How old is your oldest powder?

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Palladan44

Palladan44

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How old is your oldest powder?
Have you ever had powder go bad and why?

My oldest was some Hercules 2400, probably from the 70s or 80s in the metal can. It loaded up just fine. Shoots fine. Just finished the last of it in some 44 mag. It came from Grandpas stuff.

I also have another 8lb keg of WIN-231 probably from the late 90s.

When powder goes bad, supposedly it starts to smell like rotten eggs. (Never experienced this)

As far as i know, as long as you keep the containers tight and store out of heat (basement) powder will probably outlive us.
 
I am still loading and shooting powders from the 70’s. I’ve found one bad can; the smell was distinctive....rotten eggs might be mild smelling comparatively. Certainly not the antiseptic smell of acetone good smokeless powder has.
I was gifted some powder and know the history and how it was stored. I have bought some at auction/estate sales but throw out any with broken seals.
 
Oldest I have is a can of HS-5 from 1993. I have not tried any of it.
 
I have a metal can of IMR4831 my dad gave me years ago that is probably from the 80s or early 90's. I used some a few years ago and it seemed fine. Probably should just use up the can on something.
 
Hmmm, now that I think about it I have some H4831 for my 7mag that's about 7 years old, was ok the last time I checked it (a month ago) but maybe time to load it and burn it.
Should only take 60-70 rounds for what I have left but that's a lot of 7mm to shoot in one session.
(my shoulder is getting old and bony, not as much padding as when I was younger:D)
 
I used mine up to fast to really say. But longest is probably AR2209, which was still okay after 15 years. Thats stored in a shed with no insulation and hot summers.
 
I have 5 cans of W540, metal cans with screw on lids. I don’t know the mfg date.
Looks like this, but 1 lb. cans:
0A8CE525-0E8C-4F13-A480-497CA5CB822E.jpeg
 
Some of mine goes back into the 1970s or earlier. I check it once in a while.
I'm still using bullseye and 2400 in paper cans, my loading room is air conditioned.
I talked to a guy that freezes his powder surplus in a chest freezer, and when he needs another can he pulls one out and lets it thaw out.
He said there will be ice crystals in it and lumps that are froze together but when it thaws out he dumps in a large cookie sheet and lets it dry for a week, stirring it once a day.
He swears it doesn't change the way it shoots, but it will last forever in a freezer.
I've been tempted to throw a lb of something I don't use a lot in the freezer for a few years just as an experiment, but I don't know what it would tell me, since I don't have trouble with powder going bad anyways.
Edit to add: I've only ever dumped one bad can of powder and still smelled fine, it just had rust mixed in with it from the metal can and I wasn't shooting it through any of my barrels.
 
tightgroup tiger said:
Some of mine goes back into the 1970s or earlier. I check it once in a while.
I'm still using bullseye and 2400 in paper cans, my loading room is air conditioned.
I talked to a guy that freezes his powder surplus in a chest freezer, and when he needs another can he pulls one out and lets it thaw out.
He said there will be ice crystals in it and lumps that are froze together but when it thaws out he dumps in a large cookie sheet and lets it dry for a week, stirring it once a day.
He swears it doesn't change the way it shoots, but it will last forever in a freezer.
I've been tempted to throw a lb of something I don't use a lot in the freezer for a few years just as an experiment, but I don't know what it would tell me, since I don't have trouble with powder going bad anyways.
Edit to add: I've only ever dumped one bad can of powder and still smelled fine, it just had rust mixed in with it from the metal can and I wasn't shooting it through any of my barrels.
Click to expand...
Freeze and store next to your unused vials of vaccine.
 
I had a can get interesting. IMR 4320, probably from the 1970s. Didn't show any signs of deterioration, but it really did get hot. 3100fps from a 168 grain 30-06 hot! And that was at 1.5 grains below max charge with no pressure signs. Wish I could replicate the conditions of storage, that put Superformance to shame. Not sure what was going on there. It did make a nice campfire.
 
I have a can of Unique with a $16 price tag and remember a can of IMR-4198 that was $9.95. I started loading shotshells in the late 60's, centerfire rifle and pistol in the mid-70's.
 
I found this can of powder at a garage sale, I think I paid $2 for it back when I first started reloading, I stored it properly.
I was using it for .223s & the powder in the top of the paper can was nice & black like it is supposed to be. But as I got to the bottom it started to change color. It still shot good, so I wasn't worried, it was just for plinking rounds anyway.

powder can.jpg Old Can, check out the price on the side of the can.

old powder.jpg some of the kernels are turning red & green

powder can2.jpg I found the bottom of the can was rusty, I guess it wasn't always stored properly.
 
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Had H-4831 in a 25 lb metal can that the guy would buy at a good price and just add new on top of old from the 1980s. My family bought it in 1995 and had been shooting it in 7mm, 30-06 and .270 until 2 years ago. As the amount became smaller, I would stir it up and put in smaller plastic containers squeezing out air. Two years ago I opened it up an out came Casper the unfriendly ghost in an orange vapor. I took it outside and fertilized the lawn with it right away. I also opened up 50 of the last deer loads and found the powder had solidified in the cartridge like concrete and was corroding the inside of the case and the bottom of the bullets.
 
Unique in 8 lb cardboard keg from the late '70s.
Red Dot in 4 lb can from early '70s.
Both look as good as new, having spent all that time in uncontrolled garage environment.
 
Virginia Jim said:
I have 5 cans of W540, metal cans with screw on lids. I don’t know the mfg date.
Looks like this, but 1 lb. cans:
View attachment 965563
Click to expand...

Those are from the 70's. I use to buy that powder by the 8# can for shotgun.

Here is a New unopened can of Herco Prices at $2.32. I think this was from the 60's-70's, If I recall it came from Gibson.

index.php


index.php


I've had powder go bad. Some W748 and IMR4350. Both I caught when it was starting to clump which was the start of the cycle and shot it up. The IMR4350 gave me 1 SD's out of my 7mm Mag. New powder was a bit faster and SD's in the 15's
 
Palladan44 said:
How old is your oldest powder?
Have you ever had powder go bad and why?

My oldest was some Hercules 2400, probably from the 70s or 80s in the metal can. It loaded up just fine. Shoots fine. Just finished the last of it in some 44 mag. It came from Grandpas stuff.

I also have another 8lb keg of WIN-231 probably from the late 90s.

When powder goes bad, supposedly it starts to smell like rotten eggs. (Never experienced this)

As far as i know, as long as you keep the containers tight and store out of heat (basement) powder will probably outlive us.[/QUOTE)
Well, mine are marked $10.95 a pound if that's any indication.
Click to expand...
 
I have decades old powder that is still good, I had a partial 8 pounder of N-130 go bad in about ten years, the N-133 I bought at the same time is still good, decades after the N-130 went bad.

I had some surplus .308 have the powder go bad and started eating the round from the inside. Always check on your older powder on occasion, and it doesn't hurt to pull a round or two of old surplus rounds if you haven't shot any of it in awhile.
 

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Walkalong said:
I have decades old powder that is still good, I had a partial 8 pounder of N-130 go bad in about ten years, the N-133 I bought at the same time is still good, decades after the N-130 went bad.

I had some surplus .308 have the powder go bad and started eating the round from the inside. Always check on your older powder on occasion, and it doesn't hurt to pull a round or two of old surplus rounds if you haven't shot any of it in awhile.
Click to expand...
Wow that is pretty bad. I could see those causing a KB.
 
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