

I'm guessing it's this part?

"8. "Prohibited weapon":
(a) Includes the following:
(i) An item that is a bomb, grenade, rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces or mine and that is explosive, incendiary or poison gas.
(ii) A device that is designed, made or adapted to muffle the report of a firearm.
(iii) A firearm that is capable of shooting more than one shot automatically, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
(iv) A rifle with a barrel length of less than sixteen inches, or shotgun with a barrel length of less than eighteen inches, or any firearm that is made from a rifle or shotgun and that, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches.
(v) An instrument, including a nunchaku, that consists of two or more sticks, clubs, bars or rods to be used as handles, connected by a rope, cord, wire or chain, in the design of a weapon used in connection with the practice of a system of self-defense.
(vi) A breakable container that contains a flammable liquid with a flash point of one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit or less and that has a wick or similar device capable of being ignited.
(vii) A chemical or combination of chemicals, compounds or materials, including dry ice, that is possessed or manufactured for the purpose of generating a gas to cause a mechanical failure, rupture or bursting or an explosion or detonation of the chemical or combination of chemicals, compounds or materials.
(viii) An improvised explosive device.
(ix) Any combination of parts or materials that is designed and intended for use in making or converting a device into an item set forth in item (i), (vi) or (viii) of this subdivision."

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AO520

I'm guessing it's this part?

"8. "Prohibited weapon":
(a) Includes the following:
(i) An item that is a bomb, grenade, rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces or mine and that is explosive, incendiary or poison gas.
(ii) A device that is designed, made or adapted to muffle the report of a firearm.
(iii) A firearm that is capable of shooting more than one shot automatically, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
(iv) A rifle with a barrel length of less than sixteen inches, or shotgun with a barrel length of less than eighteen inches, or any firearm that is made from a rifle or shotgun and that, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches.
(v) An instrument, including a nunchaku, that consists of two or more sticks, clubs, bars or rods to be used as handles, connected by a rope, cord, wire or chain, in the design of a weapon used in connection with the practice of a system of self-defense.
(vi) A breakable container that contains a flammable liquid with a flash point of one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit or less and that has a wick or similar device capable of being ignited.
(vii) A chemical or combination of chemicals, compounds or materials, including dry ice, that is possessed or manufactured for the purpose of generating a gas to cause a mechanical failure, rupture or bursting or an explosion or detonation of the chemical or combination of chemicals, compounds or materials.
(viii) An improvised explosive device.
(ix) Any combination of parts or materials that is designed and intended for use in making or converting a device into an item set forth in item (i), (vi) or (viii) of this subdivision."

---

I thought the bullet itself ,heat from it anyway, is what set off the tannerite

I note in ARS 13-3101 [A] 8 a. (vii) it mentions as a prohibited device ...

Quote:

---

(vii) A chemical or combination of chemicals, compounds or materials, including dry ice, that is possessed or manufactured for the purpose of generating a gas to cause a mechanical failure, rupture or bursting or an explosion or detonation of the chemical or combination of chemicals, compounds or materials.

---

Maybe Arizona state law deviates from federal law in this regard...?


ETA: On second thought...maybe that provision is referring to some kind of ignitor or detonator, not the explosive itself.

As far as I know tannerite can only be set off by the impact of a high velocity bullet. Also, as I mentioned it is sold in Arizona at gun stores to include Cabela's and I am fairly certain that if it was illegal to have, then the BATFE or some other state/local LE would have shut it down.

My guess is something else is going since that also seems to be the area where people had their vehicles searched and told to "police their brass and trash" after shooting a couple of weekends ago.