Smokeless Powder Life/Viability Question IMR 4895

[Douglas-001]

So while at a match this morning a fellow shooter had a few items for sale. I was stunned to see an unopened can of IMR 48985. It was an 8lb. can. I have never seen that before. I knew they used to make the small 1 lb. can, but this is a very large can. My concern is the age. He said it is at least 15 years old, but I don't recall ever seeing a can of any sort in the past 15 years. He's a good man who faced some serious health issues and no longer shoots. There is a little rust around the edges of the can, and I tried to find out when they quit shipping that powder in such a can. He said he has another can that is opened and shot just fine. Powder tends to have a good shelf life if stored properly, that I understand. My google-fu research came up with a lot of bad stories about the can storage, rusting, spontaneous combustion......and so on....Any members know when the can went out of style in favor of the plastic jugs? (I can probably get a picture of it, I totally forgot while signing in at the club this morning....Duh-uh-oug.....) The price was fair and that would go a long way for this service rifle slut. Wanted to see if the collective had any thoughts or experiences with such matters(?). Thanks as always.

 

[Jerry m]

I'm going to guess it's way older than 15 years!

 

[6.5SH]

Around 2004:

Hodgdon (new owners of IMR) has new Reloading manual for IMR powders. 22 bore cleaning with brass rod's and brush's. Two new Leupold's

Product reviews, Load data and range testing, industry news from the pages of The IHMSA News,

www.lasc.us

 

[diggler1833]

Two summers ago I messed around with some IMR-4895 and 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tips in a 6.5 Creedmoor for my F-I-L. My powder was purchased in 2006-2007, so ~15 years old at the time. The combination chosen was just because components were TIGHT at the time.

That rifle loved it. I threw it together because I wanted to break the barrel in just a bit and didn't want to get into my limited supply of H4350. Nope...rounds 4-7, 8-11, and 12-16 all went into 1/2". After just a touch of tweaking that combo, I settled on a light load of 38.3 at about 2,790 FPS. However 38.1 - 38.5 all produced groups under a half-minute. SD's were a little higher than I'd like at around 14 with an ES of near 30 IIRC. Still, at 300 yards, it shot a 1.5" group when I confirmed at a little more distance. I hate Savage rifles, but that was the second easiest load development I've ever done.

Bottom line: As long as your older 4895 powder was stored correctly, it will work just fine. I shot some groups in the .2s last summer, and single digit ES and SD with H4350 that was purchased close to 15 years ago too. I'm still feeding my M24R with my old metal top lids of Varget (all mentioned are metal lid cannisters).

 

[tekmann2377]

I have direct experience with old IMR powders. I have used some from the metal cans with no issues (probably at least 20 years old!), but have also had one can which had definitely gone bad. These came from an estate sale of reloading supplies/equipment.

You can tell the powder has gone bad when it gives off a light red dust that looks like fine rust. This also tends to corrode the inside of the metal cans quite quickly if exposed to any moisture.

I had one can of IMR-3031 that was REALLY old that gave off the red dust. For the sake of science I actually loaded some of it, and it still went bang, but it seemed to have inconsistent ignition and cycling of my AR.

If the can is mostly full, the internal surfaces of the can are uncorroded, and the powder appears to have clean graphite coated sticks, you should be GTG. Pass on it if it gives off the red dust or if it doesn't meet these criteria

 

[Doom]

If the can says DuPont then its pre 2004 as Hodgdon bought the trademark in 2003. Properly stored powder is expected to last about 40 years before the stabilizer is depleted and the powder go bad.

 

[Douglas-001]

Thanks as always members. Spoke with him yesterday and I had to pass. Despite just under $200.00 for the can, I did not want to take a chance. If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. But the upshot is that he is going through an inventory of bullets he has and will reach out to me when he fishes them out. He isn't moving too fast due to spinal surgery, so I told him to take his time. A solid dude no doubt. Good luck and good shooting!

Doug

 

[308pirate]

Despite just under $200.00 for the can, I did not want to take a chance.

Bad move

 

[260shooter]

I had an old open can of a IMR (don't remember) and upon opening it there was rust on the sides of the can. It went in the trash.

 

[Douglas-001]

Bad move

Fortunately, I most likely have enough time left to continue that trend. Financial concerns be damned!

 

[Frank Green]

If the powder was stored properly even if it was opened usually I don't for see there being a problem. When you open the can just smell it...for example if it smells like chlorine or a bleach type smell don't use it. Mark here earlier this year or last year opened a brand new jug of powder (won't name the maker) and a cloud of red dust came out of it and it smelled bad. He didn't use it at all. The powder maker replaced the powder for him.

I loaded some pistol ammo earlier this year with powder I had bought back around 1990. Ran like a watch. It was W296 still in a tall metal cannister. Think I paid $9.98 for the pound of it.

I also have some Dupont 4064 and even these.... that are still sealed and I have no worries at this time about using them. Look at the price on the left can... $2.75!

 

[308pirate]

Fortunately, I most likely have enough time left to continue that trend. Financial concerns be damned!

Consistency is a virtue all its own

 

[supercorndogs]

If the powder was stored properly even if it was opened usually I don't for see there being a problem. When you open the can just smell it...for example if it smells like chlorine don't use it. Mark here earlier this year or last year opened a brand new jug of powder (won't name the maker) and a cloud of red dust came out of it and it smelled bad. He didn't use it at all. The powder maker replaced the powder for him.

I loaded some pistol ammo earlier this year with powder I had bought back around 1990. Ran like a watch. It was W296 still in a tall metal cannister. Think I paid $9.98 for the pound of it.

I also have some Dupont 4064 and even these.... that are still sealed and I have no worries at this time about using them. Look at the price on the left can... $2.75!

View attachment 8294796

Those canisters remind me of working at the reloading bench with my dad when I was little.

 

[Frank Green]

Those canisters remind me of working at the reloading bench with my dad when I was little.

This is the W296. Last can I had and just used it up earlier this year or last year. Bought this back around 1988.

 

[supercorndogs]

I remember him getting some of those i think when Gibsons stopped selling powder and sold them out for 2.99 each.