What's Your Oldest Jar of Powder??

Gustav7

Gustav7

Son of a Gun...
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    • Jul 18, 2019
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    Ohio (OH)
    #1
    My wife is 8 months pregnant so the last few months we've basically never left our house... so needless to say, I've been doing a lot of reloading. Built a second reloading bench upstairs... which I'm sure will come in handy when the kid starts sleeping regularly.

    Anywho, just finished a bottle of Unique when I started trying to remember when the hell I even bought it. I started reloading when I was 21, the last year I was in the army...and I believe this was one of the first bottles of powder I bought when I came home and started reloading more... which was about 8 years ago.

    Maybe I'm just getting sentimental or I've just been cooped up too much in our house but got me wondering.... Whats your oldest jar of powder you have? or have used?

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    #4
    My first pound of powder was Varget, I started reloading for a 308 around 2010. That jar is long gone, as I have a slew of powders for multiple calibers. I do have a bunch of IMR tins, as I use a lot of IMR powder. I buy the tins on ebay and fill them with fresh powder as the tins take up little space in my reloading bench.

    The only one I need is IMR 7828, if anyone has one Ill buy it. :)

    During this quarantine, been reloading all kinds of loads.


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    IMG_8991.jpg
     
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    #5
    roggom said:
    My first pound of powder was Varget, I started reloading for a 308 around 2010. That jar is long gone, as I have a slew of powders for multiple calibers. I do have a bunch of IMR tins, as I use a lot of IMR powder. I buy the tins on ebay and fill them with fresh powder as the tins take up little space in my reloading bench.

    During this quarantine, been reloading all kinds of loads.


    View attachment 7314965
    Click to expand...

    I like the wall storage racks... and the old tins like that are pretty cool
     
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    #6
    Had to go look... Bullseye from 1999. All the other powders are less than 6 months old....I go through the stuff rather quickly. However, I still have 1 box of 1000 FGMM Large Rifle Primers I'm still using....from a lot of 20,000 I bought in 2003. I'll have to restock again soon. I do have many thousand other primers from different makers...but use the FGMM in the precision stuff.
     
    #7
    I have a little bit left of a can of IMR-4895 that I bought when I was working up a load for my .30-06 R700 when I was picked in a moose hunt lottery in 1996. I've also got a bit of AA9 leftover from loading .44Mag around the same period. I've used almost the last of each recently without any issues, the 4895 for .223/5.56 and the AA9 for 10mm.
     
    #13
    I have a couple that were made before powder came in plastic. IMR metal as posted above and the Cardboard style Hercules - think I have Bullseye and Unique. A generation (or multiple generations) newer than the metal Hercules cube above.
     
    #14
    Still using some Hodgdon 4831 that was made in WWII for 50 BMG and 20MM canon ammo. My cardboard cans are from the 1960's with a price sticker of $1.63 from "Whitefront". Still shoots with an E/S of 20 FPS.

    Several months ago, I finally finished up and old cardboard can of Alcan 5 shot shell powder from the 1950's. I used it for lead loads in 38 Special and 41 Magnum.

    Also have a few tins of IMR powder made in the 80's that is still fine.

    No sense in tossing it out if it hasn't gone bad. You can tell if it's bad or going bad.
     
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    #15
    FLIGHT762 said:
    Still using some Hodgdon 4831 that was made in WWII for 50 BMG and 20MM canon ammo. My cardboard cans are from the 1960's with a price sticker of $1.63 from "Whitefront". Still shoots with an E/S of 20 FPS.

    Several months ago, I finally finished up and old cardboard can of Alcan 5 shot shell powder from the 1950's. I used it for lead loads in 38 Special and 41 Magnum.

    Also have a few tins of IMR powder made in the 80's that is still fine.

    No sense in tossing it out if it hasn't gone bad. You can tell if it's bad or going bad.
    Click to expand...

    How do you tell?

    And who knew so many old guys knew how to use forums hahaha just kidding guys. I guess I came from parents who were, and still are, technologically impaired. I just showed my dad how to use YouTube last year....he's pretty excited that he can, "find any video about anything". hahaha
     
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    #17
    6mm Creed, 105 Hornady HPBT, 42.8gr IMR4831 (From 1984),

    Stats - Average 3059.62
    Stats - Highest 3073.63
    Stats - Lowest 3047.81
    Stats - Ext. Spread 25.82
    Stats - Std. Dev 8.64

    Shot ID V0
    1 3074
    2 3061
    3 3065
    4 3056
    5 3056
    6 3057
    7 3054
    8 3073
    9 3048
    10 3053

    I also burnt up 2 one pound cans of 2400 also from 1984, price sticker was $10.99 from LGS.
     
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    #22
    I seldom keep large quantities of powder onhand, and what I have gets used in age order. Loading since the early 1990's, I think my oldest is Varget; and it's probably no more than three years old.

    Sniff test. If it smells like aspirin, it's done.

    Greg
     
    #24
    Nodakplowboy said:
    IMR 4831 in the orange metal can. I always date powders with a sharpie, this one is marked 1993. Never opened. Same procedure with primers, have several thousand Fed 210's marked 93. A gunshop was going out of business, stocked up.
    Click to expand...
    I've got one of these cans and also a can of IMR 4350, I think in a pink can. I'll post some pics tomorrow morning.
     
