gunpowder life expectancy

[irishtoo]

in round numbers, about how long is the useful life of gunpowder? i know with black powder almost forever, but what about smokeless? im stocking unique and 3031. this is stored well, cool, dry and dark. opinions? thank you irishtoo

[bangerjim]

.......until it won't burn! If stored in air-tite, light-tite containers in cool dry environment, it should last many decades.

[adkpete]

I'm still shooting some IMR 4831 from 1975 so I would say at least 40 years.

[9w1911]

Ive shot Unique from the 60's in 2015

[NSB]

Hodgdon started out selling WW2 surplus powder and was still selling that surplus into the 70s when it ran out. I have powder that's over forty years old and it still shoots as well as it always did. I think if stored properly it will last a lot longer than you will.

[WALLNUTT]

I'm still using some H4831 from WWII someone gave me. No problem.

[Outpost75]

Double-based powders are more shelf-stable than single base. I am using up 50 year-old Hercules Bullseye now which is as good as it ever was. But 4198 and 4227 bought about the same time and stored under the same conditions went sour. Most important is to protect from ambient temperatures over 80 degs. F for any extended time. I am still using WW2 era cal. .30 ammunition which is still as good as it ever was, which was stored in a below ground bunker, raised off the concrete floor on pallets, in original GI crates, covered with a shelter half since out there in 1948, the year I was born. Dad planned ahead.

[358 Win]

Single based powders like the IMR stick powders don't last as long as double based powders that contain mytroglycerin. With that said, I bought 16 pounds of ACC MR-3100 powder in 1978 and I'm down to my last two pounds. It still looks good, smells good, tastes good, and works just as well today as it did in 1978. I'm also using two pounds of WWII 4831 that a friend gave me and works spectacular in my .270 Winchesters. I also store my powder in a dark, cool and dry environment.

358 Win

[Ken in Iowa]

I have been using a lot of Hercules and DuPont pistol powders from the 60s and 70s. No troubles.

We recently opened a can of TW54 30/06 ball. It was stored in a dry basement for 40 years then in an unheated Iowa garage for the last 15. I was concerned about it.

After disassembling a few rounds, the powder looked great. It was IMR4895 as determined by charge weight and appearance. Fired a few rounds over the chronograph. Velocities and pressures looked normal.

On the flip side, I had a can of IMR4198 that went bad in less than 5 years. :(

[starnbar]

I got some pull down military powder that my uncle gave me he told me to use IMR4895 data he gave me that powder in 63 it was packaged in brown paper bags I put it in a foot locker and I still load with it.

[Vopie]

I have used a lot of " old " or surplus powders over the years and have only had two containers go bad. One was a glass jar of 4320 that was bad when I purchased an estate of powders etc. The other was a "factory" can of 4198 . In fact have better than 20 + lbs. of a 50 lb. keg of war surplus H-4831. Don't know when it was originally purchased but I've been shoot'en it since the 90's. Still as good as the first shot out of it.

[Eddie2002]

Been using IMR 4350 in the old metal cans which were priced $9.95 per can with no problems. Picked them up at a gun show last year and got some funny looks when I stuffed my nose in each can to smell the powder. I'm guessing they have to be from the late 60's or early 70's. Got three cans for $20.00 and one was opened. As long as it looks and smells OK use it. Try a few test loads if in doubt but powder when stored right lasts a real long time.

[Artful]

My understanding is that the factory keeps some of the original lot of each powder to compare currently made lots of powder against from time to time. If they still have
samples of original run of Bullseye powder created in 1898 or Unique Powder from 1900. then it's good for over 100 years - though my understanding is that they keep it in sealed container under water and dry it out for testing - or so goes the story as I read it.

[clearwater]

My understanding is that the factory keeps some of the original lot of each powder to compare currently made lots of powder against from time to time. If they still have
samples of original run of Bullseye powder created in 1898 or Unique Powder from 1900. then it's good for over 100 years - though my understanding is that they keep it in sealed container under water and dry it out for testing - or so goes the story as I read it.

Using Granddad's Dupont Pistol powder #6 from the 50's in 38 special and it is very consistent.
Using Norma Powders with prices of $3.35 on the can, they also shoot nice groups, good SD.
My Dad and Granddad always stored these powders in the basement in thick wooden boxes.

[leadman]

Artful, many years ago there was an article in a gun rag along with a picture of the Bullseye under water in a glass enclosure.

I am still using some WWII 4931 with no problems. More accurate than new 4831 in my 1960s Savage 110 30-06 with the Hornady 180gr bullet.

[Bullwolf]

The History of the Laflin & Rand Smokeless powder company document is available on Castpics.net as a PDF file.

