Disposing of old powder

[jlorensen]

Good morning All,

While cleaning up the basement yesterday, I came across 2 cans of fff black powder and about a 1\4 can of IMR4350....no idea how old. What's a proper way to dispose of these?

Thanks!

 

[roostercogburn98]

Long trail of it into a pile and throw a match on it.

or you could just drown it and throw it away but option 1 is much more fun.

 

[LuvDog]

add it to you soil for lawn or garden

 

[Deleted member 113831]

Good morning All,

While cleaning up the basement yesterday, I came across 2 cans of fff black powder and about a 1\4 can of IMR4350....no idea how old. What's a proper way to dispose of these?

Thanks!

I had 5lbs to dispose of once. I put it in an old ammo can and backed off 100 yards and shot it with a 308Win....

I should have backed off 200 yards. The mushroom cloud was impressive!

That is also when I realized just how much I loved Arizona. I literally set off a bomb, and nobody even came to find out what had happened.

 

[clcustom1911]

I put old stuff on the lawn. The nitrogen is good for plants and such.

 

[Sogan]

How old we talking? How long does powder last?

 

[Downtown]

Unless you want to have fun with it, just spreading it on the lawn is easiest. That's what I do with old powder now that I'm older and my children are grown.

 

[lightman]

I wouldn't light the black powder. Drive a ways out of town and dump it in a road ditch.

 

[TxWelder35]

Spread it on your lawn not in a big pile or have some fun with it from a couple hundred yards out

 

[Dead Eye Dick]

As said, don’t light the black powder with a match

 

[Roscoe_M4]

I'm disposing of some old H4350 at the rate of 43.2 grains a time in my .260 Rem. Smokeless powder lasts a long time, and if it doesn't smell bad, it's probably still good. Mine (about 15 years old) is still giving single digit ESs, although the faded out $15.95 LGS stickers on top make me a little misty eyed for the good old days. I've got a couple of 8-lb. jugs of WC-844 that are still good with the same loads I developed back in 2003 for my .308.

 

[Baron23]

I agree with those who said spread it on plants/lawn.

Please, do NOT try to burn it. Wayne Mayes, the greatest American skeet shooter ever, died from burns received when trying to burn powder in his grill. Wind picked some up and blew it on him and his polyester shorts/shirt and that was that. This was old smokeless shotgun powder.

His death was shocking to many but it seemed particularly tragic as it was so avoidable.

Please, do NOT burn it. Please do not try to burn black powder, in particular.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Buy a replica Colt Navy, some caps and some balls and shoot that fffg powder... unless it got wet, it’s probably still fine!

Sirhr

 

[RNWRKNP]

Throw it in a seed spreader and your lawn will love ya for it.

 

[candyx]

Sprinkle a little on your scramble eggs in the morning to put a little lead in your pencil, then bang the old lady

 

[brianf]

What’s the reason for several people saying not to burn black powder.

does it act that much different than smokeless when burned?

 

[TicTacTex]

What’s the reason for several people saying not to burn black powder.

does it act that much different than smokeless when burned?

Yes, much much faster.

I would do a test round or two with the 4350 and see if it goes bang before putting it in your flower garden..

 

[sirhrmechanic]

What’s the reason for several people saying not to burn black powder.

does it act that much different than smokeless when burned?

It goes poof. Smokeless needs pressure to go poof. Black powder burns at the same rate whether confined or in the open. Lighting black powder will get you blowed up.

This video shows difference.



Sirhr

 

[Jscb1b]

Isn't black powder a primary explosive? White powder is cocaine.

 

[camocorvette]

If you have calibers that could use it. I'd just load some low charge test rounds and use it up.
If not. Throw it in your garden or lawn.

 

[XTREM HTR16]

i Don’t have much powder to spare and am poor so can’t afford to waste it by spreading on the lawn.

 

[uffduh]

Even those who aren’t poor shouldn’t be wasting it in the garden if there’s a chance it still causes a bang !

