Thanks, that's the first I've seen of old powder becoming dangerous. I wonder why so much powder stays fine for so many years and some doesn't?
Okay, you 'ol timers.
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That's the $10,000 question. Storage condition is part of it. I can't explain why Slamfire has all his old powder go bad, yet I have a bunch of powder from the 1960's that is fine.
Don
heat and humiditity is the problem. i have had powder last forever in Canada, but the stuff i keep in florida can be a problem. both places have humididty control, but sometimes i forget and leave things in the garage in florida.... not a good idea..... you can pretty well cook anything left out in the summer in SW florida... powder included....
Years ago a gentleman in town had some WWII powder stored in a safe in the basement at his place of employ. Some 50 years later it spontaneously ignited. Can’t find it online now. I don’t need old powder.
I was given a pound of Unique. The guy only asked if he could keep the tin, dating it back to the early '60s. So it is in an old pickle jar now. It looks and smells normal. I kinda want to try some loads with it. But with having 20 some pounds of newer pistol powder (none of which is Unique), I see no reason to scratch that itch.
I have some IMR-4350 from the late '60s to early '70s. Tins have minimal rust from handling. I have shot a couple pounds of that through a Mauser. I admit I haven't chrony'd any of it to check for consistency.
I have some IMR-4350 from the late '60s to early '70s. Tins have minimal rust from handling. I have shot a couple pounds of that through a Mauser. I admit I haven't chrony'd any of it to check for consistency.
hmm... maybe it's because you live in the great white north and slamfire and walkalong live in the deep south?
Winchester 450 LS was discontinued in the '70s. Supposedly good for cast bullets and pistol carbine loads. Whether old powder is any good depends on how it has been stored. Any rust on the can?
Maybe. But some of the old powder I have now, was somewhere else for 40 years before I got it.
Don
ArchAngelCD
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I don't have any really old powder but my reloading/shooting buddy does. He has some rifle powder that was scooped out of a barrel and put in a paper bag when sold to him. Of course he didn't keep it in the bag all these years but you "old timers" who bought it that way from the hardware store know how old a powder I'm referring to. It's the strangest thing, some powders 40/50 years old are just fine and powder that is only 10 years old can be trash. Much of the time it has nothing to do with how it was stored either. Very strange!
I loaded up some imr 4350 in a 243 that smelt bad and was from I'd say the early 90s or late 80s??? Smelt bad and acidic kinda burnt the nose. Looked fine and no rust on the can. Those reloads have been setting for 3 years now and shoot fine and crony where I expected it to be. Even took a deer last year with them. Probably loaded 200 of them and have 80 left. They have been fine. So there is that. Ymmv.
I'm curious to see what loads turn up for the 450 LS, since I have a couple cans that were given to me a couple years back. The powder seems fine, and I would just use it for plinkers anyway.
I have some pistol/shotgun powder from the '70s I'm using up. Price was right, and it's been fine.
On the other hand, like Slam, I have had some mil-surp IMR go bad that I also had to pour out.
I have some pistol/shotgun powder from the '70s I'm using up. Price was right, and it's been fine.
On the other hand, like Slam, I have had some mil-surp IMR go bad that I also had to pour out.
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Cool, thanks Don. Looks like it burns similar to Red Dot or Bullseye.
Hopefully this winter I'll get a chance to load it up for plinking purposes. Have several cans of old powder that need to get used up, so that would be a good place to get started.
Hopefully this winter I'll get a chance to load it up for plinking purposes. Have several cans of old powder that need to get used up, so that would be a good place to get started.
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