Really want to make the smell of gunfire into an oil I can put in a scent clip. So far I have tried buying one off of Etsy (smells like Incense) and Gunpowder Tea(Which I guess smells like unexploded gunpowder which is good but not for gunfire). Someone suggested to put burnt matches in alcohol to capture the smell and then mix that with oil. Thoughts?
Just burn some gunpowder and somehow capture the residues? Modern smokeless power burns quickly - but not explosively - in open air.
Sweep up some spent brass at a local range and somehow capture that residue?
Mind you, these methods might not produce a scent that’s terribly good for you - especially the latter one.
Do you think residue from cap guns would work?
Yeah good point Sulfur is part of the smell and yeah probably not the best for you… I have made a gaming device that uses car scents to add realism to games… but yeah don’t want to poison people. If it is actually bad for health then should probably stick to the incense smell and tell everyone sorry but don’t want people to get sick 
I’m all about aroma therapy on the gun range. I’m not sure how you would recreate the smell of gun smoke but I know a lot of old shooters get a similar effect with a whif of Hoppe’s #9 bore cleaner. There was a time when that was the most popular bore cleaner but probably not so much now.
Russell Ward
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Mmm mmm mm. Petroleum distillates. Aromatic hydrocarbons. Maybe even some benzene to complete the aroma.
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This is a bit confusing. Not all gun powders smell the same.
With this in mind, what smell are you trying to capture. Major manufacturers use proprietary, exclusively constructed powders of their own. Some commercial products like “UNIQUE” reloading powder smell AWESOME, when burned. So does “Double Tap” that they use for 10mm. However, TULA, Wolf, bear, bird(all that Russian Crammo) Ammo smell like burn cockroaches(it also looks like roach carcases flying out of the barrels when guns fire that ammo too.) Red River smells like sewage, when burned. Winchester smells sweet, but will dry your sinuses.
The other issue, what we smell in the air after a round goes off are active components(chemical reactions), exited by heat… so simply capturing the smells after something burns will not easily render the same smells afterwards. I suspect gun powder works that way.
If you need some test samples, or smell capturing devices deposited in an daily active, indoor range, contact me. If you capture some smells, at least it will give you something to compare to.
One idea, is to create a hollow cylinder of CO2, then burn the desired powder while venting the gases through the cylinder. Let the cylinder sublimate in a static air chamber and collect the residue after the CO2 is gone. That residue should be half active, and uncontaminated by other components oils may have. If a small amount of heat is applied, it should reproduce the smell of burning gunpowder.
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Are you looking for a black powder or rifle powder smell?
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Thank you everyone I should have checked back earlier. I am making these smells for gamers. I believe the smell gamers will be expecting would be a Hollywood style smell. Like they expect all explosions to be gasoline style explosions I imagine they would like the smell when they shoot a gun to smell like a burnt firework 
. I hope this clarifies what I am trying to achieve.
The great thing about Tula, Wolf, and Bear is shooting a Kalashnikov knockoff at night when every other ejecting shell flings out a few still-burning flecks of powder. The smell of the lacquer cooking is another unique aspect of the experience. The multiple-choice nature of where the round hits due to its random QC and the nature of the Kalashnikov action is another matter.
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I think it might be beneficial to have a meetup to discuss the best way to develop a scented oil(s) with a desirable smell / smells. I would bring with the oil I have already and some of the cartridges I have made thus far. Would this be of interest to anyone? We could do it in multiple meetup sessions. Sessions one brain storm ideas. Session two make a game plan for testing a few ideas. Session 3/4 implementation. Session five post assessment.
You forgot to mention the biggest benefit of running the lacquered Crammo from Russia. It will reliably jack and jam your gun intermittently. Which is an excellent time to train on malfunction clearing and stoppage drills.
http://www.deathvalleymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/146462ee-ffe7-485d-8160-bf76.jpg
Tactical Tubbies Unite!
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Can’t say I ever had issues with the small-ish volumes of lacquered ammo I’ve consumed, however I’ve only ever used it on a sunny range slow-firing at stationary targets and it’s far from match grade.
If you fire more than 10-20 rounds in quick succession, the lacquer will cause the rounds to stick in the chamber, causing FTE or double feeds. It will also cause FTF. If you fire more than 50-100 in quick succession, it will cause malfunctions in a preposterous scale. Which coincidentally, is great when you want/need to train how to proficiently run your gun.
Russian Crammo is great but not because is cheap. And any gun firing that garbage ammo should be cleaned as soon as the training session is over. Otherwise, your gun will malfunction at the worst possible times.
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FTE = Failure To Eject
FTF = Failure to Feed
Whatever solution you end up using(if you use it for commercial reasons). You might want to consider wether or not its bad for the consumer’s health.
That is nonsense. How do you kids come up with this stuff!
Breathing in burning gunpowder cannot be any more harmful than cigarettes…
Over 20,000 Physicians CANNOT BE WRONG!
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Hey I remember Lucky Strikes from my history class!