Old powder

[Jim M]

I have several containers of powder that date back to 1989.  They have been stored in their original containers in a cool dry place.  I've checked all of them and the powder appears fine and has the sme odor as new powder.  Is this powder safe to use.  If I used it I would back off my load and work it back up to the load that I used bedfore.  I have handloads that I've been hunting with that were loaded with this powder in 1989 and have had no problems with them.

[savageT]

I have several containers of powder that date back to 1989.  They have been stored in their original containers in a cool dry place.  I've checked all of them and the powder appears fine and has the sme odor as new powder.  Is this powder safe to use.  If I used it I would back off my load and work it back up to the load that I used bedfore.  I have handloads that I've been hunting with that were loaded with this powder in 1989 and have had no problems with them.

Jim,
Sounds like you are doing everything "by the book".  I would do just as you say: load up some at 10% under and see how it looks.

Jim

[Kragman71]

Jim,
Fifteen year old powder is not really very old. I bought a can of old IMR 4895 powder that (although it is lighter,and takes up more space in the case)actually shots better groups the my new 4895.
You can tell when powder is going bad. It will have a strong acrid odor. It may form clumps of granules. It may emit smoke  when you pour it.
Frank

[Jim M]

Thanks guys.  I sure didn't want to waste that powder, especially after seeing todays prices.  I had some winchester 785 powder that I was hoarding because they discontinued it and it went bad. Had a rusty color to it and didn't have that solvent smell anymore.  I miss that powder, It performed well in my 338 and 270.

[Donna]

Jim,

It is a relatively rare event for new powders (up to 60 years old) to go bad. In my 31 years of reloading you are the first person that I have heard of that has had powder gone bad, I am sure there are other but I have not heard of. You really have nothing to worry about from powder that has gone bad from age and bad storage. When powder goes bad like that it decays which is what powder does when it is burned just a lot slower. So, bad powder is actually weaker in it’s ability to cause chemical reaction not greater.

Donna :wink:

[Gun Runner]

I was looking in my old dead refrigrator that I keep gun powder in (also have one for primers) and found a couple cans marked "77"(year they were bought)($2.79 a pound) checked it and smells as good as a new can off the gunstore shelf. Both these frigs are outside along side my small loading room.

Gun Runner

[calvon]

I have some H4831 that I bought for $0.52 per pound. That was back when the name was just 4831, before IMR introduced their 4831. It has been stored in an unheated building in a wooden cabinet in a metal container with a tight fitting lid. The powder, so far as I can determine, is as good now as it was when new. Ditto for some H4895, which I bought for about a dollar a pound, that also was known just as 4895, before IMR introduced their version. Ditto for some Winchester AA 473 and AA 452 which I bought in 1977 for less than $5 per pound. All of it is as good now as it was when I got it.

Remember that the original H 4831 was obtained by breaking down WWII surplus 20mm ammo. That powder is well over 50 years old now and still good. When Hodgdon first introduced what we now call 4831 it had no name of its own, and was marketed as "4350 Data". You used loading data for 4350 when you loaded it.

The original 4895 was used in .30-06 ball ammo during WWII.

Good storage is the secret. No direct sunlight. No extremes of heat. Extreme cold is no problem. Keep it dry. That's about it.