Black Powder Shelf Life

[smoke]

Hi: If BP is stored in a house still in original containers how many years will it last?I don't know if it was in an unheated garage or in the house. I beleive it is at least 20yrs old. Thank's. Dan

[bob in the woods]

Forever, unless it meets water or fire.

[roundball]

Agree...stored properly I'm not sure there is a shelf life to speak of.

Just last year I was given a couple old cans of Dupont 3F made about 40 years ago around 1970, yet it was just as sharp and perfect as if it was new production.
In fact, being a different manufacturer of 3F, I found it to be a little hotter than the Goex 3F I normally use.

[BrownBear]

I'm using some right now from cans dated 1973.  No probs whatsoever, and their storage history has not been ideal.

[Daryl]

I've used powder that was almost 100 years old at that time - it was the best powder I'd used until that date in 1975 and better than anything I've used to this date (2010+11mo) as well.

[smoke]

Thank You all for the help. Dan

[Daryl]

One thing to remember - cool and dry is the way all powders are supposed to be stored - smokeless or black - no difference.

[volatpluvia]

As one writer said: you have to remember that black powder is mixed and mechancally locked together.  So only heat and water can affect the bond between the three elements.  And only sufficient heat, enough to ignite it.  And only sufficient moisture, enough to unlock the three elements.    I use elements loosely here, but carbon, postasium nitrate and sulpher are very stable over a broad range of heat/cold and moisture.  So BP is a very stable compound for long storage. 
Smokless is a chemical bond and can break down with age.  Even faster if stored in estreme heat/cold environments.  I don't know if it can recover from being damp or not.
volatpluvia

[beleg2]

I get an old C&H can some time ago.
I have not shot it yet but ignite some and works better than new one.
According to experts this powder was made around 1920.
Hope this helps.
Martin

[Roger Fisher]

Forever, unless it meets water or fire.

Exactly

[Daryl]

That Deadshot powder I used - the stuff almost 100 yards old, had chunks that were stuck together in the can.  It was a smallish, 5 pound keg with 3 pounds.  Spots on the outside of the can were rusted almost through - and there was rust chunks in the powder.  I was able to sift these out as well as breaking up the chunks with my hands.  The chunks appeared to be from a wetting - but the kernals powder was still in good shape- sharp, angular and very shiny - much more so that any modern BP I've seen.  It was incredibly accurate and dropped my .50 cal 38" twist gun down to 7/8" to 1" at 100 yards off the bags - shooting 340gr. HB slugs from an old Lyman mould and 1" to1 1/2" with maxiballs. I am talking 5 shots groups and not just one lucky group - it was consistant.  I loved shooting that stuff - and then the powder was gone and groups opened up about 50%.

[slumlord44]

I have a can of Dupont that is close to 100 years old. Also works great. Keep it dry and it should last forever.

[dickert54cal]

I have a small amount from 1845 or 49------still works.

[Scout]

I had some FFF my dad used in the early 1960s. It still fired just as good as new back in the late 1990s in my Lyman .54. He also had some Bullseye pistol powder than had a very strong chemical smell that I did not use in my .45 reloading. I used it in some gopher holes for fun.

[Standing Bear]

Bullseye in gopher holes for fun  - bet the gophers had a different perspective!

[omark]

Bullseye in gopher holes for fun  - bet the gophers had a different perspective!

gophers are widely known for not having a sense of humor.          mark

[hanshi]

I still have a can of Dupont 4f left over from about 1969,  Since 4f goes a long way I won't be opening that can anytime soon.  About three years ago I finally used up my last can of Dupont 3f from that same period.

[JB2]

You guys using that 60-100 year-old stuff make me laugh at myself.  I thought I was pushing the envelope by using the 30 yo stuf pulled up out of basement storage. 

I know I put them away years ago and worried about them because I thought they would become unstable.  Don't know where I got that info from, but it was obviously incorrect!  Yes, even my 30 yo stuff seems to be faster than new stuff.  Aging makes it better? 

It is funny to see the price stickers on those old cans though- $3.99 and 4.99 a pound. 

[Daryl]

I wonder what the price of the American Deadshot powder I used, was, since it was supposedly made prior to 1898.

[Mad Monk]

I wonder what the price of the American Deadshot powder I used, was, since it was supposedly made prior to 1898.

In that time period the normal rifle powder sold for about 18 cents per pound while a good sporting powder sold for about 21 cents per pound based on what I saw in some old du Pont vwritings.

E. Ogre

[Daryl]

tks, Shrek - er, I mean E. Ogre.

[Southron]

I have shot black powder reclaimed from Confederate shells that were unloaded to render them safe to display.

After screening, the powder shot fine. We believed the powder to be from the Augusta Powder Works. The cloud of gunsmoke was a more whitish color than modern black powder produces.

IN other words, Black Powder, if protected from the elements, can last almost forever.

[Bill]

I inherited my great grandfather's double barrel percussion shotgun and powder horn back in 1968. Family history had been that Great grand Dad had went goose hunting, fired the first barrel while lying down on the ground, and not happy with the recoil, gave it up as a bad job, took the gun home and never fired it again. So, many years later, my Dad and I remembering the family "legend" check the barrels, sure enough the one barrel was still loaded. After some fooling around, we pulled the load out and since we were outside anyway we had to see if the powder was any good. Sure enough, it touched off instantly with a very satisfying cloud of smoke and WHOOSH! I still have the powder horn with powder in it, a couple years ago, I wanted to see if it was any good and I poured a small thimble full of powder out. Of course, it touched off just as quick (as I could tell) as my most recent can of Goex.

[hanshi]

Back when I got MY first muzzleloader I remember paying $.90 to $1 a pound retail for Dupont.  Just a few years before that it was well under that price.

[blunderbuss]

Amen on the powder being good in old guns I've restored many old rifles that were still loaded the powder is always good. I had some cans of BP in a refrigerator and the old thing stopped working and defrosted all over my cans of powder they were standing in water when I found them. I just let them dry out by themselves a couple were just solid so I took a wooden stick and stirred the then dry powder until it was 3f again it worked fine.
 I pulled the load out of an old ML shotgun once and she was wadded with an old newspaper the date on it was 1932. I guess some old farmer was still shooting his ML in 1932