came across powder from estate sale, cheap!

[anothernewb]

completely random event. stopped in at a hole in the wall gun store while traveling. They had 2 shelves full of powder for $15/#
must have had 16# of Hs7 there. also a bunch of WSF and AA #2 and #7. and a whole bunch of tite wad. probably 20-30 cans. The containers looked a bit older though. I know HS7 was discontinued, so I'm guessing they were all of the same vintage. But they did look like they were in good condition. the wsf was in little 1# jugs - not the bottles like you see today.

At any rate, the old codger behind the counter said they usually don't stock reloading stuff, but they bought out an estate sale and all of this stuff was there in with the stuff they actually wanted.

Picked up 2# of WSF and 2 of HS7. kinda thinking I should have really gotten more of each, now that I looked up HS7 - been looking for 10mm powder, and haven't been able to find loudshot, blue dot or power pistol anywhere. and only had a little bit of be86 left in that medium speed stuff.

 

[LiveLife]

How did the powders smell?

 

[edwardware]

I use lots of "used" powder. Do the sniff test: ammonia is bad, acetone/thinner/solvent is good.

I too have s bunch of HS7, and it appears useful in 45ACP among others.

 

[anothernewb]

I didn't actually do a "sniff test" on it. other than a cursory smell and checking to see if the powder was still physically in good condition - no clumping or anything to suggest high humidity. but it really didn't smell different enough than any of my cans of 231 or bullseye to make me pause. But now I suppose I'll have to go open them again and take a good whiff.

 

[Virginia Jim]

I bought several cans of W540 a while back. It’s in a round metal can. I use HS6 data when loading this powder in 45ACP. The cans did not have a seal but the lids were on tight. It looked and smelled good and I have used quite a bit of it.
If I were you, I’d work up a few light loads and watch for trouble. If it works out, go back and make him an offer on all of it.

 

[LiveLife]

How did the powders smell?

I didn't actually do a "sniff test" on it.

FYI, this is from Hodgdon on powder deterioration - https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-education/safety/gunpowder-stability

"Smokeless Propellant

The main ingredient of smokeless propellant, comprising from about 55% to 90% of the composition, is nitrocellulose. The process of creating nitrocellulose leaves remnant acid in the material. This acid immediately starts decomposing the finished product. Left alone the decomposition will reach the stage where the propellant becomes unstable and self-ignites. This process resulted in massive explosions at U.S. Government arsenals after World War I.

To increase the life of the smokeless propellant, a stabilizing chemical is used. This “stabilizer” reacts with the acid to slow down the decomposition process. However, as the stabilizer reacts with the acid it is consumed. After the stabilizer is totally consumed, the propellant is no longer protected from the internal acid.

The entire stabilizer / decomposition process is a time and temperature function – the higher the temperature, the shorter the safe life of the powder. Even moderate temperature, over extended time, leads to propellant decomposition. As a rule of thumb, any temperature over that which is comfortable to a person is accelerating the decomposition of smokeless propellants.

Under proper storage, modern smokeless powder can last for decades. However, this does not mean the reloader can ignore how the powder is stored, particularly if in an uncontrolled environment such as a garage or storage building."​

 

[slickracer]

Where do you get data for HS-7?

 

[LiveLife]

Where do you get data for HS-7?

In older archived load data - http://www.castpics.net/LoadData/Freebies/RM/Hodgdon/Hodgdon 2005.pdf