 

[Reverie Ranges]

Donate to your local anvil blasting folks. Take a lunch and make a day of it. Hilarious.

 

[davsco]

f the garden/yard stuff. blow that stuff up! bonfire (of course at a safe distance...)!

 

[Baron23]

hahaha

 

[EasternNChunter]

The best way to dispose of it is to send it to me.

 

[MasterJP]

If no one can use it, I would just flush it down the toilet in several batches.

 

[Gunnn]

Good morning All,

While cleaning up the basement yesterday, I came across 2 cans of fff black powder and about a 1\4 can of IMR4350....no idea how old. What's a proper way to dispose of these?

Thanks!

I've got some imr4064 I've had for at least 30 years that I found in the back of my powder cabinet I loaded some 308 it shot just fine

 

[Sidewinder66]

Good morning All,

While cleaning up the basement yesterday, I came across 2 cans of fff black powder and about a 1\4 can of IMR4350....no idea how old. What's a proper way to dispose of these?

Thanks!

Light it up, in a safe area of course.

 

[6mmRemM600]

Black Powder is essentially blasting powder like they used in mines or to blast Railroad tunnels in the 1860's.

Cleaning out my Dad's garage I came across the can of DuPont FFG Black powder that we used to make pipe (actually shotgun shell) bombs with 50+ years ago when we were kids. It works just fine in my 45 Colt.

One of the very common powders, it should be pretty easy to use up IMR 4350 40+ gr at a time. I'll bet you have or know someone with a 30-06 or 30-40 Krag, 243 Win, etc. Check the Hodgdon reloading center at: https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/

 

[billt]

Good morning All,

While cleaning up the basement yesterday, I came across 2 cans of fff black powder and about a 1\4 can of IMR4350....no idea how old. What's a proper way to dispose of these?

Thanks!

Why do you want to get rid of it? Unless it got wet, or else was exposed to very high humidity for a long period of time, it's most likely still good. I've loaded and shot powder that's over 50 years old, and it shot just fine. I know guys who are still shooting military surplus 4831, that their fathers acquired after the Second World War. Powder properly stored will outlive most of the people who shoot it. With the cost of powder today, I'd shoot that stuff, not toss it.

 

[gatguy]

I collect old powder cans, have a Hivel (no number) can dated 1918, loaded a 30 06 cartridge with 45 grains of it behind a Sierra 150gr bullet---it shot just like it was 4895.

 

[jlorensen]

Sounds like the shelf life is a little longer than I figured.......I'm guessing this powder is somewhere between 20 and 30 yrs old, so it looks like I probably have at least another 20 yrs to load it.

Thanks All!

 

[Baron23]

Hello. I have 2-3 pint size cans of black powder that i got with a bunch of reloading stuff from someone who didn't want it. i have no need for the powder and i sold the reloading gear. How do i dispose of this stuff safely?

Ah, how about the “I agree with those who said spread it on plants or lawn”??

Or, give it to someone at your club

Or flush down the toilet.

Or mix w damp soil and spread

Or….

 

[Jscb1b]

Hello. I have 2-3 pint size cans of black powder that i got with a bunch of reloading stuff from someone who didn't want it. i have no need for the powder and i sold the reloading gear. How do i dispose of this stuff safely?

Make a cannon!!!!!!

 

[JCCinOhio]

Frooooosh! TROGDOOOOR!!!!!

 

[Downtown]

Welcome to the forum, as I see it's your first post. Did you read the thread you've posted in? It's fertilizer, spread it on your yard.

 

[OkieMike]

Unless it gets wet enough to dissolve the saltpeter out of the compound, black powder never goes bad... There have been caches of it found that were hidden during the Revolutionary War... Still good to go.

After Hodgdon decided to close the Goex plant, it got stupid hard to acquire black powder. So I did a butt load of research and started making my own for my flintlocks. It isn't difficult and no more risky than reloading... IF you follow certain protocols and never deviate or cut corners.

Anyway...

Mike