whats the oldest powder you have used?

That may well be it. The batch of stuff I got also included some 2400 and I had zip for issues with it too. Not sure what base that is but it aged well.
 
BCRider said:
All but one of mine were factory sealed as well. And if opened and used promptly they seemed pretty good. But I found that it went bad MUCH faster than anything new will do from exposure. Being Bullseye and using it for hand gun reloading each can lasted a long time over many sessions.

Bottom line? Use it for practice ammo and keep a brass range rod and something to use the rod for knocking bullets out of your bores. There is a good chance that it won't be superb.

The oddball thing is that there was no rhyme or reason to which would ignite just fine and which would not. The rounds were all from the same can but I'd still get roughly 1 in 50 squibs where, as I found out in two cases, the powder simply did not ignite from the flash of the primer. It was very odd.

I finished up the last 100 or so as slow fire practice rounds. Had two or three squibs in that last batch. But as it was just for slow fire practice it wasn't a big deal to sigh and get the rod and hunk of steel bar out again.

The other oddball thing is that the ones which did fire were fine. It wasn't like there was a big difference in muzzle velocity or anything. It was either good or it just didn't light off.

If this is putting you off I wouldn't blame you if you fertilize the garden with the Unique as well. The opened but nearly full can of Unique I still have. I've used it for fire forming rifle casings for my single shot rifle. It went BANG! consistently. So it's possible that Unique isn't as sensitive to age as Bullseye.
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Good info- I'll keep an eye on it, thanks.
 
I used up a keg of blue dot that came out of a fibre drum that was made by Hercules powder. My guess was it was made in the early '60s. Wasn't the best but it did work for many thousand rounds...
 
I used up the last of some H4831 that was at least 50 years old.

Also cleaned up some old Norma 205 that I had about ½ tin of.

These worked exactly as they did all through the years.

While I have had some powders deteriorate, this is rather rare...stored properly, they tend to keep well.

Regards, Dave.
 
Dave, I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but Norma 205 is not one of their oldest powders.
The first Norma GunBug Guide, the one I used to start reloading, did not have Norma 205. 204 was their slowest powder.
After I had been loading for a year or two, using Norma components almost exclusively, Norma introduced their 205, with great fanfare, but it sure lived up to the hype.
Another strange thing is we have always been told that Norma introduced their replacement for 205, what did they call it, NMP, or some such designation, because 205 was unstable with temperature changes. Within the last few weeks I was reading an article in an old book about tests being done to find temperature change with various powders and it stated that Norma 205 actually showed a sleight increase in velocity, as temperatures lowered to the 30 below area!
Bruce
 
H4831 said:
Dave, I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but Norma 205 is not one of their oldest powders.
The first Norma GunBug Guide, the one I used to start reloading, did not have Norma 205. 204 was their slowest powder.
After I had been loading for a year or two, using Norma components almost exclusively, Norma introduced their 205, with great fanfare, but it sure lived up to the hype.
Another strange thing is we have always been told that Norma introduced their replacement for 205, what did they call it, NMP, or some such designation, because 205 was unstable with temperature changes. Within the last few weeks I was reading an article in an old book about tests being done to find temperature change with various powders and it stated that Norma 205 actually showed a sleight increase in velocity, as temperatures lowered to the 30 below area!
Bruce
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Yes, Bruce, I was aware of the fact that N205 was introduced after N204 and, I believe, 200, 201 & 203.

I also have read the info regarding N205 increasing velocity slightly in low temps.

I believe the real reason Norma replaced N205 with MRP was the fact that there were some lot-to-lot variations in N205 that
many reloaders did not appreciate. Bob Hagel makes mention of it in his Handbook.

A number of years ago, I talked to a technician at Norma Precicision in Amotfors, Sweden, and he said that
N205, MRP & Bofors RP-5 were all basically the same powder.

I have quite a bit of MRP/RP-5 laid in, and am using it exactly the same as I did N205, with similar results.

Regards, Dave.
 
Tinman; You'll notice that that cardboard container says "Ammomart" on it.

That is the previous name of Higginson's Powder.

Still earlier, the outfit was known as Xelex Explosives.

Several of us began patronizing the original company when they were importing European ammo, particularly 22 rimfire stuff at phenomenal prices. [1950's]

I have bought and used Nobel powders numbered 41, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 & 49 by Thomas Higginson [I still have a quantity of 47]

Regards, Dave.
 
Alcan AL-5 and AL-7 as well as Dupont bulk smokeless shotgun powder...as long as you have proper load data from the era the powder was made and it looks and smells good, use it. ( I do reduce loads slightly when useing older powders ).
 
The first powder I loaded was that WWII-surplus non-canister 4831. Somewhere in the late '90s I found that the last of it had started going off with that acidic odor and a bit of reddish color (It had been a while since I had last used it). I was irritated more on principle because I thought I'd stored it adequately, than for the loss of ~1/2lb of a powder that I could never again match exactly.

Regards,
Joel
 
I have DuPont 3031 in the Red and White can...unopened...it was my Dads...I'm 71. I also have several sealed cans of IMR 3031 it's my go to powder for 308 Win with 150 gr. bullets.
 
Eagleye said:
I used up the last of some H4831 that was at least 50 years old.

Also cleaned up some old Norma 205 that I had about ½ tin of.

These worked exactly as they did all through the years.

While I have had some powders deteriorate, this is rather rare...stored properly, they tend to keep well.

Regards, Dave.
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Dave thanks for the info, I knew it was old but not that old!!!

It's been well stored and it's all gone bang thus far so I'll keep loading it til it's all gone.
 
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