Would you shoot this powder?

Would You?

  • Yes, powder is powder

  • Yes as long as it looks/smells ok then roll it and smoke it

  • Maybe some of it. If it passes smell/visual, load some up and try it

  • Maybe the green dot, but not the bullseye

  • I doubt it. It's just too old even if it looks ok

  • No!

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wankerjake

wankerjake

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Christmas poll!!!

I bought out a big reloading lot (as I do from time to time) and ended up with a plethora of powder. Some new, some old, some very old. I've broken my own record for vintage crap on this one. Love the vintage stuff, especially the old Hercules powder cans. Man they are killer. Anyway, I had a plan in mind when I bought the stuff and am following through but I couldn't help wonder what The High Road members would do. My bet is something different but I'm curious and I think vintage stuff is cool so here we go. I'll let the poll go a couple days before I say what I did.

We're going to focus on the Green Dot and Bullseye for the sake of this thread although there are more. I am too lazy to take pictures of everything.



Bullseye:


Can #1: Small 11oz can, open, smells different than what I think powder usually smells like. Also it has red flakes (at least I think it does, I have a red/green color deficiency). Compared to a current bottle however it looks/smells about the same.


Can #2: 8lb yellow jug, half full. Old, haven't seen these before. Looks and smells about the same as the first can, maybe a few more red flakes.


Can #3: 8lb red jug. Also old. Smells the same as the rest, maybe more red flakes yet?? (again, the colorblindness screws with me here). This one though has clumps. I don't like it but it looks and smells about the same (except for the clumps of course). The clumps break apart easily.





Green Dot:



Can#1: 8 oz can, open, half full. Smells good, looks good.

Can #2: 8lb Cardboard jug, taped shut, mostly full. Looks good, smells good. Both cans of green dot look like this:
 
I voted no because they are opened and 1/2 full no way to know if the powder is 100% what the can says it is and not contaminated with another powder and it is also very old I bet, those are very cool containers but powder is fairly cheap why take a chance​
 
I voted no.

I've used really old powder before (not quite as old as that stuff) but I knew the man who had it, and knew what conditions it had been stored in. And even some of that I tossed out, because I had some doubts about its appearance and smell.

Too many variables in your batch.... Either fertilize with it or make a spectacular bonfire with it.
 
I have done these buyouts before myself. My take is if they smell/look OK, with NO rust inside the container I will try a few loads and compare with newer samples over the CRONY. If OK then I will load what I will use in the near future only with it. The rest I will monitor for smell/ look about once a month until gone. That said red dust or rust or acidic smell inside the container and the lawn wins!:D I also save the old empty containers to put on the wall as eye candy for noobs.;)

ETA Learning with my Grandfathers help I learned to use propellant that was scooped from old kegs labeled RIFLE at a now long gone hardware store in the 50's and to work up loads with no real data so this is easier as we do know what it should do when used.
 
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I say go for it being cautious along the way .... the clumps are nothing to worry about many powders do that ... break them up and load .... the smell test is very important(once you have smelled bad powder you won't ever forget it) .... and if you have sight color issues .... get a friend to take a look for you .... I've found pouring some of the powder out on a sheet of ultra white copy paper really helps with the visual part .... any red dust(not red flakes) or any off smell would fly a caution flag ....

You would also take into consideration that any person with that larger amount of powder has to be more in tune than a guy with two or three half pound containers .... lastly you would need to work up from Data of that period ... start at the bottom of the load data ... don't jump right to max loads .... sample tests are your friends ....
 
As long as the powder looks ok, with no red dust, and smells as it should, then I'd use it. I'm still loading from one of those metal kegs, but mine is a 12 pound keg of SR4756, and I still have several of the cardboard kegs I'm loading from. The clumping is of no consequence, since I've had brand new powders clump just like that in a sealed jug. Just shake it up to break up the clumps.

My practice is to load some rounds with a known load that I've used before with that particular brand of powder and shoot them over the chronograph. If they run in the same velocity ranges as the loads I've been using, then I'll go ahead and use that powder up.

Hope this helps.

Fred

PS: Collectors are buying the metal kegs for displays, etc.
 
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Fertilizer. If it were sealed, use it. I buy powder in lots from local estate sales etc., but won't buy the unsealed stuff
 
You asked for opinions, mine would be to keep the containers as a collectable novelty, and dump the powder on the grass. there is NO way to know for certain about the status of half-full tins and new powder is way cheaper than emergency room visits.
 
I'd use it since it appears to be OK, with no reddish color, and since you report no strong acidic odor. But with this one caveat....

That you work up your loads again. Older powders were made at a time well before computer controllers were used to control the production process. Therefore the variation lot-to-lot was a lot higher than what you have grown accustomed to with modern powders.
 
I'm in the if it still sealed, use it camp, otherwise anything old and opened without positive confirmation that the powder in those opened containers is what written on the side, would be fertilizer.
 
Looks ok to me... I finished up some stocks of 1940 vintage DuPont powder not very long ago that works just fine (DuPont #5)

Absent any acidic smells or color change it is good to go... it should have a faint ether smell...

FWIW

Chuck
 
Use it starting with cautionary loads. Start at the low end on the opened powder and check pressure signs and chrono if you can. I have used old powder I have gotten from a friend's widow, most were unopened, some was in old milk jugs that I got rid of, they were military bulk powder in the jugs.

I have used powder that was over 50 years old easily, just take your time and use up the oldest first. Got several of those old tins with the push tops, neat old cans.
 
Like Frog stated, I'd inspect, then load some light loads, and run them over my chrony...
 
I'd never even buy any opened cans of powder, let alone use them. Even if the powder appears to be good, there's no way to confirm it's the same powder as on the label. Plus, once you've used it up, how would you ever buy the same powder again to duplicate a load.? Some of the old containers are collectable but the powder is fertilizer.
 
^^haha there's like 8lbs plus of Bullseye here and all I load with bullseye is light 38spl loads. There's easily enough for over 15,000 rounds of 38spl, possibly closer to 20,000. The average joe would never, ever have to work up a new load.
 
Anybody have an idea what Hogden 680 is for? I have about a pound and can't find a use for it, like what caliber, etc.
 
You can't tell anything about a powder other than its colour and shape of the granules by just looking at it. How it has been stored, even in open steel cans(red stuff is likely rust), matters.
"...has clumps..." Indicates moisture. Pitch it.
"...before I say what I did..." Indicates you've already done whatever it is. Also indicates there were no traumatic results. snicker.
 
No way I would load used powders that have been opened. How would you know if it was a mix? Collector cans yep.
 
I voted maybe if they look and smell ok.
If I was going to use them I would work up slowly and start assuming they were all something faster than what I think they are.
 
I usually have little (like 0) interest in open cans of powder. But, I would probably consider using those because they look like what that type of powder should look like and because those are fast burning powders. My thinking is; if a slower burning powder was in that can you would have a squid or low powered shot. A kaboom could result if a fast burning powder was used when you thought you had a slower powder. After all of this, I probably would not use this for any serious load, like matches, home defense, hunting, ect. That would be dedicated plinking ammo.
 
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