I am asking for some advice on some of the powder sitting on my shelf. Should I use or not? I bought the powder about five years ago from a guy that was letting all his stuff go. I worked with him and he was very organized,clean and dependable. The powder he said was stored correctly for all the years he had it.I have stored it in a dry reloading room that stays around 67 degrees on an average. Looking at the 5 cans I have the sticker price tags still appear to be in great shape, $12.95 IMR 4895. The others are pruced from $7 to $9 for 4064 and 4198.The cans are still shiny on top and do not have any rust or oxidation on them. All appear to be unopened. The one I have opened does not smell different than some of the new powder I own. That being said, How long ago was it that powder was selling at $6.99 a pound? I can afford new powder but do have kids,wife, house payment you know so I would like to utalize some of this for plinking with my 308 with the 4064 and 222 with the 4198. I should also say that this is my first post and I really enjoy reading and retrieving information here, so thank you all!
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Metal can powder/Dated load manuals
- Thread starter Telford29
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dok7mm
Well-Known Member
I have used powder near 40 years old and it worked well. If the can is unopened, I would use it. Just work up load and compare velocities to what the book says. Powders from the old days, may be slightly different from today's blends.
ShtrRdy
Well-Known Member
It's probably okay, but I would dump some out into a dish looking for any rust colored powder. If it has some fine rust colored powder then get rid of it.
Although the outside of the can appears to be in great condition I broke the seal under the cap on one and it appears to be good. Powder smells normal, looks normal but when Iooked at the inner walls of the can with a flashlight you can see the rust. These or this one at least has had moisture enter it at some point I beleive. I think I will dump them.
Rich Coyle
Well-Known Member
I received a half keg of WW2 H4831. It is working just fine.
What would happen persay if you did load "bad" powder? Squib load or over pressure and bolt possibly flying into pieces? I dont know so I think just for my own personal preference I am not 100% sure if it is good or bad so I am not gonna load this pound. I Will definitely inspect the others one by one and make a call as I do. I still am wondering when powder would have been around $6.99 a pound from a local hardware store?
