Safe to use?...or dispose?

[sigeye]

I have about .25/lbs of VihtaVuori gun powder and some Remington large primers that are roughly 12 years old. They have always been stored outside in my garage and have been subjected to to 15F degrees to probably in excess of 115-120F degrees.

I know that I do not need the powder and I just need to find a way to properly dispose of it, however, I'd like to use the primers if they are still good. Would the primers be safe and functional to reload with still?

Also, what is the proper and safest way to store combustibles like this? Should I be storing powders and primers indoors? I hate the thought of having a bomb essentially inside the house, but I don't want it to go bad while outside.

Thanks,
Jordan

 

[turbo54]

Re: Safe to use?...or dispose?

It is probably still good. Take a whiff - smell sour? If so its bad, if not, use it. Your primers are probably fine too. Use them.

Dispose of powder by sprinkling it on vegetation you want to ferilize.

Ideally powder/primers would be stored at 70*F and 50% humidity, but really doesnt require it.

 

[bohem]

Re: Safe to use?...or dispose?

For the amount of powder involved, I'd skip using it altogether. Just sprinkle it on the flower bed and move on, you're talking about $5 or less worth of powder.

The primers are probably fine, I'd be tempted to run 'em and not worry about it. If you find that they "hang fire" when you're shooting them, quit using them. Otherwise just use them for blaster/practice ammo.

 

[sigeye]

Re: Safe to use?...or dispose?

10-4, thanks guys!

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: Safe to use?...or dispose?

Neither the powder nor primers care about low temps, only high temps matter and that a lot less than some seem to think. No one ever questions how potent ammo tens of years old is but sweat over powder stored in a can.

Low temps, "freezing", is only relivant to liquids. Freezing is basically meaningless to dry solids like powder and primers. Powder can/will degrade in just a few decades if it's stored at temps above where humans feel comfortable but the result can be seen and smelt. Exposure to UV light works on powder faster than heat.

It's hard to kill primers with anything but a few days of soaking in oil.

Disposing of powder is easy enough; pour it on your wife's flowers, the nitrogen is a great fertilizer.

 

[flyrodder]

Re: Safe to use?...or dispose?

A friend of mine "disposed of" some black powder by kicking an ant hill and pouring some powder on it everyday for a week or so, then pouring a trail from the ant hill to a safe distance. When he lit it, there was the classic "muffled crump", a surge, and then the ant hill collapsed upon itself.

1/4 pound of powder might not be enough, but it's a start!

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: Safe to use?...or dispose?

Amusing. Reminds me of the ant hills I used to get in my yard in Florida back in '65; BIG ants that dug BIG holes. I tried several things to kill them off so they wouldn't bite my three little girls but they kept surviving. I had just started reloading so I had some pulled powders I collected in a small jar. I tried carefully pouring it down the holes and touched it off with a match and held my shoe firmly over the top to blow the flame down rather than up. One at a time the ant hills all died and did not return.

 

[slg888]

Re: Safe to use?...or dispose?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: flyrodder</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A friend of mine "disposed of" some black powder by kicking an ant hill and pouring some powder on it everyday for a week or so, then pouring a trail from the ant hill to a safe distance.</div></div> Good idea!