Disposing of Old Smokeless Powder-Photos

[Dave Way]

So I had 9 open cans of old powder on the shelf. The total weight was about 6 lbs. I figured I may as well enjoy getting rid of it. Everything from Trail Boss to H380 to Reloader 25 and others in between. Duration of the burn was about 9 seconds. You can see the match in the air on the first photo.











The flames reached over 10’. Please give some thought about where and how you have your powder stored. I know I am.

Dave.

 

[Dub]

very cool photos! and yes you should evaluate your storage techniques

 

[Mark M.]

Outstanding

 

[1K6BRA]

I think I see my ex’s face in that second photo!

 

[geo.ulrich]

My old shooting friend jeff ely found out the hard way at the super shoot yrs. ago he poured powder into a measure and put the jug by his feet without the cap. loading away he finished a smoke and threw it down sure enough it went into the jug and lit him up his skin literally melted off him.. it was the last match he shot....

 

[antelopedundee]

I don't have oodles of powder, but I just sprinkle it around the lawn to get rid of it.

 

[abishai]

I mix mine with flour and use it to smoke out gophers . That's a pretty impressive sparkler though

 

[Outrider27]

Now I know why the Navy sent me to firefighting school, lol.

 

[cheek9075]

Dont try it with black powder....

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Powder lighting off is very violent as your pics show. Look up a sparkler bomb on youtube if you want to see what seemingly innocent pyros can do in the right situation

 

[snert]

How "old" can Trail Boss or 25 be??

Im still using H380 from 1991 and 3031 from early 50's

 

[Dave Way]

How "old" can Trail Boss or 25 be??

Im still using H380 from 1991 and 3031 from early 50's

Just powders I had on hand that will likely never be used again. Some were dated some were not. Oldest dated powder was 1995 as I recall. All had been opened so I would never sell them.

Dave.

 

[1shot]

I'm thinking Why would you throw old powder away? I shot my first clean at 600 using IMR 4064 powder in a metal can that had a $9.75 price sticker on it! It had to be 30+ years old.

Lloyd

 

[JSH]

1995? Old?

 

[edwardware]

All had been opened so I would never sell them.

I could understand that position if it were underwear, but why propellant?

All of the pistol powder (and much of the rifle powder) I've burned in the past 10 years was 'used'. For an average cost of 50% of retail, I'm happy.

 

[Link]

Dave , Great photo work :}

Don

 

[Dave Way]

To answer all the recent “old” and “why” questions, powder is a relatively inexpensive component in the grand scheme of things. As far as why I wouldn’t sell it, liability. I have no issue with selling sealed cans of powder that is only a few years old.

The risk of having this sit around, likely unused for another 20 years was not worth it in my opinion. As there is no accurate way to judge when a powder has deteriorated, I would rather err on the side of caution. Maybe it’s all the safety training at work these days, but I have no qualms about destroying it.

Dave.

 

[gambleone]

I mix mine with flour and use it to smoke out gophers . That's a pretty impressive sparkler though

Like to hear the mix ratio of this.
Sounds like it would work real good.

 

[1K6BRA]

Hey, it’s my powder and I want to burn it now!

 

[Joe Maisto]

How "old" can Trail Boss or 25 be??

Im still using H380 from 1991 and 3031 from early 50's

I too, used those two powders in my Obermeyer barreled Rem. 760 - in 35 Whelen in the 60's. 3031 was my go to powder . It worked (reasonably) well in the PPC too, ( except for the metering )...