It has been asked before, but do you trust 30+ year old powder?

[stocker1042]

I did a buyout of an older gentleman today and he gave me...yes gave me (as part of the deal)...about 20lbs of powder of different types. The newest one here looks to be from the early 80's...and I am sure some of this goes back to the early 60's. It was kept in a finished basement and the cans look great. No rust. They all smell like they should. No visible rust. Some of them are of the paper type, which does scare me a tick as compared to the steel containers. I had two containers that just had a little bit in them, so I poured them out and lit them. They burned just like new stuff does. Some of these containers are still sealed and have never been opened.

From what I have read, I think I will be OK. I know the safe thing to do is work up a few rounds to see what happens, but has anyone else used powder this old?

[mrcvs]

I think my father used military surplus powder dating from World War II into the '90's and early 2000's, so it was over 50 years old by that time, and there were no problems. I know I fired some handloads using that powder that he loaded in 1986 and I fired just last month and I had no problems whatsoever and fired a very tight group at 100 yards without a scope.

[ph4570]

Yes I do.

[Dan Cash]

If stored reasonably, the stuff seems to last forever. A couple years ago, I finished some WWII 4895 that I got in 59 or 60. The last ammo using it shot like the ammo I loaded back then when I was a kid. Shot it through the same rifle too.

[CastingFool]

A while back I got some Bullseye that is pretty old. I loaded up a few rounds, and they all went bang, like they were supposed to. No surprises.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I have used some old old unique out of metal cans , h4831 from hodgdons early days , it still works the same , as long as your powder is not degraded it is good to use.

[454PB]

It all depends on storage conditions, but in my 45 years of handloading, the only powders I've seen go bad were IMR, namely 4198, 3031, and 4064. Right now I have numerous 1 pounders that I bought 30 years ago, and they are fine.....ball powders and Hercules of many flavors.

Look for rust in any old IMR containers.....sometimes it's just rust, but the "sniff" test will tell you when it's deteriorated.

[stocker1042]

Thanks for the info. I hate to lose all this as it is worth quite a bit at today's prices. I'm going to try a few rounds and see what happens!

[olereb]

I just opened a 1lb cardboard container of 2400 last week that must be from atleast the 80's from what he said and it worked fine in my 30-30.

[dbosman]

Factory sealed containers will be fine.
Open - do you trust that over 30 years no one made a mistake and poured power y in to can z?

[skeet028]

I still have 5 lbs approx of the 2nd 100 lbcan of 4831 I got from Hodgdon in(I think) 1964. WWII surplus. and have 4 cans of Hodgdon 4676(another surplus from WWII). Also have 2 lbs of early ball powder pulled from pre WWII ammo. It supposedly was made from WWI cannon powder. Also have a can of Hercules powder dated 1938 that still shoots fine with the early loading data for it. I also have a pound of Lil Gun Powder I got in an estate buy..The lady had 30 lbs of powder all new cans she had filled with water(scared of that nasty ol powder dangerous you know?) I dried it out broke the small clumps up and tried a few loads. Good grief..it still shoots just like it should. Asked a powder guy that worked for Winchester/Olin first though. Some of the powders of yore i have here are 4895 4350 Bl-C(not 2) H-108 HS-5 Win 295 4831 and even some Bullseye from the 40s and some of the neatest is some bulk smokeless powder for shotguns from the 40s at the latest..some earlier. I have over... well quite a bit

[Bayou52]

I'm using 40 year old Win 231 and 296. Both work like new....

[N4AUD]

I received several pounds of Hi-Vel II from a friend, along with some other powders. It had all belonged to his grandfather who died years ago. I check the powder by giving it the smell test, and visually inspect it. It's all been good so far. Funny thing is I had some powder I bought around 1990 that I had been using in small amounts end up going bad. It lost that distinctive powder smell and had a red dust floating around it and on it. It got disposed of right then. The same guy gave me a pile of large rifle primers that I've been using. Unknown age but they are in little wooden trays, as opposed to the plastic ones they come in now- Winchester Staynless Primers in a yellow box with a red W. They've all been good too. I've shot ammunition that was over 100 years old, so I guess if these things are stored in a cool, dry, dark place they last a long time.

[6bg6ga]

I opened containers 30+ years ago and loaded some rounds. I still have some of the rounds and they shoot fine. I have finished loading the rest of the powder and it still works like day 1. Just use it.......or send it to me

[T-Man]

When my grandfather passed on to the Happy Reloading Shop in the sky, he left me with a mountain of powder, or at least it seemed as such. He served in WW2 and when he came back home, he set about stock piling components, keeping them in a concrete block building he built specifically for reloading ammo. It was so full of powder and primers, that building literally scared me. Anyhow, I sorted and inspected everything. I am still loading for the Garand he passed to me a year before he died. I am using WW2 vintage IMR 4895 and primers of the same vintage, in never loaded 1943 brass he bought as surplus scrap by the barrel. The powder and primers are still functional and shoot well. I just decrease weight and work up new load data every time I load a new batch. Not sure if it is required, but better safe than sorry I reckon.

[EMC45]

A local buddy came on here asking about powder and I went and looked at it. A lot of the advise he got was to turn it into fertilizer. I worked a deal out to sell some stuff for him and he gave me the powder in return. They are just about all cardboard cans and a couple metal cans. Even some paper sacks with marker on the outside telling what's inside. Everything smelled fine and it has shot well from what I have seen so far. The prices on the 1lb cans were 2 bucks and some change. A bunch of H4895, H4831, IMR 3031.

[Artful]

My Old Self is still using old powder and old primers in my old guns loaded with old reloading books - working fine - thanks for asking.

As stated above storeage conditions are most critical. Kept Cool, Dry and in the Dark they just keep on chugging along - like liberal voters.

[frkelly74]

Only if it is cheap or free!

[MtGun44]

Yes.

Bill

[WILCO]

Yes.

Bill

Ditto for me.