SFX - Recording Explosions in the UK

Hello to all!

Researching how to record explosions I came across a post from The Recordist, about creating explosion sounds from scratch. This included going to a gun store and asking for help. As you can tell from that sentence this was done in the USA and over here in the UK we cannot sell exploding pads to the general public. So I want to see how you can record explosions in the UK if you are a small freelance audio recordist.

The Recordist Article - https://therecordist.com/explosion-sounds-from-scratch/

Unless you are lucky enough to have your sound recording gear ready for a meteor hitting the earth you are not going to have a fun time trying to record explosion sound effects in the UK. You can record the sound of fireworks exploding in the sky, but you usually tend to get a crackle after the fireworks have exploded and can saturate the initial explosion sound. This is where you would have to use some sort of explosive to try and eliminate the crackle effect. However for any type of explosive here in the UK you need a license just to even store them! This is great for security here but for us audio recordists... not so good. If you plan to do this within the UK you will need to follow the guidelines of health and safety from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

These guidelines can be found here - http://www.hse.gov.uk/explosives/

To record the audio of an explosion you will have to carry out an explosion test which must be conducted in accordance with the test protocols set out in the current edition of UN Manual of Tests and Criteria. The tests must be recorded using video and full supporting evidence must be provided with the application of the explosion request.

To come to a quick conclusion, if you want to record explosion sound effects with ease, go to America. It'll also probably be cheaper.