How long does powder keep....

[insidious_calm]

Someone at work found out I was loading now and gave me an unopened pound of powder. Apparently his father reloaded before he passed away. He says it's at least 5 years old. It's bullseye, in a cardboard can with metal top and bottom and a plastic spout. It is unopened. Is it still good? How can I tell?


I.C.

 

[stans]

Unless it has been exposed to a lot of heat, it is still good. Open the can and smell. If it smells like other powders (solvent smell) it is good. If it smells funky, it's probably bad. You can also visually inspect the powder, a red dust on the powder indicates it has gone bad. I have powders that have been opened and sitting around for about 10 years. They are kept in the house and they are just fine.

 

[Edward429451]

Funny you should mention this about powder age. I'm kind of in the middle of a test of some 'approaching 30 yr old powder'. My friends G'Pa died and they finally cleaned out his room and most of his gun stuff was bequeathed to me. There was about 15 lbs of various powders. About 1/2 of it was bad. Smell, like was said and poured out onto white paper the red dust was visible. That stuff is fertilizer now,

But alot of it is good. I have one can of old 2400 that looks as good as my new stuff. Curiously it says smokeless Rifle powder on it. Another younger can say smokless handgun powder, and IIRC, the youngest can says smokless handgun & rifle powder. I haven't shot any of the old stuff yet but have about a hundred rounds of it ready to test.

Some of the old powder, the red dust wasn't visible when poured out onto paper. But red residue left on the paper after pouring it back off the paper indicated that breakdown was starting. I havent tried any of my 30 yr old Bullseye yet.

We gave some 30 yr old CCI primers a go about a month or so ago, and got about a 2 to 3% failure rate with them. Not bad if you think about it.

The price tags still on these cans are depressing, 3.99, 4.99... I wouldnt use any of this stuff for any serious reasons but will sure burn it up at the range.

The best thing in the lot was an unopened box of Hornady 168g HPBT Match bullets, Rebated BT's they are! ($6.99!)

 

[ftierson]

If the powder was stored properly, it will last indefinitely...

I am still using IMR4320 that I purchased in 1970, and it's exactly the same now as then (as measured by velocity produced). I purchased a couple of hundred pounds of H335 (packed in one pound Hodgdon fiber cans) back in 1974 (and it was probably surplus to begin with, so who knows exactly when it was first produced) that is still perfect (and, also, almost gone - bummer).

If it smells ok, use it.

However, make sure that you know what it is... Sealed, factory cans are one thing (and, you can't even be sure with some of them, since "sealing" was done quite differently by different manufacturers), but opened cans are another...

If you misjudge what's in the can, it's (potentially) goodbye forehead time.

Again, make sure you know what it is...

 

[JNewell]

However, make sure that you know what it is

Oh yeah. There was a thread here a few months back involving a gun someone blew up with powder that had been stored in the wrong container. If in doubt, throw it out...

 

[insidious_calm]

Thanks guys...

It smells like nothing really. It doesn't have a strong solvent smell like my new varget does, but really has no odor at all. Their is no red residue. The can was sealed factory. Price tag said $13.99. By what you guys are saying I think it's worth a try for some target loads. 230gr LRN with 5.0gr bullseye to start with I think. That's about 10% off the max in my Hornady manual. Thanks again guys.


I.C.

 

[pbman]

I'm still using black powder i bought in the 70's, it shoots just fine. And at the rate i'm shooting it, i suspect it will be shooting fine 30 years from now.

 

[stans]

If the powder was stored properly, it will last indefinitely...

Well now we don't know this for sure, smokeless has only been around for a little over 100 years, but some of those early examples that have been kept under controlled conditions are still just as good today as they were when they were made.


Now seriously, my sample of Bullseye has a very faint solvent odor. This powder does not have an overpowering odor, just a light odor. I would say that if yours has a faint solvent odor and no red dust it is just fine.