Black powder shelf life

[BSkerj]

I recently put my money down on a Big Timber Shiloh Sharps. I have a 18 to 20 month wait before production. I am now in the process of collecting components to use, i.e. molds, lube etc. so when the call comes I will have everything ready to go and I won't be breaking the bank. My question is should I start buying up BP now ? I will be starting to use Swiss 1.5 . How long is the shelf life on a unopened container? or does it matter as long as it is unopened and stored in a cool place ? I would like to buy in bulk so I can get the same lot. Thanks in advance !

[357maximum]

Properly stored black powder will outlast the average human.

[XWrench3]

i would second that. but improperly stored powder can go bad pretty fast, depending on conditions. the best way to store it is in a good ammo can (military type with the seal) in a cool dry location. but, the most important part of that is the cool dry location. i just happen to like the air lock capabilities of ammo cans.

[Don McDowell]

I have an old powder horn full of powder that is over 100 years old. The stuff still will go off.
Blackpowder is a mixture of ingredients so there is no way to ever really seperate or unmix those ingredients. If it gets wet, lay it out to dry and it's still good to go.
Oil might kill it, but other than that there's not much you can do to destroy real bp except shoot it.

[John Boy]

BSkerj, I store most of my black powder outside in an unheated shed. All the can tops are screwed down tight. The weather varies from cold to hot.
Have DuPont powder that I don't know when it was made, but guessing pre 1970. Have Meteor that was made in 1973 and many cans of recent production Swiss - Goex and KIK.

None of these powders have decreased in ignition pressure or the fps they produce. I have chronograph readings to support this.

Keep the lids tight and any powder you don't shoot, your estate will be able to pass it on to your great-great-great grand children for their enjoyment

[DIRT Farmer]

I have a friend who was tasked with destroying some powder that was found in a museum display. The keg was full, marked 1864. What I shot did a fine job of breaking clay targets.

[Boz330]

I have a can if 1F Kings Mills BP. The factory went out of business in 1937. This old friend of my shooting buddy bought all that he could afford when they closed. He has been gone for 15 or more years now. I shot several loads of it but didn't get carried away since there is no more of it if I came up with a good load.
I heard from some of the old guys (I'm 64) that Kings's powder was supposed to be one of the good ones.

Bob

[farmallcrew]

as long as you have it stored correctly it will last forever!!! i have all my blackpowder in a seperate box from my smokeless for the simple fact is if im in a hurry to work up so loads for the range i get the right powder. i have powder ive acquired from back in the 70's and 80's and it still pushing the lead down the tube at the correct fps.

[fishhawk]

they have recoverd cannon from old ship wrecks that were loaded and once the powder was dried out it fired. and thats been like 300 some years for some of it! steve k

[WRideout]

i would second that. but improperly stored powder can go bad pretty fast, depending on conditions. the best way to store it is in a good ammo can (military type with the seal) in a cool dry location. but, the most important part of that is the cool dry location. i just happen to like the air lock capabilities of ammo cans.

When I used to work in a crime lab on the West (or is it Left?) Coast, I found out a few things about long term storage. Aside: Working in a crime lab is not exciting or glamourous when you spend all day testifying on drunk driving cases.

I was given a task of storing different kinds of evidence for long-term disposition. At first I thought that sealing it in a tin paint can was perfect, but my boss, retired from the RCMP, said that even if you think it's dry, it always retains a little moisture, so he advised strong paper bags for stuff that could not get wet. A few years later, when I worked as an environmental scientist, I used to go through piles of drums in back of different shops to classify them as hazardous waste, or not. I found quite often that an empty steel drum, when left closed up tight, would collect inches of water inside, from sweating. Some of them would be nearly full, if they sat long enough.

For storage of items in a cool dry location, a sealed ammo can is good, but I would always include a packet of dessicant (do not eat this!) and change it out every couple of years.

Wayne

[KCSO]

A few years ago a fellow came into the shop with a smoothbore M/L double gun. He wanted new nipples on it and had broken off the old ones trying to get them off. I checked the bores and came up 3" from the breech and proceeded to pull loads from each barrel with 80-90 grains of powder and an ounce of shot. The wadding was newspaper and when smoothed out we found a date of 1862. The powder was still good and flashed right off when we lit it.

In 1995 when I was researching 45-70 loads i pulled bullets and weighed and shot F/A loads from 1885 to 1892. The powder was good and after all those years velocity was within 40 fps of military specs.

Bottom line is keep it dry and it lasts for a LONG time.

[cajun shooter]

Just think of the best reason to buy your powder NOW!! Price Increases. After Jan1 all powder and reloading supplies go up. Some powders are going up several dollars a pound. Goex which is now owned by Hodgdon has had 21% price increases and they are discontinuing the Cartridge powder which gives good results in the 45-70. Buy a good stock and SAVE. Swiss 1 1/2 and 2F in other brands is a good choice.

[piwo]

I knew a guy who worked in a gun shop in Colonial Williamsburg. He said most of the surviving originals that were uncovered, or discovered in attics were all loaded, and the powder charge was dry and would have ignited if set to a spark....... I don't know exactly, but I have to think that dry powder will go BOOOM if subjected to a spark..................

[Hickory]

I'd not worry about it at all.
I bought 50 lbs 30 some years ago
@ $3.90 a lb. Mine still shoots good.
Just keep it stored in a cool dark place.

[NickSS]

I bought a British three band enfield from my dentist when I was younger at the time the rifle was only about 102 years old. When I got it home the first thing I did was run the ramrod down the barrel and found it was loaded. So I got a worm on a ram rod and started to remover the load. When I got it all out it had been loaded with bird shot with news paper wadding. I found a date of 1876 on the news paper. The black powder I saved and put it back in the gun and fired a mini ball with it. It went of with a satisfactory bang and the slug was in the same group the rest of my slugs I fired with new Dupont powder.

[Catshooter]

As you may have gathered, the Holy Black is STABLE. Anything that you can soak in water (the universal solvent they taught us in chemistry class) for two or three hundred years and then have work when it's dried out is stable.

No smokless power can come close to that, that's for sure.


Cat

[oneokie]

i would second that. but improperly stored powder can go bad pretty fast, depending on conditions. the best way to store it is in a good ammo can (military type with the seal) in a cool dry location. but, the most important part of that is the cool dry location. i just happen to like the air lock capabilities of ammo cans.

You have a bomb on your hands when doing this.