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    #27
    FLIGHT762 said:
    Still using some Hodgdon 4831 that was made in WWII for 50 BMG and 20MM canon ammo. My cardboard cans are from the 1960's with a price sticker of $1.63 from "Whitefront".
    Click to expand...
    Still have a bunch that my uncle bought. Works real well in 300 H&H ,30-06 etc. Stored cool and dry. I also have powder from the early 60s when we reloaded 25-35 , 218 Mashburn Bee, 219 Zipper etc.
     
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    #30
    I’ve been reloading since 1974 and I have a couple of old cans laying around. Probably the remnants of a can of H-450 is my oldest.
    there are some pics of antique cans on this thread, but does the owners actually have data or even know what that powder was used for?
    When I started, all powders except for Hogdon were in metal cans. IMR was still owned by DuPont, Winchester Western was owned by Olin Corporation, and Hercules ( now Alliant ) was who made Bullseye, Unique, Herco, and Blue Dot. Back then, I might have had 18 cans of powder on the shelf... much more than my friends who reloaded. They would have a can for rifle, a can for pistol, and maybe a can for shotgun. But now, there are so many different powders on the market, I feel obliged to own well over 100 pounds. By the way, H-450 was awesome in 7Mag loads with light bullets.
    Wayne
     
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    #31
    Only have new powder as I just started reloading, but some of those old cans are quite cool! Any chance some of you old guys dont want them? Lol. I would think being so old you guys probably wouldn't remember getting rid of them after a month or so anyway. I'm kidding of course...

    Would be cool to start a collection of them for the reloading room.
     
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    #32
    woogie_man said:
    Only have new powder as I just started reloading, but some of those old cans are quite cool! Any chance some of you old guys dont want them? Lol. I would think being so old you guys probably wouldn't remember getting rid of them after a month or so anyway. I'm kidding of course...

    Would be cool to start a collection of them for the reloading room.
    Click to expand...
    Well, I’m so old, I forgot where I put them🤔
     
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    #33
    My oldest is a 15# cardboard and wax drum of Unique from the 70's.

    Some of you guys have posted up some neat pictures of older cans of powder.

    Like Nodakplowboy, I use a Sharpie to mark the purchase date on my powder cans. I also put a big "O" on the cap to mark the ones that I've opened.
     
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    #35
    Loaded the Winchester action Pistol (WAP) about 4 months ago in 10mm pistol rounds with 180 g Hollow points.
    Shot just fine like they did in the 90's. 8.8 grains yields 1250 FPS out of my S&W 610.
    DID a good job on pins.
    Still have about 3 # left.

    Bought this Powder back in 1995 ish.
    The Unique is probably older, empty container. Used to load in 45 acp.

    The good old days.

    IMG_0924.jpeg
     
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    #36
    I don't remember powder ever coming in Jars so maybe I'm not that old....but I finished off a pound of unique receently that I bought in 1974 to load 9mm with a lee handloader. Like a lot of the others I've used up pulldown powders from WWII to load 50 cal, and 20mm stuff. I've run through a few of the cute little ancient cube shaped cans of hercules and dupont powders too.....

    Frank
     
    #38
    roggom said:
    My first pound of powder was Varget, I started reloading for a 308 around 2010. That jar is long gone, as I have a slew of powders for multiple calibers. I do have a bunch of IMR tins, as I use a lot of IMR powder. I buy the tins on ebay and fill them with fresh powder as the tins take up little space in my reloading bench.

    The only one I need is IMR 7828, if anyone has one Ill buy it. :)

    During this quarantine, been reloading all kinds of loads.


    View attachment 7314965View attachment 7314966
    Click to expand...


    You're missing 3031 as well. ;)
     
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    #40
    Bullseye was introduced in 1898
    Unique was introduced in 1900
    IMR 3031 was introduced in 1934

    These are the oldest powders still in production. It would be interesting to have some packaging from the first year of manufacture.
     
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    #41
    Skookum said:
    Bullseye was introduced in 1898
    Unique was introduced in 1900
    IMR 3031 was introduced in 1934

    These are the oldest powders still in production. It would be interesting to have some packaging from the first year of manufacture.
    Click to expand...

    WOW... I was just about to ask how old Unique was. I knew it was one of the older ones, then I started seeing all of these super old containers for Unique as well. But I had no idea they were that old.

    Whats crazy to think about is how those powders are still used today. I love Unique in my 9mm... and for the only complaint to be that its a bit flashy, yet its 120 year old powder is insane to think about.
     
    #45
    I have a friend who cleaned out all of his partial cans when he decided to stick with the loads he has. (He's a 70 plus F Class HM) I have stuff from the 80's with the warning if it smells bad burn it in the yard.
     
    #46
    I inherited this and it looks/smells ok. Guess I am going to have to work up some loads for the 45 ACP and 40 S&W (Also known as HS-6, correct?)


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    #47
    roggom said:
    My first pound of powder was Varget, I started reloading for a 308 around 2010. That jar is long gone, as I have a slew of powders for multiple calibers. I do have a bunch of IMR tins, as I use a lot of IMR powder. I buy the tins on ebay and fill them with fresh powder as the tins take up little space in my reloading bench.

    The only one I need is IMR 7828, if anyone has one Ill buy it. :)

    During this quarantine, been reloading all kinds of loads.


    View attachment 7314965View attachment 7314966
    Click to expand...

    I've got a bunch of those, from circa '93ish.

    Chris
     
    #48
    I have recently "rescued" several cans of DuPont powder from my Dad's garage. I now have the can of Black Powder that we used for "Shotgun Shell Bombs" (Why waste a good piece of pipe?) when I was a kid in the mid-60's. There are others in cardboard tubes from Hercules et. al. I've told my brother and nephew not to buy any powder as we probably have some.
     
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