It's a very interesting read

Hercules and the Laflin & Rand Heritage Powders (http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/GeneralReference/L&R-Smokeless.pdf)

http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/GeneralReference/L&R-Smokeless.pdf

On Page 13 - There is a picture and some text about a double based powder sample of Infallible/Unique from 1899, that's been stored underwater.

This nearly-century-old, double-based gunpowder is stored under distilled water to protect it from deterioration, because stabilizers, for long-term storage were not introduced before about *1910.

*DO NOT store today's powders under water. Refer to SAAMI bulletin on the properties and storage of smokeless powders.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141849&d=1433994765

Periodically ballistic engineers (from what is now Alliant) remove and dry a small amount and test fire it. Amazingly it still performs almost to its original specifications.


The rest of the text from page 13 is quoted below for those who can not view PDF extensions.



Hercules and the Laflin and Rand Heritage Powders.

When we talk about consistency, we don't just mean from batch to batch.

We mean over a century or so.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141849&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1433994765

This antique bottle of gunpowder sits in the Ballistic Laboratory outside the office of our Chief Technical Information Representative at the Alliant Techsystems plant in Kenvil, New Jersey. The Powder was manufactured at this same plant in 1899, when the company was known as Laflin and Rand Powder Company. That was 13 years before it became the Hercules Powder Company, and 97 years before it became Alliant Powders. This nearly-century-old, double-based gunpowder is stored under distilled water to protect it from deterioration, because stabilizers for long-term storage were not introduced before about *1910. Periodically our ballistic engineers dry a small amount and test fire it in a 12 gauge test load. Amazingly, it still performs almost to its original specifications. The jar of powder is there to remind us not only of the long and proud tradition of our company, but of the commitment we have to consistency. We never forget that reloaders must be able to count on consistent and repeatable performance from their powders - lot after lot, year after year. In an age of fads and constant change when it comes to powder there's something to be said for the absolute, unchanging predictability of yesterday's and today's propellants from Alliant.
*DO NOT store today's powders under water. Refer to SAAMI bulletin on the properties and storage of smokeless powders.

Page from a 1996 Reloader's Guide immediately after Hercules sold their smokeless powder business to Alliant.

The Infallible/Unique powder in this jar was actually manufactured at Laflin & Rand's Pomton Lakes (Haskel, New Jersey) plant about 25 miles north east of Kenvil, New Jersey. The jar still exists in 2007 and was moved to Alliant's New River plant in Radford, Virginia. Originally there were two of these jars, but one of them has not been seen in many years.

The label on the front reads:
Unique Smokeless Powder
This powder was placed in water on
June 26, 1899.
Renewed:
August 13, 1917
August 6, 1981.







- Bullwolf

[358 Win]

You guys correct me if I'm wrong but it's my understanding that when powder goes south, the pressures and velocities fall off, they don't go up causing a KA-BOOM. That's why a chronograph is such a valuable tool for our hobby.

358 Win

[Jim_P]

The OP asked about Gunpowder. Wouldn't that mean Holy Black and nothing to do with smokeless?

Properly stored Holy Black (gun powder) will last a century or more. Cartridges made for the revolutionary war are still being fired today.

[twc1964]

I have a bottle of 748 powder that is marked 1964. I have used it in many 5.56 loads and it still shoots great. If it smells like solvent and doesnt have a funky acrid stink then you are good.

[jonp]

Since rusting is no longer a problem with plastic containers does anyone think the lifespan will increase to that of glass jars or will the plastic cause something else to come up?

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Several years ago a friend gave me 4 six pound cans of Hercules powder. One can was called Lighting and it looked like very small donuts. I didn't detect any foul odor or see any sign of rust so I loaded some rounds for one of my 06 rifles and it shot very well although rather dirty. The label on all four cans gave the date of manufacture as Nov. 1939. I don't know when the stopped making that powder but I have an Ideal reloading manual from 1955 and it does not list any loads using it.

[clearwater]

You guys correct me if I'm wrong but it's my understanding that when powder goes south, the pressures and velocities fall off, they don't go up causing a KA-BOOM. That's why a chronograph is such a valuable tool for our hobby.

358 Win

Some of the solvent can evaporate, I have been told, so velocity can go up per weight of charge.

[coyotewacker]

I have less than a pound of a 16# keg of Bullseye given to me in 1968 by a old lady on my paper route her husband passed away in 1955...it still works great in 38 wadcutters....going to need to break down and pick up a couple pounds.....

[Shiloh]

Cool, dry, consistent.

A long, long time. My supply of acquired older powders from the 60's was used up around 2010. Bullseye and Unique. Still have a Hercules Blue Dot.
I'm sure it is just as good as the others. Several of the shooters/reloaders I learned from had powder that was many decades old. I started loading in the late 70's, very early 80's.
Cool, dry consistent is the key. Some say dark as well. My basement is dark enough.


Shiloh