Rhett Steele
New member
I bought an old metal tin of imr 4198. It has never been opened. Will it be ok?
Old powder ?
- Thread starter Rhett Steele
- Start date
JoeyJ
New member
It will probably be about as good as new.
If you open it, the smell should be smoothing, as a gun powder junkie would say. If it has a rancid, ammonia type smell - it's garden fertilizer material - and will probably have a reddish top layer to the powder. As arlaunch advised, there will be a fine dust when pouring the powder into a container/powder measure.
I have used Hodgdon powder that was made from surplus WW2 powder and it was excellent - purchased back in the late 60's in quantity and finally used up in the early 90's. When shot over a chrony, I never saw a difference that would amount to anything except maybe the temperature of that day.
Having said all that - I did purchase a couple cases of IMR 4350 back in the mid-'70s in the off brown colored metal can with red cap. 8 pounds went bad on me after 25 years. I still had about 1.5 pounds of that powder in a plastic pill bottle container that I used/mounted on my Sinclair adapter for the Lyman 55 power measure with the Culver insert - that powder was as good as new when I discovered the remaining IMR-4350 was bad - so I and a couple others who have had trouble with that powder in those metal can containers think it was the inside coating of the can that caused the powder deterioration - of course IMR denied that assumption.
If you open it, the smell should be smoothing, as a gun powder junkie would say. If it has a rancid, ammonia type smell - it's garden fertilizer material - and will probably have a reddish top layer to the powder. As arlaunch advised, there will be a fine dust when pouring the powder into a container/powder measure.
I have used Hodgdon powder that was made from surplus WW2 powder and it was excellent - purchased back in the late 60's in quantity and finally used up in the early 90's. When shot over a chrony, I never saw a difference that would amount to anything except maybe the temperature of that day.
Having said all that - I did purchase a couple cases of IMR 4350 back in the mid-'70s in the off brown colored metal can with red cap. 8 pounds went bad on me after 25 years. I still had about 1.5 pounds of that powder in a plastic pill bottle container that I used/mounted on my Sinclair adapter for the Lyman 55 power measure with the Culver insert - that powder was as good as new when I discovered the remaining IMR-4350 was bad - so I and a couple others who have had trouble with that powder in those metal can containers think it was the inside coating of the can that caused the powder deterioration - of course IMR denied that assumption.
arlaunch
Active member
I had a buddy who only shoots overbore give me an 8lb metal container (factory) of IMR 3031. It had been opened but, barely used at all. Seemed full really.
I loaded it and shot it. unusually strong smell and a red fine dust residue in the the powder measure.
Velocities where still high, but everywhere.
I let it sit in my area for a couple of years. I read up on the powder manufactures recommendations about storage and such. One of the sites said that some powders can spontaneously combust after deterioration.
That was enough for me.
I just wanted it out of of my shop.
Lucky for you, this is not complicating. Open it up. Pour some out. The tiniest fraction of common sense will be your guide after that.
I loaded it and shot it. unusually strong smell and a red fine dust residue in the the powder measure.
Velocities where still high, but everywhere.
I let it sit in my area for a couple of years. I read up on the powder manufactures recommendations about storage and such. One of the sites said that some powders can spontaneously combust after deterioration.
That was enough for me.
I just wanted it out of of my shop.
Lucky for you, this is not complicating. Open it up. Pour some out. The tiniest fraction of common sense will be your guide after that.
