Reloading noob.

[AJC1]

In this case there was no indication as to what powder was even used. Just loose ammo in bags with no identification at all as to what the load data was. You can't safely reuse powder when you don't know what powder is in there to begin with. Can't trust a visual ID of it.

Even then, not everyone is meticulous when they load. I've seen enough squibs and called enough immediate ceasefires while officiating competitions to know better than to trust someone else's reloads.

You clearly aren't using enough in one pile! Come back and talk to me when you are missing eyebrows.

I was referring to oal and crimp and basically the assembly. If there was a huge pile of the same ammunition I would figure out the powder. I'm talking 300 30-06 which would be pounds.

 

[Reloadron]

I think the fertilizer thing is more myth than smokeless powder being good fertilizer. Dumping it on your veggie garden or lawn won't hurt anything but it likely won't help much.

Ron

 

[Howland937]

Saltpeter is pretty common in fertilizer...and I'm thinking I'd heard it's a functional mole repellent, or at least repels the slugs the moles feed on.

But it would be waaaaaay more fun if you figure out your powder is useable, load some ammo and blast chunks of sod from your yard to get rid of the moles...and slugs....and grass...possibly your wife if you accidentally shoot her flowers. You know.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Saltpeter is pretty common in fertilizer...and I'm thinking I'd heard it's a functional mole repellent, or at least repels the slugs the moles feed on.

But it would be waaaaaay more fun if you figure out your powder is useable, load some ammo and blast chunks of sod from your yard to get rid of the moles...and slugs....and grass...possibly your wife if you accidentally shoot her flowers. You know.

Powder in the Mole Hole! were do I sign up

 

[arsentek]

I don't think its like that. I think its more about someone at the end of life or sick and not thinking straight. After heart surgery I ruined two partial cans of powder by dumping Red Dot into Unique. I misread the cans - anesthetics can do strange things to you memory, perception and reflexes for days and I was under for more than eight hours twice in one week - and "thought" I was combining the last of two old cans of Red Dot. Lucky for me something in the back of my head kicked in and I realized my mistake pretty quickly, like a couple days later, but it would have been if I had kicked off right then - a real possibility - and my wife gave away all of my reloading supplies. I ended up scrapping most of my opened powders and gave up trying to reload or shoot for a couple months after some other stupid mistakes. It just took time to heal and get my wits back. Some folks don't get that time.

Dump the open tins. Unless you know - for sure and absolutely! - that the person who had them previously was completely in control of their memory and wits right up to the end and could never make a mistake like that or worse, it's just not worth it.

I still don't have all of the details. My mom was in another state seeing some of her family and all of this is coming from someone they know. They are of retirement age and moving to another state. There's a logbook included so I'm going to see what that says and try to ascertain where they are as far as mental capacity goes. I'm still going to err on the side of caution. There's unopened powder so I think that's going to be more than I need for awhile.

Welcome to THR!
Addiction to guns and reloading isn’t a bad thing, really.
I believe All Powders Matter (APM). Please don’t dispose of them. Yes yes yes, there’s a chance some whacko might mix powders together on the off chance that when they don’t need said powders anymore some poor schmuk will use them and destroy something. But I don’t believe that’s very probable.
Let us know what goodies you discover and how the reloads go. And, hope whomever is giving this away gets a nice gift and thank you! Good luck.

I don't laugh out loud very often. I needed that.


I won't have it in hand until Saturday but I got confirmation on primers.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I still don't have all of the details. My mom was in another state seeing some of her family and all of this is coming from someone they know. They are of retirement age and moving to another state. There's a logbook included so I'm going to see what that says and try to ascertain where they are as far as mental capacity goes. I'm still going to err on the side of caution. There's unopened powder so I think that's going to be more than I need for awhile.



I don't laugh out loud very often. I needed that.


I won't have it in hand until Saturday but I got confirmation on primers.

 

[AK Hunter]

I think the fertilizer thing is more myth than smokeless powder being good fertilizer. Dumping it on your veggie garden or lawn won't hurt anything but it likely won't help much.

Ron

Right!
I dumped some old powder on one part of my garden, when the rains came it washed down the a low spot. I thought it was dead after sitting out for over half the summer. I raked up some of it with the low lying sticks & leaves to get them out of the garden after they dried out & dumped them in my burn pile. There was one big WHOOSH as I walked away from the fire. Come to find out most of the powder is like plastic, you can get it wet but it doesn't stop it from burning. The only thing that stops it from burning is the water that clings to it, after it dries out it will burn again.

 

[arsentek]

SCORE!!!!!!! and I see more too

View attachment 988636

She said there was pistol, small rifle, big rifle and magnum. I don't want to overwhelm her with questions, it's not really her area of expertise (not that it's mine, but it took quite a bit of time to explain what a primer was). This is honestly one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time.

 

[Mark_Mark]

She said there was pistol, small rifle, big rifle and magnum. I don't want to overwhelm her with questions, it's not really her area of expertise (not that it's mine, but it took quite a bit of time to explain what a primer was). This is honestly one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time.

Get the press mounted on something and let’s crank out some ammo!!!

btw: look at primer prices on BG... and give your mother a BIG KISS

 

[arsentek]

Get the press mounted on something and let’s crank out some ammo!!!

btw: look at primer prices on BG... and give your mother a BIG KISS

What's BG? I'm brand new to most of this.

 

[Mark_Mark]

What's BG? I'm brand new to most of this.

