Shelf Life of Primers/Powder?

[Confederate]

I found some old powder and primers in my basement and I'm wondering if they're still good? It's a fairly cool, dry place and I'd guess the stuff is 20 years old. I know loaded rounds last indefinately, but I don't know about the components. I'm guessing they're still good, but don't want to get everything out and put a lot of work into it if the rounds aren't going to be reliable.

Thanks.

 

[rcmodel]

It's a fairly cool, dry place and I'd guess the stuff is 20 years old.

If fresh when you stored it, and it was kept in the original containers, it will be fine.

rcmodel

 

[JGAreddog]

Agreed

I totally agree with the above. If nothing else seat a few primers and fire them. There really isn't a good way to test powder other than burning a little bit but that won't tell you much other than it burns.

 

[rcmodel]

If the primers are going bad, they will look bad where the lacquer sealer is applied.
Instead of red or green or whatever, they will be loosing color or turning black / brown.

If the powder is going bad, it will smell bad. (like acid fumes) and have red dust in it. (should only be black dust from the graphite coating)

It should smell like acetone / ether solvent when you open a can and sniff it.

If it's only 20 years old and stored properly, it will be fine.

rcmodel

 

[Confederate]

Thanks, guys!

What's a good powder nowadays? I have 2400. Is that still being used? I'd hate to think that no "miracle" powders have been developed in the last 20 years!

 

[rcmodel]

2400 is a most excellent magnum handgun powder. It is still the one all others are judged against when it comes to full power revolver loads in most big calibers.

Sometimes newer isn't better!
Sometimes they get it right the first time!

rcmodel

 

[Crazy4nitro]

What are you loading for?

I have a Can of Hercules Bullseye from 89' ...I bought it for $5....Works great.
I have a can of 2400 from the same year that I'm gonna sit on for a while..just Cause..I currently use 2400 for my Magnums and Love it.

'Nitro

 

[Slamfire]

I found some old powder and primers in my basement and I'm wondering if they're still good? It's a fairly cool, dry place and I'd guess the stuff is 20 years old. I know loaded rounds last indefinately, but I don't know about the components. I'm guessing they're still good, but don't want to get everything out and put a lot of work into it if the rounds aren't going to be reliable.

Only twenty years old? I consider your stuff new.

I am loading 1989 vintage IMR 4064 in my target rifles, and it shoots just great. I have a can of middle 60's Bullseye (estimate), and it is shooting just great. I was given, not so long ago, a 5 lb metal can of 2400, which puts it 70's or earlier, and shot it up. And I bought an unsealed tin of Red Dot, 50's? 60's?, and shot that up.

And not so long ago I used 1000 60's vintage CCI LP primers. They were in the double diamond box. I chronographed lots of loads with them, and nothing funny happened.

Last year I shot 1994 vintage WSR primers at Camp Perry, and they shot just as well now, as they did in 1994. Lots of X's.

That is, between the rain storms. When it rained, I sucked. I do not have a set of windshield wipers on my glasses.

 

[JNewell]

It will all be fine, I'll bet. I'm in the same place as SlamFire1 with some of my stuff going back to the early 80s. It all goes bang.

 

[jcwit]

I've been using up some lg. rifle primers dating back to the later 1940 to early 1950's. Used around 2/300 so far with no misfires or hangfires.

 

[ravnew]

I just finished using 200 rounds of 45ACP that I loaded with powder and primers that were 30 years old and had no issues. If stored correctly they last a very long time.

PS the powder was Hercules Bullseye and the primers were CCI

 

[Wildfire]

Primers.

Hey There:
RC and the others are right. I have many primers from the early 90s. I bought 10,000 at one time and they are still all good.
I have some very old ones from a guy that pasted away and they are very old , but still fire.
The environment is key to keeping this kind of stuff good. Wet areas are no good. But any cool dry place is fine.

 

[jwr_747]

Bullseye,Unique,2400 still great powders.seems to me that the newer powders being made aren't necessarly "better" powders,but are designed to be more "case filling" to prevent double charges,and liability problems.a lot of the reports you see on the newer powders state that "double charges are less likely to happen do to increased volume of a given charge over some of the older powders".I have several pounds of the old stuff that still works great for me. jwr

 

[scrat]

Rule of thumb on powders

Smokeless. Keep dry in a tightly closed container, in a cool dry place. Where it will not be subject to extreme conditions. Especially moisture. As long as those conditions are met the powder can last a long time.

Black powder. Keep in original container away from heat. Store in cool dry place. In a tight container.


Subject. Black powder is a very stable powder in that it can resist a lot of conditions Smokeless can not. Smokeless powder can and does turn bad if subject to long periods of moisture and extreme conditions. signs of going bad are smell being the biggest. Appearance, sticking wet turning to sludge. If these conditions are present its best to disgard the powder. One of the best ways to disgard old powder is to pour it on your yard or flower bed and water it down.

Black Powder. Black powder can, does and will last hundreds of years. A recent article and news made headlines where a collector tried to disarm a civil war cannon ball. End result was shrapnel from that cannon ball blast were said to have landed over a mile and a quarter away. Civil war percussion rifles and revolvers have claimed lives during the past two centuries 1800,1900. As people find or get passed down old family era looms and pull the trigger. Black powder thus being made up of potasium nitrate, charcoal,sulfur. Black powder can be wet down to a handfull of clay. Then allowed to dry, As soon as its dry its Explosive power is there again. the same exact way. the best and only way to get rid of Black powder is by setting it off safely.


So i hope this answered any questions you may have had.

 

[JNewell]

I have read, I think, that the recent changes in the chemistry of primers (to eliminate mercury? lead? some heavy metal) is going to make them less shelf-stable. Does that ring any bells?

 

[Der Verge]

Actually, I am using some supplies that were my grandfathers. Well, he passed in '85, so 32 years. All of the powder was wasted. Most of it came in steel cans. I did a burn test on all of it, and none was anywhere near spec, so it was used to start bonfires.

Now, as for the primers, they are fine. I am about half way through a brick of CCI LR mag primers, and not one misfire, hangfire, or any other issue yet.

 

[Wildfire]

Powder dump.

Hey there;
Not sure if it is true or not but I dumped some old powder on my wifes flowers and they grew very well. An old guy told me about that, so I did it.
They just grew fine. Didn't hurt any thing anyway.

 

[JNewell]

Nitrates. Same thing in fertilizer and powder. Surely you're read about terrorist fertiziler+dielsel explosives? I read somewhere that many of the powder manufactories converted from bang to bloom after WW2.

 

[Wildfire]

Nope.

Hey agian;
Never heard of it. OK. Maybe, We dug ponds out back years ago with fertilizer bommers. Those trees had black muck on them all summer.
We made them slightly smaller for the next one.

 

[GaryL]

What's a good powder nowadays? I have 2400. Is that still being used? I'd hate to think that no "miracle" powders have been developed in the last 20 years!

Smokeless powder technology is well over 100 years old. It keeps improving over time, in incremental steps.

BTW, my can of 2400 is probably 40 yrs old. Works great in 44mag.

 

[jagugator]

Don't want to hijack but I think this question is right inline.

I am in Virginia and I have all of my reloading stuff in the garage. Should I pull my powder and primers inside during the summer? Or is ok to leave in the garage.

I don't have a basement so I would have to store it in a spare bedroom.

Thanks,
Ed