Old powder

[B-dog]

I've got a tin of 748 winchester ball powder thats over 25 years old. Its been stored in dry stable conditions. My question is would this powder be safe to reload?

Thanks B-dog

[Bigeasy]

Would you shoot properly stored rifle ammo that was made in 1985?  Same basic thing, really.  Powder that has been properly stored in good conditions in a sealed tin should be fine after 25 years.  They say you can tell if it has gone bad by smelling it, if it has a strong acid type odor.  If you are concerned, I would smell it, then smell a can of new powder.  If there is a difference, dump the old one..

Larry

[cwlongshot]

Would you shoot properly stored rifle ammo that was made in 1985?  Same basic thing, really.  Powder that has been properly stored in good conditions in a sealed tin should be fine after 25 years.  They say you can tell if it has gone bad by smelling it, if it has a strong acid type odor.  If you are concerned, I would smell it, then smell a can of new powder.  If there is a difference, dump the old one..

Larry

GOOD ADVICE!! I agree.

CW

[mbopp]

I had a 25 year hiatus from shooting, my IMR cans say Dupont and Bullseye says Herculese.
My I4198 had a brownish tint and acrid smell so I dumped it. The I4350 and I4064 seem OK. These are metal cans, not plastic.
Interesting, the 4198, Bullseye, and Unique old powders were less dense, meaning for a given setting on my powder measure they threw lighter charges than the new powders. Throwing 5.0gr of Bullseye on the old powder was 5.5gr of the new batch.
I had some T/C loads (357 Herrett) with old 4198 in them. On the range I got vertical stringing with them, like the velocities were erratic. Years ago I had them chronographed, they had a low SD and my best target was 1-1/4" at 100 yards. I pulled the bullets and dumped the powder and will reload them with fresh.

[sk330lc]

Check For An Asprin Smell and for red Dust when you pour it out into something. If it has none of the mentioned Smells or dust and it looks good and has a solventy, alcohol smell you should be good.   the red dust is the coating they put on the powder to deter the burn rate. If the coating is not there It can be bad.. 

[Siskiyou]

Studies of ball powder have shown it has a shelve life of 30+ years.  There is a study on the net.

I was recently given some older ball powder and plan on testing the theroy.  If I felt it was bad I would soaking into the lawn.

Last spring I fired some 130-grain bullets in front of surplus 4831 stick powder.  I loaded ammuntion in 1971-72.  I also loaded additional 130-grain loads with the last of my orginal surplus 4831.  Out of a 22-inch barrel at 6700 foot elevation velocity was running at 3050 feet per second.  I am glad I tossed that old powder into cases.

[matthewquigley]

 
  BUT do not confuse acid rancid powder smell with the solvent type smell of good powder     my old nose has trouble   but i have a buddy  and he has a nose like a bloodhound    he checks mine for me   i almost pitched 24pounds of unique(its almost 25 years old and in 8 lb cardboad tube kegs and i paid  14.53 a keg for it) once till he checked it and it loads some of the best handgun loads i make!      women have a far better nose than we do  and if ya can get her to do it the little lady can be quite the help      

[GregP42]

I know that "Most" ball powders will last that long. In 84 I had a nice big bonus from a job I did, so I got 3, 8 pound containers of H110, I am working on the last one now, and I had 2 of 748 and I finished it last year and had no issues from them. Now I had some old IMR 4895 that smelt off and had red dust that I got in the 90's, that went into the garden!

Hope that helps some, but like everyone said, look for red dust and smell the powder, it will let you know when it is bad.

Greg

[Bubber]

I have a gallon jug of surplus 4895 that is over 40 years old that is still good. On the other hand a year ago I pitched an almost full pound canister of IMR4398 that was pretty new because it started to turn. Just look it over, you will be able to tell if it is good.

[B-dog]

All your feed back has been much appreciated. I've had a good look and smell of the powder and it seems to be all good!

 Once again thanks guys
 B-dog

[Siskiyou]

Check this link.
http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/smallarms/Rose.pdf

Plus

This was copied from an Olin document:
7. HANDLING AND STORAGE
HANDLING: Avoid dispersion of dust in air. Do not expose to direct light. Dot not subject to
mechanical shock.

STORAGE: Store in a cool, dry, well ventilated place away from all sources of ignition. Do
not store at temperatures above 38°C (100°F).

Shelf Life Limitations: Indefinite if kept under 100°F.

Incompatible Materials for Packaging: Must be stored in original shipping container for explosion venting purposes.
No
incompatible packaging materials known.
Incompatible Materials for Storage or Transport: Oxidizers, acids or alkalis.

OTHER PRECAUTIONS: Do not shake clothing, rags or other items to remove dust. Dust should be
removed by washing or HEPA vacuuming.

[mechanic]

Last year I unloaded some things of my Dad's that had been stored since 1989 when he passed away.  I had two large boxes of powders.  Now some of this was no doubt several years old when he had it.  I have a can of Bullseye that the retail sticker is on....$4.25.  It has been fine.  I have 4# of Unique, all is fine.  I've got powders no longer made...have to consult older manuals.

Load a few rounds, try them out.  If it shoots..shoot it.

[Dill45]

I am currently using powder that my dad purchased around 30 years ago!  It was stored in the original containers completely dry and safe.  Shoots very well today.  In fact some of my most accurate loads for my 45-70 are using the Red Dot.

[Flash]

Powder spoilage is case specific and as everyone stated, use your nose. I have a tin of Red Dot (the big red keg) from back in the early 70's and even though the red dots in the powder aren't red any longer, it still smells fine and burns even better. Why? Because it was kept dry. It's been stored in my gagrage which can see 100+ degrees in the summer and the teens in the winter but all of my powder is good and stored in the same conditions.

[trotterlg]

I have some 45 ACP ammo head stamped 1939 (39)  and it still shoots fine.  Larry