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Thread: Powders that store well?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master

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    Powders that store well?

    The stocking up thread had me thinking, are there any powders known to last longer than others in storage? Any that don't keep well?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master

    rancher1913's Avatar
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    under the right storage conditions powder should be fine for decades.
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    Well, how long are you hoping for your powders to last?

    I've had a can of IMR 4895 go bad ("rust") in a mere 30 or so years. But I have some original Hodgdon WW 2 surplus 4831 that's still good - that's at least 75 years old and counting.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    I have used British musket powder dating from the day of the Brown Bess, removed from its original lead canister which was still good. The full canister as carried on a packhorse in its canvas sack weighed 25 pounds, containing a wee bit over 3 pounds of fine-grained musket powder, between 2Fg and 3Fg, the same granulation being used for both the main charge and for priming, in a 20-pound lead canister, which when melted would yield about 250 musket balls of 13 gage, providing a basic load of 25 rounds each for ten men.
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  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master Nobade's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Outpost75 View Post
    I have used British musket powder dating from the day of the Brown Bess, removed from its original lead canister which was still good. The full canister as carried on a packhorse in its canvas sack weighed 25 pounds, containing a wee bit over 3 pounds of fine-grained musket powder, between 2Fg and 3Fg, the same granulation being used for both the main charge and for priming, in a 20-pound lead canister, which when melted would yield about 250 musket balls of 13 gage, providing a basic load of 25 rounds each for ten men.
    Neat! That's some good planning on their part.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Outpost 75, any pictures of one of those powder cannisters, and where on earth did you find something that old ?

    As to the storage life, didn't Winchester advertise about the stability of their line of Ball powders way back when. I think double based powders were supposed to be more shelf stable than single based powders, maybe because they were considered more waterproof.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    I have no pics. Two canisters were dug up from an old stone house being restored, dating from War of 1812 near Ft. Washington, MD on the Potomac. Smithsonian got one, the other went to Naval Ordnance Station, Indian Head, which is where I got to play.
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  8. #8
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    I have bullseye, green dot, Herco, IMR 4350, 3031, 4064, 4227, Alcan 5, and a few others that I can't think of that were kept in poor conditions for 60 years and are still good. All but the Alcan are in metal cans.
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  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    I am still using unique that is in a metal can that has 1967 written on the side by it's original owner.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master Ozark mike's Avatar
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    There was a feller here who had some DuPont #1 i believe from late 1800s early 1900s that was still good
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  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy Pigboat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Outpost75 View Post
    I have no pics. Two canisters were dug up from an old stone house being restored, dating from War of 1812 near Ft. Washington, MD on the Potomac. Smithsonian got one, the other went to Naval Ordnance Station, Indian Head, which is where I got to play.
    This really perked my interest. The lead powder canisters of Lewis & Clark are the closest I could find.
    http://www.westernexplorers.us/Powde..._and_Clark.pdf

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pigboat View Post
    This really perked my interest. The lead powder canisters of Lewis & Clark are the closest I could find.
    http://www.westernexplorers.us/Powde..._and_Clark.pdf
    Interesting, but the British canisters recovered near Fort Washington were not cylindrical. They were "flask" shaped with flat sides which could be stacked a total of four in a wooden limber chest, issued one chest to each platoon of forty men. Each canister was contained in its own canvas sack with rope handles to facilitate easy removal from the chest. The thickness of the 20-pound canisters was closer to 1/4", which could easily be cut into smaller pieces with a box hatchet for melting.

    The typical musket ball used in the Brown Bess was .70 cal. being intentionally undersized to facilitate easy loading in heavily fouled bores. A 13-gage ball weighs 538 grains. This would yield about 250 musket balls per 20-lb. lead canister with a wee bit extra for wasteage. If instead casting the "buck & ball" load, the period mold of the type displayed in the Tower of London produced three round shot of 50 grains each, and one 13-gage, .70 cal. musket ball of 538 grains, yielding 20 rounds of buck & ball each per ten men, vs. 25 rounds for ordinary ball ammunition without the buckshot.
    Last edited by Outpost75; 08-19-2020 at 10:43 PM.
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  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master

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    In my experience the following have had long shelf lives : by long I mean 25 to 50 years .

    Bullseye
    Red Dot
    IMR 700X
    Unique
    2400
    Alcan #5

    IMR 3031
    IMR 4895

    Truthfully I wouldn't be overly concerned with shelf life ... find it , buy it and store it in a cliamate controlled place ...it will last at the very least 25 years .

    I'm loading from a keg of 48 year old Unique and it's showing no signs of deterioration and there's about a pound left so I'm going finish using it up .
    Gary
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  14. #14
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    I have had IMR 4198 and 4320 both get dusty after only 30+ years. I got them in an estate sale so age is an estimate. Cost was $4.99 and $6.25 per the labels.
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  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    As a general rule, double-based powders tend to be more stable than single-based as the nitroglycerine acts as a stabilizer.
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  16. #16
    Boolit Master


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    If the powder is properly manufactured and stored it will last several decades if not centuries.
    I understand Alliant has stored some of the original Bullseye powder to use as a reference for current and future manufacturing. I think this powder is stored in water.
    During ww2 some powder was not properly rinsed and lead to a short life.
    I have used powder that approached 40 years with no problem.
    Keep it cool and dry (sealed container) and it will outlast you.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master elmacgyver0's Avatar
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    If stored properly, black will probably keep forever.

  18. #18
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    I think that plastic containers are too new to tell if they are better at keeping powder fresh. I'm still using some powders from the early 1970s that are in cardboard and metal cans. And it still works.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  19. #19
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    Old Powder

    Good evening,

    I have just received a 3lb can of Winchester 452AA and a 1lb can of Winchester 231. Both from a friend cleaning out his Dad’s basement. Both were sealed and are as fresh as the day they were produced. Guessing about 1980.....Click image for larger version. 

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    I am just finishing some HS6 in a paper container I have no idea how old it is? My best guess is 1960...ish??
    I also have some IMR4198 in a double paper bag from 1981. We used to get powder in a bag from the range when I was starting to reload. On Saturday you went to the club house and asked for powder. They asked what you were reloading for, rifle had 3 different powders, shotgun had 2 and pistol had 1. Told them I was reloading 30-30 and gave him my $2.00 for powder and got a bag of powder and a Card with a maximum grains for 30-30. Same with pistol 38 Wadcutters $1.00 got a small bag of powder(Bullseye)with maximum 3grs with Club Wadcutters....another post I told how we would cast up 10’s of thousands as a group and those that worked got so many for helping....Spent a lot of time there on weekends!!

    Bullseye67

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy Rapidrob's Avatar
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    I still have a large amount WWI Cordite that is as good as the day it was made. Proper storage is the key.

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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