Shelf life of H-4227?

[clement_1]

I have a couple of older 1 lb. canisters of Hodgdon's H4227---the old fashioned green, black and red cardboard cylindrical canisters. The powder is made in Scotland...! Probably for Canadian consumption.

Any idea if this powder becomes unstable or loses its potency with age (sounds like some people I know...present company excepted).

I've got two pounds and I'd like to load up some .357 .

 

[Infidel+7.62]

Is the powder still black and loose in the can? I have stored my powders in cool dry places and I think it is going to out last me. I still have a partial can of surplus H-4831 that was made during WW-2 and it still burns just fine, with very tight groups on my 25-06.

Watch for discoloration of the powder, I understand it turns a rusty red color and clumps together. I have never had powder go bad on me because I am very careful how it is stored.

I pulled some bullets on some very old discolored 5.56 and found part of the powder closest to the bullet a gray color and small clumps clinging to the base of the bullet. I think that the powder reacted with the lead base of the bullet, forming a form of lead oxide.

Who knows how this ammo was stored, I bought it dirt cheap and pulled a couple of slugs and then decided to pull it all down for the brass and slugs after seeing the powder.

I have a 20 pound keg of IMR-4831 that I bought in 1974 for $ 53.00 when I first got into reloading. The seal has never been broken and it is still loose in the can. This keg has always been stored in a cool dry place. It is not how old the powder is, but the storage conditions.

 

[FlaSport]

Old powder

Powders, properly stored can/will last a very long time. I just reloaded about 2 pounds of "Hodgdon TRAP 100" powder that I must have had for about 25 years and which was probably on the shelf for that long before I bought it! Thanks to some members here that had access to some old reloading manuals, I was able to use it all up. Of course, I tested a small sample by burning, smelled to see if it was still good, and test fired a few rounds before I actually loaded them all up.

 

[jarhead jim]

I've been shooting Alcan 5 and 8 that was made in the early 60's. It shoots just fine. Heat and moisture are your worse enemies. My uncle had this powder in a garage with no windows or doors.

Jim