Old cans of Goex FFG, whats this stuff worth?
- Thread starter john@
- Start date
The marker was probably put there by the vendor or buyer to make it easier to find what you want when you have a box full of cans standing up and you can't see the sides, I've done it.
$25 is what I paid last year at a gun show
handofzeus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Trout Creekish Ontario.
Yes it can. Moisture is obviously a bad thing and can ruin it, but age makes BP unstable. I was once told that if you can see white crystals that have formed in or on BP to soak it with oil and dispose of it. I don't know how accurate that advice is......IF AT ALL, but I I do know that old powder becomes unstable and the safest way to store it is air -tight container in a fridge. Take it for what it's worth
handofzeus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Trout Creekish Ontario.
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handofzeus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Trout Creekish Ontario.
Like I said, take it for what it's worth. I'm pretty sure that BP becomes unstable with age, but I don't know if 5 years is considered 'old' or 85!! I'll admit that the more I read about the topic the more conflicting info I'm seeing! Some say it de-stabilizes over time and some say it gains potency (unless moisture gets it). I think it was one of my chemistry teachers that told about the crystalizing (saltpetre?) anyway, I would take a sample and try burning it in comparison to some newer stuff. If they both ignite the same everthings probably okay.
I also don't know how old is old. I do know that moisture is death for BP. I feel if the cans have been sealed and store in a cool dry location it should be just fine. But, a little testing may be in order. It wouldn't be worth more than today's prices if proves good.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
BP is a wounderful powder like said above there still power from the 1860's being used it can even get wet and dried out can be used (rescreening may be in order)
NorthCoastBigBore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Northwest BC (Rural) 103-I-##
I had a bunch of .45-90 and .45 Colt retrieved from a lake bottom from the remains of a trapper's cabin that had slid into the lake. Headstamps are tough to hammer down but were consistent with 1890's-early 1900s (this was in the 1980s so this is off the top of my head here) but from what other items we recovered from the cabin it had slid into the lake around or before the 1920s...
.45-90 was sealed and powder was dry, it burned with no issue.
.45 Colts were wet, the brass had corroded and allowed moisture in. We dried it out and it all went up with great energy.
Did not try shooting it but there was no doubt it at least retained it's basic properties. This is not of course scientific but...it did burn and was close to or older than 100 years at that point! No I'm not advocating shooting 100+ year old powder unless you've done your own indpendent research on that specific batch you have..."it's your fingers" face, etc...and those of anyone standing near ya.
The stuff in the OPs post, probably fine but do draw your own conclusion.
I recently blew off a pound or so in very similar cans to the OP I had here since the early 90s and forgot about. I got them passed to me then so they might have been 5 years old then, might have been 20. Worked fine in my Hawken.
Worth noting most of my cans including stuff I've boought locally in the past year also have felt marker on them, put there by (I presume) the vendor as someone else suggested, to help ID the cans from different angles in the store.
.45-90 was sealed and powder was dry, it burned with no issue.
.45 Colts were wet, the brass had corroded and allowed moisture in. We dried it out and it all went up with great energy.
Did not try shooting it but there was no doubt it at least retained it's basic properties. This is not of course scientific but...it did burn and was close to or older than 100 years at that point! No I'm not advocating shooting 100+ year old powder unless you've done your own indpendent research on that specific batch you have..."it's your fingers" face, etc...and those of anyone standing near ya.
The stuff in the OPs post, probably fine but do draw your own conclusion.
I recently blew off a pound or so in very similar cans to the OP I had here since the early 90s and forgot about. I got them passed to me then so they might have been 5 years old then, might have been 20. Worked fine in my Hawken.
Worth noting most of my cans including stuff I've boought locally in the past year also have felt marker on them, put there by (I presume) the vendor as someone else suggested, to help ID the cans from different angles in the store.
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handofzeus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Trout Creekish Ontario.
I always wondered why Goex uses the metal cans. First off there's the spark hazard, then of curse the deteriorization factor. Rusted cans let in moisture. You'd think plastic would be the way to go. (sorry for the hijack)
Plastic creates static electricity. The idea with tin is it can be theoretically grounded.
I've hauled fuel and oil over the years. Plastic pails for catching spillage, is a no-go. Metal pails only that have a grounding strap.
