Well.. into my lap has fallen 15-20 (I havent' even counted them yet) cans of assorted smokeless powders.  This was in a deal where I was after the bullets in box "A", but a guy wanted to be rid of box "B" also.   

I thought it was a bunch of opened cans, but I find some pretty old (Hercules marked 8oz cans of Unique, Green Dot, and others) cans that still have their factory seals intact!  They've never been opened!

A couple that HAVE been opened, I poured a bit out... and gave it a close eyeball and sniff. A can of Unique still has loose grains (not clumped up), still the proper color, and still even has a hint of the ether smell that brand new powder has (despite more than 20 years old!).

Question is... what to DO with it all?
Load it and shoot it? (that which passes eyeball and sniff tests...)
Mix it 50-50 or less with new powders of the same type? (8oz of old unique into a can of new unique).
Pile it on a steel plate and light it from a distance to be rid of it and sell the cans as collectors items?


I haven't even finsihed inventorying it all yet.... I DO know that I have an unopened 3lb can of Red Dot with a lead foil seal still intact over the screw cap...  Hmm.. that's almost enough to justify buying something I can load USING Red Dot, huh?   

Suggestions, discussions, or comments about my insanity are welcome..

Paul F.

I had to burn a bunch of smokeless powder that was acquired in containers that were NOT the original containers, and therefore there was no really reliable way of identifying it. I can tell you from personal experience that there IS a difference in the burning rate of powders.  Most rifle powders burn with a lot of flame and sparks, etc, but the pistol powders you should definately light from a distance, and make darn sure there is no other powder or combustibles anywhere in the area. A small batch that I lit went off with a bang and could have could have set off other powders if it werent for the fact that it was the last batch, which was simply a coincidence.   
Joe S

I've been shooting old powders that passed the sniff test, for many (~40) years now, including such disparate burning rates as surplus 4831 and quite elderly 2400 with the lead seal. No problems so far.

To really appreciate the following, you gotta understand that I live down in the heart of Redneckland, down where some of the very best entertainment of all is to be seen when one of The Good Ole Boys says to another local, "Hold my beer and watch this!"

Sometimes it can remind me of evolution in action, as when one of those mental giants sorta involuntarily removes himself from the gene pool, but nothing like that happened here. Close, but not quite.

One of my old running buddies from back in the old country, Grinning Ray, was a fellow who would literally try just about anything to satisfy his curiousity......... or just to make a public spectacle sometimes. To make a long story short, he found that an old-style steel canister of pistol powder, when hit with a high-velocity bullet such as from his 30-06, would explode quite spectacularly. He said it seemed about the same as one stick of dynamite such as the farmers around here use for beaver dams and such. He also said that a lighted match, when dropped into the open mouth of such a steel container of pistol powder, would produce a flame jet ~ 20 feet long in the millisecond or two before the can exploded.

Been hangin' with Ray since we were in high school, never personally seen him daunted by man or beast throughout some fairly hairy adventures. Ray was very enthusiastic about the possibilities of remote detonation via BAR and has done it again on several occasions at various times in various places.

But even Grinning Ray, who's famous for grinning while joyously and repeatedly doing things that would make most of us quail with fear, said that he had to shake out his britches-laigs after that match-in-the-can experiment, and that he would not be doing such a thing again.

I was impressed, that's the only time I've ever known Ray to back up from anything.

These instances might have been a fluke but I treat all old powder as though it was still as strong or maybe stronger than new.
Good luck, Joe

Humboldt;

Nope... this was from another gentlemans father-in-laws estate..
I have not inquired about our late club members estate (but I'm curious also).

Once I inventory the powder, primers, and bullets in the musty carboard boxes, I may have some odds and ends for sale/trade.  No molds, unfortunately.

See ya at the range!
Paul F.

Paul F.
Using the normal precautions, mentioned above, should keep a person out of trouble when using "old" powders.

I have been using some up that are in excess of fifty years old. Understand, I KNOW how these have been stored. If they pass the sniff test, then use it. It is near crimnal to burn useable powders

Dale53.

Above my loading bench I have a shelf for just such decoration i have a full unopened can of super ballistite among them I call it my grandfather shelf. 
I have shot 30 to 40 year old powder and it worked well, down side is that is all of it you are going to get.
irish

Powder doesn't deteriorate much as long as it is kept at a near constant temperature.  It will last for many years.
Russ W.