Combining powder

[Swift One]

I have about a 5th of a can of retumbo left.  If I buy a new pound of it, can I just pour the remaining amount from the old can in it? The new can is probably from a different lot number.  Will this mess with the burn rate and characteristics of the new powder?

[bobg]

  Probably most people will say don't do it but i have done it numerous times without any problems.
  Don't take my word for it though.

[jhalcott]

IF these are one pound cans, your talking about 3 to 4 grains of old vs. new. This SHOULD NOT be a big deal depending on the age difference of the 2 lots. Factories take several batches and mix them to get the correct ballistics from their powders. I on the other hand ,try to empty each can before starting the next one.!

[geezerbiker]

I've been told not to but I've done so many times without a problem.  I do however mix it up pretty good so that the old is well distributed in the new...

Tony

[shot1]

There is nothing wrong with mixing two or three pounds or more of the same powder together as long as you start from scratch and work up your load. It would be just like using a different lot number of the same powder. For most shooting I have never really seen that much difference between lot numbers of powder and I have been loading for over 30 years.

[huntswithdogs]

"They"(whoever "they" are) say not to mix cans, but the others here, I've done it more than once. Whether it make any difference or not, I shake up the can to get it mixed well. I also back off my regular load and work back up just in case.


HWD 

[huntducks]

I have done it a few times myself I see nothing wrong with it.
 
I had 3 one lb cans of H-380 same lot and a 1 lb can different lot # rather then dealing with different lots I now have a 4lb can.

[wncchester]

" If I buy a new pound of it, can I just pour the remaining amount from the old can in it?"
 
Yes
 
 
"Will this mess with the burn rate and characteristics of the new powder?"

 Not enought to matter.

[1sourdough]

 I agree & have mixed before, no problems. I do wait until I am down very low in the old can though, so the added powder is a very small %. Of course the powder is mixed into another container exactly the same.

[Savage]

In over 40 yrs of reloading, I've done this hundreds of times. Any changes in load performance were too insignificant to notice. Of course I'm not a benchrest shooter------------------.
Savage

[Tom W.]

I've never noticed any difference either....

[Land_Owner]

Lot number?  WTH's a lot number?

Really though, I too have done it every time with no noticeable effect.  I too am no bench rest shooter...just a hunter.

[necchi]

 With all this, I've done the same as the first post, take a little shake left and added it to the next can, no big deal.
But I've also done something I later found out was an error that could have cost me some money.
 
 I use alot of Varget and I know the going rate on a pound of powder locally. As I wander around the country, different gunshows an different dealers/shop's, I always look at powder prices and if they'er good and I have the cash I'll buy a pound.
 
 What I did was; I had three pounds all different lot's, without shooting out of any of those 3#'s I simply batched them all togther and created one "lot" that I'll use for myself, no big deal right?
 
 Well IF and just "IF" one of those pounds would have just happened to be bad for some reason,,,
,,too hot, or too slow,, I could have ruined the entire 3#'s.
 
 Will I do it again? Probably.
 I don't have a problem using a mixed lot for my loading purposes. And do know that when that mixed lot is gone I'll need too re-test. But I'll at least "prove" each pound of powder individually before I mix`m.
 
 I haven't run into any bad powder in the few short years I've been loading, but some of the Gent's I know locally that have been loading for decades all have stories of at least one bad batch they've run across through the years,

[huntducks]

Gun show powder is a NO NO on my list unless it's from a dealer or sealed.
 
A number of years back I bought a opened lb of RL-15 at a gun show went to use it poured it in the powder measure then a dump in the scale pan I not only had stick powder but little round balls someone dumped in the ball powder to fill out the bottle so it got poured on the lawn.
 
Since then I have been very leary of buying second hand powder unless it's sealed or I know who is selling it.
 
 

[necchi]

Gun show powder is a NO NO on my list unless it's from a dealer or sealed.

Good point, I guess buying powder that's NOT in a sealed can never occured to me. I mean it just never crossed my mind to consider buying an opened container, I don't care how good a price it is.

[WSM264]

I have bought powder in bleach jugs before.  Most of the powder I buy is Mil Surp or in bulk.  I deal with a class 6 FFL guy who buys in 100lb kegs.  I usually buy 10-15 lb from him.  It is not sealed and not in the original container.
Back in the 60's and maybe 50's you would walk into a harware store and ask for a pound of XXX powder.  The employee would go in the back, scoop out a pound of powder and hand it to ya in a paper luch bag.  XXX would be written on the bag.
DOT regs on transporting bulk (in canisters over 8 lbs) powder and GCA of '68 screwed a lot of things up.  In today's litigation crazy society, we have become paranoid about unsealed things because some jack off put cyanide in Tylenol bottles.
Buy your powder without fear!!

[gypsyman]

Swift One, I've mixed powders like this many times myself. Never a problem. Just had a thought reading this post. Why not load up 10-15 rounds with the new powder, and see how it compare's with the old. If it's close, which my guess it will be, mix it. If  not, use the old one up, and start a new load. gypsyman

[huntducks]

Brandt
 
I use to buy same from a dealer back in the 60's he put it in paint type cans 3lb 8lb 16lb what ever you wanted if you only wanted a lb you got it in a paper bag, I had no worries back then but gread has taken over even in reloading and the last thing I would put my faith in would be open cans of powder from a gun show seller that bought it at a estate or yard sale but that's just me.
 
I also use to buy Milsurp from Bartlet powder one bleach jug 8lbs I still have some 4895  BL-C2 and 870.
 
gypsyman I still have maybe 6-7 lbs of surplus WWII H-4831 that's how hodgdon powder got it's start selling 50lb drums of the stuff back in the 60's bought from a add in NRA mag. my brother and I bought 100lbs each it was like $40 something including shipping per 50lbs still use the same load in my 270 59.7grs it shoots in the same place now as it did 40 years ago.