Mixing powders , danguras or usable ?

Chatrbaz84

Chatrbaz84

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Hi guys. After years of reloading I had many live rounds at first year that I had problems with , some didn't go into chamber , some bad shape and form , some wrong load data and.....

I decided to unload them all , over 100 rounds.
Now I have almost 1lb powder.
All were loaded for 308
Bullets 147 fmj 168 and 175 smk
And mixed brass.


Now I have 1lb powder mixed
As long as remember my guess is approx
40% varget
30% 4895 imr
2% bcl2
20% 4064
8% reloader 15


Any luck or chance that I can reuse them ?
 
Chatrbaz84 said:
Hi guys. After years of reloading I had many live rounds at first year that I had problems with , some didn't go into chamber , some bad shape and form , some wrong load data and.....

I decided to unload them all , over 100 rounds.
Now I have almost 1lb powder.
All were loaded for 308
Bullets 147 fmj 168 and 175 smk
And mixed brass.


Now I have 1lb powder mixed
As long as remember my guess is approx
40% varget
30% 4895 imr
2% bcl2
20% 4064
8% reloader 15


Any luck or chance that I can reuse them ?
Click to expand...

It is safe to do if there's a minor degree of contamination of two powders close to each other in Burn Rate, in which case you load it according to loads for the fastest powder in the mix, e.g. 80% IMR4064 and 20% IMR4985 - load as if it was IMR4895. People have carelessly thrown one pound of one powder in with 3-4 pounds of another and were able to salvage $200 worth of powder that way.

However, in this situation, even I wouldn't do that, although I doubt that disaster would result.
 
The answer is yes & no.
I have found over the years and after research that some powders are Very similar.
Most 22lr powder matches up with Bullseye powder,..as well E3 powder is very close to bullseye.
If a person does his home work " burn rate ECT" you certainly can dabble.

I have never mixed "3" powders together.
You MUST have a Clear understanding about the powders your mixing.
Any time that I'm experimenting , I load on the LOW side of the scale.

OP....sounds like you have a Heck of a mixture going on there LOL I personally wouldnt use it.
 
Given how many variables and problems and issues the OP has with his initial handloads, I think it's safe to assume he shouldn't be experimenting with a pound of various random mixed powders, regardless of whether or not they're close on the burn chart.
 
Aside from the risks even if you were successful in working up loads with your mix all the load development would be wasted once you burned through your 1 lb...

Imagine the amount of reloading and range time, number of bullets and primers you went through to develop your loads for only 1 lb has to make you come to the conclusion that this is a baaaaaaaaaaad idea.
 
I know of a case were a HEAVY DUTY CUSTOM , $6,000. bench rest rifle blew up with a bad reload.
The barrel bulged @ the chamber & caused the receiver ring to also bulge. Action was seazed
shut & needed to be cut apart latter. Lots of wood splintered into shooters face, luckily with
no serious harm to shooter or bystanders. A bad reload was to blame. Don't fool with reloading.
Follow the procedures exactly.
 
I like to play with fire (literally) so I dump unknown messes like this into a paper bag. When we had social lives I'd take a few ounces with me to a evening bonfire get together and wow the kids with pinches of powder (that they couldn't see in the dark as I threw into fire) feigning to be a fire whisperer. Smarter kids, older kids caught on but it was still fun for them to watch. Fertilizing the lawn works but not as fun. The gist is it's your life and equipment, but given the background story you told us write off the loss and start fresh.

And in case you were just being a clown... you could sit down with a pair of tweezers and separate the millions of kernels into their respective types and resume use as normal.
 
I was given a pile of unknown loaded 270 and 7mm rem once. Some of the bullets where in backwards, primers proud, etc. I pulled it for the brass. Then added the powder to my fertilizer spreader when I was doing the lawn. Don't play with the unknown.
 
What I am the most curious about is how 100 rounds of pulled 308s yielded a 1 lb of powder ?

We all can agree that 1 lb = 7,000 grains ..... so roughly an average of 70 grains per case ? :confused:

As for using said batch of powder for reloading.... personally I wouldn't use for a gun that I hated.

As for using said batch of powder as fertilizer... go ahead it WON'T do anything.

I know two long time, knowledgeable farmers who also reload and I trust their judgement when they say that powder is not at all an effective fertilizer.
 
Now is the time to start a waste powder container. I use an empty 1 lb with the label removed and a new label stating "mixed powder". When it's full I'll bring it camping for my idiot friends to scare each other with around the fire.
 
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