Using Older Gun Powder? It's Fine...Provided... 

I also have some 40 year old powders that work just fine. I always stored them properly and have had no issues with them. Some of the cans still have the $4 or $5 price tags. Ah, the good old days.

I’m using quite a bit of powder bought in the late 80s when I started reloading. It’s still as good as the new powder.

I bought 50 lbs of older powder for $70 from an estate sale three years ago. A bunch of different kinds. All have worked fine so far.

Thank you. This is very timely, I was running short of various powder and came across an old batch of IMR 4064 and 4831, checked for rust and smell, turned out that my storage was good and all should be fine, I sure wish we could get powder today for the 70-80s pricing???Thanks again.

The wonders of modern chemistry... And the longevity of some of it!!

Man, I have a big old red metal can of Hercules that still makes bullets go bang. Alliant bought Hercules in 1994, judging from just the vintage look of this thing I'm betting it's probably a good 25 years older than THAT.

Knew a guy back in the 80's who opened an "old" powder container and was near an operating woodstove. The gases escaping when cracked open ignited around him, and he was burned on hands/arms. Be very careful and do not open near any flame sources.

I've been reloading for 45years and never had problems with any old powder or primers properly stored. a friend a few years back gave me a brick of open 22lr. I found it sold to army 1955 to 1957.still good. I've shot surplus military ammunition 60 to 85 tears old properly kept shot as good as the day it was made. proper storage the key. I also reload primers with great success but a very slow process. Papa wishing you well 😊

If you do need to dispose of smokeless powder use it as fertilizer. It works great.

Great video! May i add a couple FYIs and tips? Single base powders (only nitrocellulose) are going to be more inherently stable over long term. Double base powders have volatile nitro esters incorporated and will have a stabilizer such as di-phenylurea, Ethyl-centralite, di-phenylamine added. Their purpose is to grab onto any nitrogen dioxide free radicals that are generated from break down, which is usually going to be caused by excessive heat or contact with acid or bases. Any acrid odor or reddish vapor are NO2 and clear signs of break down. If one is in doubt, take a few grams of the powder, mix it with distilled water and wait for the powder to fall to the bottom and then check the water pH with papers or a pH meter; it should be neutral or near 7.0 If its acidic it is breaking down. If smokeless powder just gets wet or damp from humidity, it can he removed using silica gel dessicant in a sealed container.

Even WW2 ammo shoots old ammo may vary more.

I fired 1938 7 mm Mauser from my bolt gun for 25 years

Thank you for that information. I have a couple pounds of old powder that was given to me by an old friend. He is/was a long time reloader and now I will be able to confirm the quality of the powder.

Thanks for the sanity check!!

I'm still using WW 2 surplus I bought from Lolo Sporting Goods in the '70s!

I've found that if dust comes off of it when you pour it, it not very good, still goes bang but velocity drops

Great advise. I have some 20 year old powders that are kept sealed and dry. Never an issue

I once contacted Hogdon about some old powder that had a different color than what I was accustomed to and they assured me it was OK and that they were using powder from WW2 . I still have powder purchased in the 70's that is in good condition .

I have a cardboard containers of 8 pound cans from yesteryear. It works like new. Just make sure it’s not contaminated or deteriorating like you said. Good video. I had a one pound container I saw clumping. It had a copper bullet someone pulled and left in it. I tossed it out.

The forbidden pepper... shake well before use!

I have a can of 1882 Bull's-Eye made by Laflin & Rand. I've loaded both .38 Special and .32 Long Colt with it, using the THEN suggested loading data, since it contain less nitroglycerin, it takes a bit more powder, and burns a bit more dirty. (Which is why I NORMALLY load target loads with Green Dot). I had a .30 Caliber US Govt. (.30/40 Krag) rifle and with it I purchased 5000 rounds of 1870's surplus ammo. I never had a mis-fire or squibb or "fizzle-fire" of them. Loaded with DuPont #10 powder and corrosive (mercury fulminate) primers it said on the crates. I only sold the Krag because of the expensive 220 grain bullets and stupid old "inside primed" cases. If it doesn't smell acidic (nitric acid fumes showing break-down from poor storage), or is clumped and reddish, it's fine. I've re-loaded 1870's British Cordite in a Martini-Henry and it was fine!

