I just dusted of my reloading equipment that has been stored for 12 years and found i still had still 1 lb of imr 4831 powder so as i asked around if it was safe to still use the conclusion was if theres no rust in the container and it looks good it should be ok after dumping my charge in my 243 winchester case and being uncertain of my new electronic scale i weighed my charges 2x until i feel safe with my new scale that is right on to my ballance beem I found at 44 grains the case was full . The laod density should be around 93 % can powder loose weight being stored that long. I have checked old reload data that i used from the same powder from that container in 243 loads before and never noticed this before am I loosing it or missing something
IMR 4831 getting bigger?
- Thread starter tim3500
- Start date
I have not used IMR 4831, but have used lots of H4831, starting out with the war surplus variety, not too long after Bruce Hodgdon brought it on the market.
It is common practice with 4831 to either tap the case as you feed powder into it, or use a drop tube. Either method will help compress the powder in the case as it goes in. If the powder ends up below the rim (top) of the case, the bullet will usually go in and stay in! If the case is completely full, the bullet may come out part way, after seating it.
I didn't think of all these things by myself. Jack O'Connor would often explain various ways to get 4831 in the case, in his writings in Outdoor Life. I first got the bit about the bullet pushing back out from his writings, also.
By the way, I still have some war surplus H4831 and will not hesitate to use it. As far as I am concerned, ten year old powder is new powder.
It is common practice with 4831 to either tap the case as you feed powder into it, or use a drop tube. Either method will help compress the powder in the case as it goes in. If the powder ends up below the rim (top) of the case, the bullet will usually go in and stay in! If the case is completely full, the bullet may come out part way, after seating it.
I didn't think of all these things by myself. Jack O'Connor would often explain various ways to get 4831 in the case, in his writings in Outdoor Life. I first got the bit about the bullet pushing back out from his writings, also.
By the way, I still have some war surplus H4831 and will not hesitate to use it. As far as I am concerned, ten year old powder is new powder.
When powder dries out, it gets faster.
If I had one poind of powder of a type that I knew i was going to use in the future, I would buy a 5 or 8 pound jug of it; add my 1 pound to the jug and shake.
The problem with one old pound is that the speed may be a bit differrent than a new lot of powder, so by the time you use that one pound to do some load dveleopment, you have finished the powder and have to start over with a new lot.
If I had one poind of powder of a type that I knew i was going to use in the future, I would buy a 5 or 8 pound jug of it; add my 1 pound to the jug and shake.
The problem with one old pound is that the speed may be a bit differrent than a new lot of powder, so by the time you use that one pound to do some load dveleopment, you have finished the powder and have to start over with a new lot.
good idea H4831 but i tryed doing the case tapping thing but beyond a dought the case was full and using barns 85 gr tsx bullets that sit quite far into the case i feel we are in the unsafe zone so i went to pick up some new powder and compair and yes there is a difference in density it just makes me wonder what happend to that powder in the last 10 or so years oh well i guess the lawn gets a little fertalizer
