I have some just opened RE19 in the old silver canister with the plastic pull out spout. I was thinking about using it in my 338 WM loads, but had questions about its age. Its storeage history has been very stable and it was unopened. I just broke the seal and took a sniff. Smells normal. Anything to be concerned about?
Old powder
- Thread starter mtang45
- Start date
Yes , use it or send it to me for testing.
choot it
old powder ?? my brother bought this can in the early 1970's most likely 71. never been opened. bet you wish powder was this cheep .
I have several Dupont-IMR cans (4350, 4064, 4198...) from the 70's that I inherited from my dad. Don't intend on using them, just keeping as a reminder of learning reloading as a kid. All of them have price tags under $5.
Reloder 19 hasn't even been in existence long enough to be "too old"!!! That is if it's been closed up. I have an old paper 8 pound canister of Red Dot {does any one have any idea how long it takes to go thru 8 pounds of Red Dot???...Neither do I} that is from the late 60's...still works just fine.
I am using RL 15 - that is 10 yrs old and it's the same as always. darn good. fwiw. not an expert - but glad to know it's good still. also VV N 135. Same uh vintage. I "sniff "it.. seems OK, shoots great.Thanks guys! Think I'll choot it
D-4297
Gold $$ Contributor
Have a metal can similar to those posted , of IMR 4831 . Orange & white can , and never opened . The original price tag still in place , of $17.99 , and a sale price sticker of $11.99 . Original seller was a now-defunct sporting goods store in Prescott or Prescott Valley , Az...Guessing from the price , Vintage to be early to mid 80's .
Yep use it. Totally fine.
I can say I have actually tried some powder that had actually gone bad. It was some REALLY old IMR 3031 in a can that had been not so tightly capped for at least 15-20 years. When poured it gave off some rust colored dust. Surprisingly it still did ignite and shoot OK but I wouldn't do it again, and consistency was poor. In my experience ball powders and double base powders seem to store better than the single base IMR stick powders.
I can say I have actually tried some powder that had actually gone bad. It was some REALLY old IMR 3031 in a can that had been not so tightly capped for at least 15-20 years. When poured it gave off some rust colored dust. Surprisingly it still did ignite and shoot OK but I wouldn't do it again, and consistency was poor. In my experience ball powders and double base powders seem to store better than the single base IMR stick powders.
IMR; Improved Rifle Powder..good to know. At $3.45 it was about 2 hours pay at minimum wage in 1970. Fast forward to today and twice the minimum wage is about $15.00. And now it becomes crystal clear what happened to the middle class in America! If not, just ask a Baby Boomer and they'll tell you. 
shoot4fun
Gold $$ Contributor
Here's the question of the day.
Did minimum wage hike cause powder to go up or did powder go up because minimum wage did?
Here's the question of the day.
Did minimum wage hike cause powder to go up or did powder go up because minimum wage did?
To answer your question, YES!!
shoot4fun
Gold $$ Contributor
I think you were on stage at the demoncrap debate last night!
HAHAHAHAHA
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