Nice collectable cans. I have all my old cans once I used it all up. I would also add that if I came across some older powders, that I would start to reload at less than full loads and see what the outcome is in a firearm that is not near and dear to my heart.

I’ve been using 4831 from military surplus that I bought in the 60s. It’s in a 50 pound keg. Still has perfectly normal fps in my 300 weatherbyand o-6. Good powder.

I have some older IMR 4350 that has a rusty look. The can doesn't look rusted and there is no foul smell. Should I chuck it?

I check reloading powder by tipping a small amount onto a metal plate and put a match to it. If it burn/flares, it's OK to reloading. You could do the same test to New powder and compare the flares and the time it takes to burn. Load about 10 rounds to try them out.

I don't reload but I shoot cap and ball and have had no problem with 50 year old powder that I was given by an antique shop that got it with old guns that they bought .

I have a few unopened opened with seal tabs intact from 93 IMR 4895 One can was back the other two are very slightly brown looks exactly like H4895 in color. They have rust on the interior walls but no external rust I measured 3 grains of the black and brown ignited both The burn time and flame looked the same I am going to give 10 rounds a try

I agree and use old powder that passes the test. I will often work up my loads as if it was an all new powder just to be safe but that my process. Think about it this way, there is ammo that is from the beginning of the cartridge era that is still good to shoot. Probably worth way more as a collector item but I have fire some old stuff with no issues with far older powder inside than most "old stuff" found today.

A good test is smell... if the powder smells a bit like vinegar, it's deteriorating. Most fairly fresh powder smells a bit like cellulose paint thinner from the solvents used in its manufacture, so that's OK, but that sour vinegar smell is a dead giveaway.

The only trouble with old reloading components I've had was with some primers. They were PMC GREEN. Full brick of them bought at a gun show. They would "fire" but not hot enough to ignite the powder charge causing squibs. A little Google research revealed that they are crap primers and went into the burn barrel.

There was tons of 4831 left over and GrandDad used to buy bunches of it.

I did buy a few cans of opened gunpowder during covid and have been reluctant to use it. If I do I will likely test fire it remotely in a old, but supertight mauser 98 action to be sure. I would only use it if there was nothing else and I needed ammo for self defense. Otherwise I will not touch those cans. It is just not worth the risk, because if opened, and one can not be sure what is really in that container. Unopened, the various tests that you mentioned would be sufficient.

The same is true with new powder -- if you are using a numbered powder, make sure you're using data for the right one. 4350 has been around since the early 1980s, at least. IMR, Hodgdon, and Accurate all sell 4350 powders today, and they are similar, but not the same. There is Hodgdon H4985 and IMR 4895. I think Hodgdon bought out IMR at some point this century, I know Hercules was bought out at some point. Is it safe to use Aliiant data for your old Hercules powder? Are they the same, or only mostly the same?

Some notes: Never throw away good loading data just because it’s old, you might score some obsolete but perfectly fine powder and if you have data contemporary with it, you’ll have a good starting point. Double-Base powders contain a small amount of n. glycerin which is a volatile compound (it wants to evaporate), if not contained carefully. Stay away from the really old “stick” type n. Cellulose/guncotton propellants that looks like long, thin noodles. Even if you think you have applicable data, it’s dangerously unpredictable stuff. I was given 1lb of ancient but well-kept bullseye that was almost tossed. Very happily loaded thousands of consistent pistol rounds out of it over a further span of years. Primers also deserve the same considerations we are giving powder here, excepting, knowing whether or not they’re corrosive.

If the powder smell like ether then its most likely ok if it smells acidic burn it off somewhere I just used primers that was over 40 years old and they worked fine

You'll know when gun powder has gone bad. Had several cans of IMR-4831 I bought in the late 90s. Opened them around 2010. Whew! Sulphur odor was pungent.

I have a quantity of Noble shotgun powder . Cant find load data anywhere for this powder .

I had rust contaminated powder. I rolled the powder around in a plastic container. All the rust stuck to the container, the powder was clean.

If it’s not rusty it’s good brown dust while pouring

Bottom Line: If stored correctly they will most likely outlast you.

I hope it's a mistake. All I have is old, old powder.

Orbif its 20 years old