How old is too old for components?

[Falconeer]

My father is 'permanent lending' me his MEC 600jr for shotgun reloading. He also gave me a bunch of hulls, shot, etc. Includes in this cornocopia of shotgun reloading goodness was two sealed and one open container of Red Dot (1 lb each) and a partial box of CCI 209 primers (6 full trays, 12 loose primers).

The Red Dot is marked "Hercules" and has an October 1991 lot date. I'm tossing the open powder. Are the sealed containers ok for use? I'd really hate to toss 2 lbs of Red Dot. How about the primers? They're as old as the powder.

 

[Jim Watson]

I bought most of a keg of Win 452 AA marked as first opened in 1981 and a couple ammo cans of primers, the newest of which dated to 1994, most older, from one of our trapshooter's estate. All are fine. Your 1991 stuff is fine if it was stored anyplace inhabitable.

 

[Mal H]

I agree with Jim (as usual). If I had to throw out any opened powder cans I have that are 15 or more years old, I would throw out 1/4 of my powders - and I'm still using them with no difference in performance. The primers will be fine.

The keys are storage and being absolutely certain that no other powder is stored in the old can. Any reloader worth his salt would never do that anyway. Do you know the value of your father's salt?

 

[xtarheel]

When a local hardware store changed hands in 1978, I bought all his primers for ten cents on the dollar. I keep them sealed up in ammo cans with desicant. I'm still using them with no problems.

 

[Falconeer]

I agree with Jim (as usual). If I had to throw out any opened powder cans I have that are 15 or more years old, I would throw out 1/4 of my powders - and I'm still using them with no difference in performance. The primers will be fine.

The keys are storage and being absolutely certain that no other powder is stored in the old can. Any reloader worth his salt would never do that anyway. Do you know the value of your father's salt?

It's pretty impressive salt.

My dad never reloaded anything other than 12 gauge trap rounds, and he ALWAYS used Red Dot. Looks like I can keep the open powder too!

 

[ftierson]

The question: How old is too old for components?

The answer: Assuming even half-way decent storage, it's something that you don't have to worry about during your lifetime...

(For example, I'm still using some IMR 4320 that I originally purchased in 1971. The chrono indicates no change in ballistics...)

Forrest

 

[The Bushmaster]

Load-em Shoot-em Load-em again....

 

[Falconeer]

I may have to do up some 9mm rounds with the Red Dot and see how that goes.

 

[Mal H]

No good reason why not. Just be sure to measure accurately and don't go to extremes. Red Dot is even faster than Bullseye. Small errors in weighing can make big errors out of your gun. (A double load is a very real possibility with Red Dot.)

 

[Falconeer]

No good reason why not. Just be sure to measure accurately and don't go to extremes. Red Dot is even faster than Bullseye. Small errors in weighing can make big errors out of your gun. (A double load is a very real possibility with Red Dot.)

Thanks for the advice. As a rule, my loads tend to be the minimum recommended. I definitely stick to the tables (for 9mm I use the Lee manual).

 

[ftierson]

No good reason why not. Just be sure to measure accurately and don't go to extremes. Red Dot is even faster than Bullseye. Small errors in weighing can make big errors out of your gun. (A double load is a very real possibility with Red Dot.)

Most of the manuals that I have list Red Dot as slightly slower than Bullseye...

I have never tried Red Dot in 9x19mmP, but I have tried Green Dot. It (Green Dot) worked all right except that I needed more powder to do the same thing as less Bullseye did at what I figured were similar pressures. The Green Dot also burned dirtier than the Bullseye).

For what it's worth...

Forrest

 

[gezzer]

My 8 pound cardboard keg of Red Dot is still 1/4 full. Bought it in the 70's and have loaded 38 special 150 gr semi-wadcutter using 4.5gr. Shoots as goodtoday as when I started.

My 4831 in the rectanglular card board contains bought about the same time for $1 a pound is still good as when it was bought.

As long as the powder has been kept cool and dry it keeps a long time. The 4831 is from WWII used in the 20mm surplused and sold by Hodgden.

 

[shooting time]

I have powder from the 70's and it still works fine been stored in the house in cans and orignal cardboard drums.I am still using a keg of red dot from the 70's no problems.

 

[Randy in Arizona]

The only powder I have ever discarded was a can of 5010 that went bad and pulled powder from small lots of old milsurp ammo I dismantled.

I still have over half of a 50lb keg of H4831 I bought from the store for $35 and a partial can of HiVel #2. All of it is good, none of it has an acrid odor that might indicate is going bad. I keep most of it in the garage in an old Kenmore upright freezer that quit working.

 

[The_Antibubba]

Do the powder and primer makers run any longevity tests? So far as the responses go, we're at 30+ years.