Gun Broker

 

[arsentek]

Gun Broker

Sorry I'm an idiot. I've gotten some deals from there. I got my AR-10 lower and S&W Shield from there. Researching non-panic prices has been difficult. I know what the ammo I use is supposed to cost because I have price tags on what I bought from a year ago.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Sorry I'm an idiot. I've gotten some deals from there. I got my AR-10 lower and S&W Shield from there. Researching non-panic prices has been difficult. I know what the ammo I use is supposed to cost because I have price tags on what I bought from a year ago.

I’ll bring you up to speed.

Primers are $200+ a box
9mm is $1 each
556 is $1 each

did I mention to buy your mom a Boston Chicken dinner!

 

[arsentek]

I’ll bring you up to speed.

Primers are $200+ a box
9mm is $1 each
556 is $1 each

did I mention to buy your mom a Boston Chicken dinner!

Minus a stint in the Army, I've worked in restaurants for 20 years. I'm working on some keto friendly desserts (her dietary choice not mine) and building her a computer. She will definetly be greatly rewarded for this.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Minus a stint in the Army, I've worked in restaurants for 20 years. I'm working on some keto friendly desserts (her dietary choice not mine) and building her a computer. She will definetly be greatly rewarded for this.

we love cooking here on THR! and coffee! and bbq steak

you will fit right in

 

[Jim Watson]

Saltpeter is pretty common in fertilizer.

But it is not in smokeless, the why I am careful to make the distinction. I'm not going to try to burn black powder, THAT is mostly soluble and available.

Come to find out most of the powder is like plastic, you can get it wet but it doesn't stop it from burning.

Right. Smokeless powder is mostly nitrocellulose. Celluloid, the original plastic, is nitrocellulose and camphor.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Minus a stint in the Army, I've worked in restaurants for 20 years.

Then reloading will be very familiar for you. We call loads recipes - and for good reason - once they are tested and proved the ingredients and process gets written down - think of it like a Chef’s Book. not just a cookbook - and we keep adding experience to the process. I lost two such books over the years and truly wish I had them back.
You’ll be fine. Bring your restaurant experience to the table and enjoy.

 

[rfwobbly]

One of my biggest questions is "Should I dispose of all powder that is open?"

Welcome !

Normally, I'd say dispose, BUT we're already 1 year into a can't find anything phase and Uncle Joe is making noises that may make it continue for another 2.

What I would do is carefully set it aside for now. Seal it. Store it in a cool, dry place. Then research the source. You can base your assessment of the powder on the mental condition of the donor, if you can find out more. Give it 6 to 9 months. There's certainly no rush.

This may be the last powder you see for several years. Or powder could be widely available next week. You simply don't know.


Congrats !

 

[Howland937]

But it is not in smokeless, the why I am careful to make the distinction. I'm not going to try to burn black powder, THAT is mostly soluble and available

True...but I think that's where the "dump it in your yard" idea originates.

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't hear of a lot of surplus black powder to be disposed of, it does not age like smokeless; probably gets better with time.

 

[v8stang289]

Awesome score! Take your time, read as much as you can, and watch some YouTube vids on basics and procedures.
I started reloading about 10 years ago and THR has been a wealth of knowledge.
RCmodel isn't around anymore, but his posts and advice are abound on this forum and still apply.
Be cautious, and search or post any questions you have up here. This is a great group of people with loads of collective experience that are eager to help.
Have fun!

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I don't hear of a lot of surplus black powder to be disposed of, it does not age like smokeless; probably gets better with time.

There's also this: you CAN mix FFg and FFFg safely. Grain size does not significantly change the pressure because all grains have identical burn rates - deflagration versus detonation - all Black Powder made by the same manufacturer burns at the same rate, HOWEVER, different manufacturing methods and constituents result in different burn rates^ - so mixing brands can change results but is not dangerous since all BP is metered by volume, not granule size or composition and deflagrates at close enough rates not to change pressures. Goex sells a blended Fg/FFg/FFFg powder called "Reenactor" which they say is safe and useful for making blanks and, "...is also suitable for loading in recreational round ball muzzleloaders." If someone stupidly puts smokeless powder in a black powder can, then I suppose bad things can be made to happen. I try not to underestimate the stupidity of myself or any other human. We're just like that.

^ http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/bp_burning/bp_burning.html

 

[AK Hunter]

Remember everyone is or was a noob at reloading at one time.
As far as the open powders is concerned you need to educate yourself at what powder looks like it's not all the same. If it is supposed to be flake powder then flake powder is all that should be in that container. Same goes with spherical, flattened spherical, ball & extruded powder it should be consistent throughout the powder container. If you see any ball or spherical grains mixed in with an extruded or vice versa throw it out & so on through all the powder types.
If you see it is the same as is supposed to be in that container I would feel safe to try a low gr weight test on that can of powder only.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Remember everyone is or was a noob at reloading at one time.

Very true! I was lucky enough to have an uncle who got me started down the right path. I'm sure lots of other folks here had a relative or family friend who got them started, too. I really can't imagine what it must be like being an adult with no guidance other than books and strangers on the internet.

@arsentek, Maybe try to find a decent gun club where some folks reload? Not sure how "things" are up where you're at as far as gun friendly or such so maybe or maybe not.

 

[AK Hunter]

Very true! I was lucky enough to have an uncle who got me started down the right path. I'm sure lots of other folks here had a relative or family friend who got them started, too. I really can't imagine what it must be like being an adult with no guidance other than books and strangers on the internet.

@arsentek, Maybe try to find a decent gun club where some folks reload? Not sure how "things" are up where you're at as far as gun friendly or such so maybe or maybe not.

I had a friend that had only done pistol reloading, walk me through the process. I had to learn the rifle reloading on my own & just recently showed the same friend how to load rifle.