OLD CAN of IMR3031 SAFE ??

BWANA

BWANA

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I just came accross an OLD CAN of IMR3031 and was wondering if it was safe to reload.
How old is it ? There's a $8.95 price sticker on it!!
The killer is that when I opened it,it smells like regular IMR but it lets out a rusty cloud when poured out (apparently rust from the inside of the tin it came in.)
What say you ?
Pour it from one container to another a few times on a windy day(to get rid of the rust dust) and use it or dispose of it ?
 
The rusty dust says that it is on the way out. This is one of the signs of deteriorated powder, and as such, while not likely dangerous, may give less than desirable results. Use it to make a nice little fire in a safe place, or sprinkle it on your lawn as fertilizer. Regards, Eagleye.
 
I've had powder that showed red dust that was indeed from the inside of the can. Other that that, the powder (ammomart 44)shot fine.

If I had that can, I would experiment. But that's just me....;)
 
joe-nwt I had several pounds of that #44 powder from ammo mart. After a few years the cans all had rust on the inside. The powder still gave consistent results for several years and I stored it away, not giving it another thought. One day I walked into the room and there was, as CanAm states an acid smell. I had the paper/steel cans on metal shelves. The shelves were dripping rusticles from the gas given off by the deteriorating powder. There was also a sweet model 70 in 257Rob that I had recently shot with cartridges loaded with the #44 powder that was deteriorating, the results at the range were terrible but nothing seemed different. Upon inspection, the bore was almost plugged with rust. I had cleaned it but not with corrosive powder in mind. The barrel was ruined and had to be replaced.
I recently had some more surplus powder go bad. It was also from Higginsons. It was identical in loading to N160 and was great in my 338-06. This stuff also smelled acidic but also turned into a hard block and was sweating a clear oily substance.

BWANA, if you only have a pound of it, get rid of it, especially if there is a sharp odor at all. It's just not worth it. I don't think you will get a serious over pressure problem but ignition will be erratic at best. Just IMHO from the above experiences.

Just to be clear, the powder was fine when I got it. Higginsons sell a fine product and the blame for the powder deterioration rests squarely on me. I wish Higginsons would bring in more surplus powders. The room was to warm in the summer.
 
A friend who moved away left me a number of canisters of powder of about the same vintage- one tin of H110 also had an $8.895 sticker on it, so I'm guessing 1980's. It looked identical and was not clumped but smelled a little different than the little bit of H110 I still had left, but I was suspicious. So I put equal piles (about 20 gr.) of the new stuff and the old stuff on my concrete step and lit each one to see how they burned. They burned about the same but the residue was different; to my surprise he new stuff left a bit of ash but the old stuff left almost nothing. On that basis I decided not to risk it. It MIGHT be OK but I'd rather err on the side of caution.

:) Stuart
 
B said:
The first thing that popped into my mind was Nitroglycerine......
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emolsofied nitrocelulouse. (almost as bad as above). :rockOn:

Having said that, I've recently come into a few pounds of IMR 4064 in the old tins that coughed up red dust when I poured it out. I loaded twenty rounds of .308 and compared it with a fresher plastic can of same. Did not notice a differance in accuracy at 100metres.
Maybe just lucky. Who knows?
 
Hi Guys,
I have found all your responces very interesting and I thank you for same.
Bottom line is that I don't wish to damage the bore of my rifle with rust or acid so I will dispose of it elsewhere.
It's just not worth the possible results.

This spring a friend of mine found some VERY OLD FERTILIZER and decided to use it up on his lawn.Killed it like weed killer! I hate relpacing sod so I think I'll burn this stuff...

Thanks again.
 
The main reason powder "goes bad" is that the nitric acid they use in the manufacturing isn't completely neutralized. A TINY bit of rust from the can doesn't mean the powder is significantly deteriorated, but to be on the safe side........


We have some powder that has stickers for $3 to $4 pound!!
 
BWANA said:
..This spring a friend of mine found some VERY OLD FERTILIZER and decided to use it up on his lawn.Killed it like weed killer! ...
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Silly sod... you're supposed to dispose of old fertilizer by using it to load ammunition. It's the old POWDER that's supposed to go in the garden! :p

:) Stuart
 
As I have stated on here before, I still have, and use, H4831 powder made up from military powder left over after WW2. It is OK.
I also have the odd container of other powders purchased in the 1960s, which also is a Hodgdon surplus. I recently used some of that, a H4895, and it was no different than modern H4895.
 
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H4831 said:
As I have stated on here before, I still have, and use, H4831 powder made up from military powder left over after WW2. It is OK.
I also have the odd container of other powders purchased in the 1960s, which a also is a Hodgdon surplus. I recently used some of that, a H4895, and it was no different than modern H4895.
Click to expand...

Sounds like my old H110 might be safe to try at least. Poor performance I'm not worried about, only "surprisingly energetic" performance!

:) Stuart
 
josquin said:
Sounds like my old H110 might be safe to try at least. Poor performance I'm not worried about, only "surprisingly energetic" performance!

:) Stuart
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The "surprisingly energetic" could still result if the acid breaks down coatings etc, that are designed to regulate the speed of burn. The specific size of the powder granules also regulate the burning speed. However different powders use different methods to achieve their design burning rate.

So please don't assume that "degraded" = "poor performance"
 
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