Rusty looking residue in powder?
- Thread starter JohnWayne
- Start date
Generally it is a sign that the powder is turning bad. I've seen it in military surplus powders such as 4895 and 4831 that are 40+ years old - or older. The red dust should actually be rust from the can caused by acid from the decaying powder. There should also be a stong acitone smell.
Bob
Bob
jonbearman
I live in new york state,how unfortunate !
Dont take a chance with a 2000.00 rifle or better.Give it to the ground away from smokers.
JohnWayne,
Gotta go with Jon here. The reddish dust is one of the classic signs that powder has gone bad, and needs to be destroyed. Another that you'll frequently see is what appears to be "dust bunnies" accompanying the reddish dust. As has already been mentioned, that acetone smell will turn to a more acrid, unpleasant odor. Regardless it's foolish economy to try tor save a few bucks on powder, while risking a rifle, and more importantly, your face and shoulder sitting in such close proximity to that chamber. Toss it out, immediately.
At only five or six years old, I'm guessing there was a storage problem with this powder somewhere along the line. I've used powder several times that old (decades older, in fact) that shot as well as the day it was produced. I've also seen much newer powders that were improperly stored and went bad. Makes a big difference, and is why storage conditions need to be monitored so closely.
Gotta go with Jon here. The reddish dust is one of the classic signs that powder has gone bad, and needs to be destroyed. Another that you'll frequently see is what appears to be "dust bunnies" accompanying the reddish dust. As has already been mentioned, that acetone smell will turn to a more acrid, unpleasant odor. Regardless it's foolish economy to try tor save a few bucks on powder, while risking a rifle, and more importantly, your face and shoulder sitting in such close proximity to that chamber. Toss it out, immediately.
At only five or six years old, I'm guessing there was a storage problem with this powder somewhere along the line. I've used powder several times that old (decades older, in fact) that shot as well as the day it was produced. I've also seen much newer powders that were improperly stored and went bad. Makes a big difference, and is why storage conditions need to be monitored so closely.
Just don't do that with black powder. When I was younger, much younger, I emptied my black powder flask box out and there was a small amount of powder in the bottom. I poured it out in a small little pile and threw matches at it. Not being able to hit the pile with a stray match, I grabbed my Bic lighter and reached out and lit it. Needless to say, I have never ever never done that again. The reaction time differance of burning Black compaired to Smokless is some what astonishing. :-[JohnWayne said:
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