Quote:
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.