Do they pass the smell test? If it smells like clean fresh powder, run it.
If it has a rancid smell it's getting old.
My "GUESS" is, it's fine.
Old powder ok??
- Thread starter Backcountry_IDN
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If it has a rancid smell it's getting old.
My "GUESS" is, it's fine.
nicholasjohn
Well-Known Member
Be very careful with the prune juice ........
Knight
Well-Known Member
Stored correctly you shouldn't have any concern. I'm just finished a can of Blue Dot I purchased in 1984 and used in loading 10mm. No problem at all.
Same here, from early eighties possibly late seventies inherited from my dad's old stock.
foxtrotter
Member
I'm still using what's left of a 50# cardboard barrel marked 4831 (not H4831) from Hodgden that was shipped via Railway Express Agency.
nicholasjohn
Well-Known Member
Buying 50# of that powder years ago was a stroke of pure genius. A lot of guys actually prefer the old surplus 4831 to the new stuff, and having a large supply of it is a beautiful thing. There are many things I wish that I had stocked up on years ago, and that is one of them. I now have three 8-pounders of H4350 that I acquired during the last powder shortage, when nobody around here wanted the big jars. They all wanted one-pounders, and the 8-pounders were going begging. I grabbed three, and I'm glad I did. Pretty soon after that guys started getting together to split the big ones between them, and they became un-available. I wish that I had grabbed more of the H4831, since I now only have a couple of pounds of that. Oh, well - I'll keep my eyes open for more.
Probably dangerous stuff. Just send it me, and I will dispose of it slowly over the next couple years.
Like others have said here already, shake it, smell it and look for clumping or deterioration. I too have some old powder that is over 30 years old, and it works fine.bigbrad53
Well-Known Member
Me to. Have a rusty can of H414 that was given to me years ago and shoots just fine.
I just loaded a few rounds using 4831 that came in the old 1 lb cans..shoots the same group it did 35 years ago. If your powder passed the smell and no lump test it SHOULD be fine..has been my experience.
whirlwindjml
Well-Known Member
I could handle 4bucks a pound! I miss primers at 2cents a piece
I have a lot of cans of powder that were purchased for a specific load, then set on the shelf for, OK lets say for longer than a lot of you have been around. I recently opened a can of IMR 3031, notice I said can not bottle. The price on the sticker on the can said $12.99 and was from a gun shop that closed down some 30 years ago. It has been sitting on my reloading bench almost forever but kept in a cool dry place. Opened it up, no rust came out of the can, put it into the RCBS powder measure and trickler and proceeded to load up a bunch of .308 target rounds for just shooting for fun. All rounds fired flawlessly and grouped less than 1 MOA at 100 yards. Even better I won a grudge match with a guy that kept pestering me and saying that no old lady could shoot better than he could. He lost...badly. Not that I'm all that good, but he was just simply that bad with a big ego. (Having a Winchester Model 70 that grouped way less than 1 MOA throughout it's life didn't hurt either) So my response is, It doesn't matter how old it is, if it's still dry and goes through the powder measure accurately then go with it.
Backcountry_IDN
Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone! Looks good and smells normal so should be good!
