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Thread: Unknown green flake powder?

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    Unknown green flake powder?

    Trying to help someone figure out who made this powder.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Thank you for any help.

  2. #2
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    RogerDat's Avatar
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    If the powder is unknown you are taking a risk trying to load with it. Load data is for known powders. Figure or guess wrong on powder and use a load you "think" is right is one way to turn a firearm into a pipe bomb. Does make good plant fertilizer however.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

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  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jdjax64 View Post
    Trying to help someone figure out who made this powder.
    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	220892
    Thank you for any help.
    How much of it have you got? How was it packaged? WHat was it pulled down from? Any clue?

    My best, safest guess, fertilizer to put on your tomatoes.
    The ENEMY is listening.
    HE wants to know what YOU know.
    Keep it to yourself.

  4. #4
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    472x1B/A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jdjax64 View Post
    Trying to help someone figure out who made this powder.
    Click image for larger version. 

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Views:	112 
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ID:	220892
    Thank you for any help.
    I have no idea what brand it is, but I have seen this in pulled down 'pre' WW II 7.65 Argentine. Like '36, '37, '38 head stamp brass. I do remember it was chunked together. Don't know if this will help or not.
    Enewetak Atomic Clean Up Veteran 1979

  5. #5
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by 472x1B/A View Post
    I have no idea what brand it is, but I have seen this in pulled down 'pre' WW II 7.65 Argentine. Like '36, '37, '38 head stamp brass. I do remember it was chunked together. Don't know if this will help or not.
    Thank you, I did find this square flake powder PC 88 but no mention of it being green.Click image for larger version. 

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  6. #6
    Boolit Master rsrocket1's Avatar
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    Look up Nobel Sport Vectan powders and the pictures of the powders they make.
    Last edited by rsrocket1; 05-23-2018 at 05:17 PM.

  7. #7
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by rsrocket1 View Post
    Look up Nobel Sport Vectan powders and the pictures of the powders they make.
    Thank you.

  8. #8
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    jdjax64
    like several have asked, some details of it's origin may help those who are trying to help you
    Amendments
    The Second there to protect the First!

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Like 472x1B/A I have seen similar powder. Pulled down some 8x57 dated 1929, 1935, 1945 and other pre WW2 dates that had powder that looked like your picture.

  10. #10
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by MostlyLeverGuns View Post
    Like 472x1B/A I have seen similar powder. Pulled down some 8x57 dated 1929, 1935, 1945 and other pre WW2 dates that had powder that looked like your picture.
    Thanks.

  11. #11
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    Quite a few years back, I bought a bunch of really cruddy milsurp 7x57 to pull down for the bullets...brass was Berdan-primed with serious corrosion issues. Powder was square flakes similar to your pic but dark gray rather than greenish. Ammo was packed in cardboard packets, labeled in Spanish, each containing four 5-round strippers. Don't recall any headstamp info but, from the water damage to packaging and corroded condition of brass, ammo had been stored someplace wet for quite some time.


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  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    My guess is AL - 8 which is a slow shotgun powder by Alcan. Between Bluedot and 2400 in speed and somewhat useful in straight wall with cast. IIRC it was produced in the 60's to early 80's. I have some that was marketed by Smith and Wesson as it has their label.

  13. #13
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    Only good for fertilizer or getting you hurt. Be safe never guess on unknown powders. Had a good friend eat the bolt on a rifle guessing on powder. Went by it looks just like, but it wasn't.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master



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    I bought some 7.92x57 MM rounds for a song. They produced a hearty roar, heavy recoil but excellent accuracy. On the con side 40% of them split their necks upon firing. Some rounds fired seemed extremely loud and others weak. I decided that they were too unsafe to utilize. I broke down quite a few rounds. I used the projectiles with other cases and fresh powder. I still have the cases and the powder, about 2 lbs of it. I may save it for the 4th of July and burn it in the open in small piles connected by a trail of powder so it goes off pretty fast and people enjoy it.

    This stuff was Turkish Surplus and upon weighing I found wildly different amounts of powder in the pulled down ammo. A few cases were a compressed loading and others had up to a half inch air space below the projectile and the powder. The primers were sealed with a black tarrish goo which has dried out to melted metal which is attached to the primer and case head. The powder is cut just as yours but smelled nasty and was as black as can be. The markings on the cases sometimes had a year indicated.
    the years ran from '34 to '53. I could not read the other marks on the casehead.

    I paid very little for these rounds. The came with a cardboard wrapper around 10 rounds mounted 5 each on stripperclips and inside a cloth pocket on a cloth bandolier which had 7 pockets. The writing on the bandoliers was not English but had different years marked: '34 to '50.
    Pax Nobiscum Dan (Crash) Corrigan

    Currently casting, reloading and shooting: 223 Rem, 6.5x55 Sweede, 30 Carbine, 30-06 Springfield, 30-30 WCF, 303 Brit., 7.62x39, 7.92x57 Mauser, .32 Long, 32 H&R Mag, 327 Fed Mag, 380 ACP. 9x19, 38 Spcl, 357 Mag, 38-55 Win, 41 Mag, 44 Spcl., 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 454 Casull, 457 RB for ROA and 50-90 Sharps. Shooting .22 LR & 12 Gauge seldom and buying ammo for same.

  15. #15
    Boolit Mold
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    Thank you Krashenbirn, Messy bear and Crash Corrigan.

  16. #16
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    I have seen it in many European loadings, calibers that the above have mentioned. I have a bunch of 6.5x55mm from Norway with the same powder type. FN, Norma and DWM used this or a similar powder.
    When you read the fine print you get an education
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  17. #17
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    I've seen similar from pulled 8x57mm. I vote burn it for Memorial Day. There's no reason to load ammo with unknown powder as said by all.

  18. #18
    Boolit Mold
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    Thank you leebuilder and BCB.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master


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    I would fertilize my garden with it.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    I realize that reloaders are, by nature, cheap. But come on, using unknown powders is foolish and dangerous. Read the reloading manuals. Look at the pressures that are generated by known powders. Saving a few pennies is far outweighed by the trip to the ER, or worse. Your call.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check