An Old Powder Question

[Skofnung]

Hello.

Cleaning out my barn, I came across an unopened can of IMR-4895 that must be at least 25, perhaps 30 years old. I know it must be that old because my father stopped reloading at least tha long ago.

Anyway, the can is still sealed, and it was stored in an old 30 cal ammo can. My question is, would there be any harm in using this old powder? The only thing that may have damaged it would be temprature variation. Please advise.

 

[steveno]

unless the barn was temperature controlled which is unlikely I would probably throw it out

 

[oneshooter]

Instead of flushing it down the commode just spread it on your yard. High nitrate content works wonders for the grass.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

 

[Lennyjoe]

Same here with a can of IMR 4350 that a brother gave me. Had it in his house for about 5 years. They used about 1/4 of the can and he hasnt used it since.

Im debating on just tossing it.

 

[klw]

Shoot it!

Decades ago, two or three literally, I got several cans of powder. Somehow I never got around to shooting them. Red Dot, Blue Dot, Green Dot, Herco and others. Four pounds each. This year I started shooting them up. No problems whatsoever.

If you store powders where they can get really hot, then, according to "conventional" wisdon then can go bad. If you don't, however, they should last indefinitely.

Last time I knew there were still yearly tests being done on the original batch of Unique. That stuff has to be over 100 years old.

 

[goon]

It might work, it might not.
But think about it.
If there is anything that makes you doubt the safety of your reloads, how much do you really lose by trashing something?
Even with rifle powder it is only about $18 a pound.
You only lose $18 by tossing it if you are unsure but you could stand to lose alot more than that if you end up with unsafe ammo.

As for me, I dispose of old smokeless powder by taking it out in the yard and burning it. It may not help fertilize the lawn but it sure looks cool

 

[ftierson]

If the can really is unopened, and the powder smells all right (you can still smell solvent, but not acid), and the powder looks all right (bright graphite looking with no discolored dust), I'd use it.

But that's just me...