BSA1
member
The great ammo shortage has me conducting an inventory of my powder. As I don't shoot much in the way of rifles I have some powder still in the metal containers.
I just opened a new metal can of H4895. I'm not sure of it's age but 15 - 20 years would not surprise me. I brought the powder new and never opened it. When I opened it today the lid was so tight I used pliers to loosen it and it had the wax paper seal in place. I looked inside to inspect the contents and it has a strong petro chemical??? (for lack of better word) smell. What got my real attention is near as I can tell there looks to be what may be small rust like spots on the inside of the can. (It is real hard to get a strong light inside the can).
The outside of can is in excellent condition. No rust, dents, etc. The powder has been stored inside the house most of the time.
The powder looks fine, pours fine and meters well in the powder measure. I am loading a cast bullet about 2.7 gr. above the starting load (and 8 gr. below max) recommended by Hodgdon so there should be lots of room for safety if the powder burns inconsistently.
For comparsion I opened a can of 3031 which has a similar but milder smell. The 3031 is also in a 8# metal can vs. the 1# can of H4895 and, of course, is from a different manufacturer..
I loaded a few rounds for testing. If I have no issues with the test rounds is there any reason not to finish using it?
I just opened a new metal can of H4895. I'm not sure of it's age but 15 - 20 years would not surprise me. I brought the powder new and never opened it. When I opened it today the lid was so tight I used pliers to loosen it and it had the wax paper seal in place. I looked inside to inspect the contents and it has a strong petro chemical??? (for lack of better word) smell. What got my real attention is near as I can tell there looks to be what may be small rust like spots on the inside of the can. (It is real hard to get a strong light inside the can).
The outside of can is in excellent condition. No rust, dents, etc. The powder has been stored inside the house most of the time.
The powder looks fine, pours fine and meters well in the powder measure. I am loading a cast bullet about 2.7 gr. above the starting load (and 8 gr. below max) recommended by Hodgdon so there should be lots of room for safety if the powder burns inconsistently.
For comparsion I opened a can of 3031 which has a similar but milder smell. The 3031 is also in a 8# metal can vs. the 1# can of H4895 and, of course, is from a different manufacturer..
I loaded a few rounds for testing. If I have no issues with the test rounds is there any reason not to finish using it?