Mixing small lots of powder?

[remingtonman_25_06]

I have a 1100 grains of H1000 in one can, and 3400 grains in another. Which will load roughly 60 shells at 72.5g from my 7-300 win mag. I need to load a batch of 50 shells up. What say you about putting it in a bowl and mixing it all together? Yay or nay? I worked up a super accurate load with the one can that had little over 1/2#...I have a 1000 yard shoot saturday and need to load up 50 shells, so that lies my dilemma. I am going to hit the range at least once, if not twice to see what it's going to do before I head out saturday to the 1K shoot. I need to start buying 8# kegs of this $hitt...I realize I'll probably have to fine tune a couple few tenths of a grain here or there, that's why I'm going to hit the range a couple times before I head out. Just wanted to hear some of your guys thoughts anyway.

 

[Barrelnut]

I've done it several times with no issues.

 

[manitou]

I wouldn't hesitate to mix them if I had the time to shoot a few test rounds before your shoot. Goes without saying, but SOMEBODY will point this out: Are they from the same lot#? If not, drop a grain or two and work up. Personally, if I had similar performance between both cans, I would mix, load and shoot, although I might squint a bit on the first shot, lol.

 

[Canhunter35]

Mixing is the way to go

 

[Skimbleshanks]

If you've got the time to back it off a grain or 2 and confirm then mix away.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Think a full grain or 2 is really neccessary? They're already a middle of the road load anyway, not anywhere close to MAX, I dont hot rod this rifle... Velocity is 2950-3000fps with the 180g ELDMs from a 28" barrel. I was thinking to just load 3 up at 72 and 3 at 72.5 and see what happens for starters. I shot two separate 3 shot groups at 300 yards during development and they measured .35" and .7" so I know they should do at least 1/3 MOA. I need 40 rounds for the shoot, so that only leaves me around 10-20 shells to figure it out. And no, they're not from the same lot, but H1000 has a pretty good reputation for being fairly consistent lot to lot no? I'm gonna hit the 1K range in the morning, so I'll let y'all know how it goes anyway.

 

[Laelkhunter]

How far apart are the 2 lot #'s? I have mixed them in the past with no ill effects. If they were both manufactured within a short time, there shouldn't be much difference. If they were made 10 years apart, then there might be a little more lot to lot variation. Still, mixing them together should be fine.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Ya know honestly I have no idea how far apart they are, but if I had to guess, at least a year or two...I had the one can filled to the top when I had the rifle built 6 years ago by the rifle builders 8# keg, so it was 2# or a little more, and the other can I believe was from my 338 EDGE which was around the same time frame. Those 2 containers are way older than the new ones. All the other H1000 I have has been bought in the last year or two, I just dont want to tap into it until these other 2 containers were gone.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Heres a couple pics of the canisters...so the first pic is of the 2 older cans, the lids are both metal, but the coloring and data are totally different, the one is white bordering with the old hodgon logo and different load data specs. The 2nd pic is of the newer ones, but notice the lids, one is plastic, other is metal, and the border coloring is a golden color compared to the previous 2. The latest ones all have plastic lids, I know that much and the same golden coloring border. Anyway, I'm just gonna throw the 2 older ones into a bowl and see what happens.

 

[Coldfinger]

I have a 1100 grains of H1000 in one can, and 3400 grains in another. Which will load roughly 60 shells at 72.5g from my 7-300 win mag. I need to load a batch of 50 shells up. What say you about putting it in a bowl and mixing it all together? Yay or nay? I worked up a super accurate load with the one can that had little over 1/2#...I have a 1000 yard shoot saturday and need to load up 50 shells, so that lies my dilemma. I am going to hit the range at least once, if not twice to see what it's going to do before I head out saturday to the 1K shoot. I need to start buying 8# kegs of this $hitt...I realize I'll probably have to fine tune a couple few tenths of a grain here or there, that's why I'm going to hit the range a couple times before I head out. Just wanted to hear some of your guys thoughts anyway.

Right or wrong I always dump powder from an almost empty can into a freshly opened can. I just twist and roll can to mix I avoid shaking it tho.

 

[CVCOBRA1]

The first pic, one says 50 years and one says 60 years, a timeline. Blend them, back off a grain and try them back out. With a chrony if possible.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Good eye! I didnt even catch that. The newest ones have the plastic lids and says "quality propellants since 1947." So I'll do 3 each at 71.5/72/72.5 with a chrony, and shoot them at 300 yards again. See what happens, Then I'll take the better one of those 3 and just load the rest up for the 1K shoot. Thanks for the insight fellas! Keep ya posted.

 

[aushunter1]

Powder can deteriorate by how it is stored & usually you can tell if it is going/gone off by the colour & smell, if its old it turns a rusty colour & the smell gets quite strong.

You should have batch numbers on the bottles anyway but obviously you can tell one is AT LEAST 10 years older than the other, not neccasarilly a bad thing if its been stored correctly but you need to do the check before dumping.

You can get slight variations in velocities between batches as well.

Gunpowder Stability | Hodgdon Reloading

Gunpowder is designed to be safe under normal handling and storage conditions.

www.hodgdonreloading.com

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

All powder has been stored in original containers in a controlled environment of the house, so around 70 degrees. So they should be good. As far as the 10 year old container goes, I believe is just an old container from my gunsmith. He filled it up out of his 8# keg at the time because H1000 was nonexistent. So I'm fairly positive it's not 10 years between lot numbers anyway, just an old container. Thanks for the link and insight!