primer & powder question

do primers & powder go bad, or as long as they stay dry are they still good?

I neleive sun/heat can turn powder sour....


useless signiture

Here's one I posted a few days back, good info.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=694003

If kept in a cool and dry area, primers and powder will last for many, many years. I've used both that were over 25 years old with no problems at all.

I've got primers going back to the 1940's that still go bang as intended.

Powder if kept in a cool dry enviroment and still smelling like solvent, not like acid, is good to use.

Bullseye will last forever or at least 75yrs. I was worried about some older BE that I had so I called the manufacturer. They told me they had powder in the vault from the first batches and compared it to the new stuff on a regular basis. It has not changed. I do know that 700x will knock your socks off if it gets old and that Win231 is more sensitive than BE. 2400 is also one to watch as you are usually using max loads with it and it gets stronger with age. I have loaded in excess of 1,000,000 rounds having competed in Bullseye Competition for years as well held an FFL as an ammunition manufacturer. Heat and moisture are problems with any powder and steel cans are not protection in damp weather. When it gets cool you can get condensation. I store mine in a fire safe with a heat rod in air conditioning. I also rotate my stock.

My dad gave me his old reloading stuff and old primers, still in wooden box. They fired fine and the powder fired fine on both center fire and shotgun. I even got some old Goex black powder when I inherited my ML and the powder and primers were fine for that. Only exception of the blast disc (or whatever it's called) falling out of the cap (percussion ML). The others worked fine.

Kept dry and not over exposed to the elements. Should be fine. I remember my dad last reloading in late 70's early 80's.

Kept out of direct sunlight and a high temperature environment, the shelf life is about the same as the shelf they sit on.

Don

Kept out of direct sunlight and a high temperature environment, the shelf life is about the same as the shelf they sit on.

Don

That's a fact!

I had some old .270 rounds that I had loaded back in the early '80's, and when my wife was brand new to shooting 3 years ago, she wanted to try the .270 - she liked the sound of it. From a rest at 100yds, she put the first 3 rounds in an overlapping cloverleaf. No one will ever convince her that old ammo is deficient in any way!

Subsequently, I pulled the bullet on one of those rounds, and the powder still smelled like ether.

Thank you! I didn't think there was a problem. I keep mine in my gun safe. Thought I'd ask before i stocked up.