Powder Storage Shelf Life

Modern Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Modern Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

DE_Shooter1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2014
Messages
50
Reaction score
1
How long can I store powder say like BH209 and White Hots before it's no good ? I am thinking of purchasing a large jug of BH209 that will last me for some time.

I store all my pistol and rifle powder in sealed plastic ammo cans with silica gel packs and have never had a problem with performance. A couple weeks ago someone told me that all powder/black powder is engineered with a shelf life and after a years or so it's no longer any good. I like stocking up with stuff (bullets, powder and primers) when I find a good deals in bulk.
 
BH209 will last for a life time. Whitehots, maybe 2 years tops as they are not sealed up that well and attract moisture. BH209 on the other hand, has a water proof coating on it. Put some in a glass of water, it will not dissolve in any way.
 
Cool and dry, cool and dry. If you have ever worked in an Ammo depot (I was an Ordnance NCO X-ray) you will see how well that works. Powder dug up from the well at Ft. Morgan, was still useable. I'm sure quality was affected though. This was canon powder.
 
Yes, black powder will last way way longer than we will. If it gets wet just let it dry and it's good again. Great stuff.

I agree. My Dad is Shooting OLD Metal Can Goex 2F, I am not up on the Oldest of Goex Cans? But I know the Powder Dad is Shooting is OLD Stuff. It goes BOOM Everytime, And he gets Darn Good Accuracy with it 👍
 
DE_Shooter, i would like for U to identify "SOME ONE"....whoever that is can be placed in the category of a rumor starter
 
I don't know about any of the knockoffs, but real black powder is a physical mixture of the components: sulphur, charcoal, potassium nitrate. There is no chemical reaction when it is made, everything is just mixed together and can all be separated back into the original three components. Think of it as mixing marbles, sand and sawdust on a very small particle size level. The individual chemicals remain discrete. If it does not get wet for long periods of time, it will last for many, many years.

My wife tells a story from her high school days. They have a farm just outside Vicksburg Mississippi that was used as a camp, hospital and prisoner exchange by both sides at one time or another during and after the siege. One day her dad found a shell left over from the Civil War. He brought it home and put it on the porch where it dried out over the summer. In the fall, due to his wife's concern about it being dangerous, he decided to show her the powder was bad. He cut out the plug/fuse, poured a little of the now dry powder out on a pie plate and stuck his cigar in it, thereby burning all the hair off his hand and forearm. Now, the shell had been buried for, we presume, decades, maybe 100 years and was damp when found, so the powder might have deteriorated. She said the flash seemed a bit feeble at the time. Since she served on the cannon crew at the Park at the time, and is one of the few people left alive who have fired a live round through those cannons, I have always presumed she knew what she was talking about. Maybe it was still slightly damp.

I have a scant pound of DuPont from the late 1800's inherited from an uncle. It shot just fine the few times I have used it. It can't be replaced, so I don't shoot it any more. That's two data points that says black powder is good for 100 years at a minimum. Replica stuff? Pretty sure that is all made by chemical reaction, which means it is has a reversible component in the reaction kinetics and usually has minor side reactions that occur making various strange dogs and cats. I have to admit I have not really followed the chemistry of substitute products, but it could be an interesting topic to research during the self-isolation days. Anyway, neither of these problems happen in a mixture.

I tried Pyrodex in the late 70's. My ROA rusted overnight. I have never shot anything except Goex ever since. I am sure the cause of the rust was inadequate cleaning, but I never had that problem (rusting) shooting Goex 3f in it. I still have some fake powders left over from the local Cabellas closing. They were closing out at $5 a can and I bought about 10 pounds, about half given away already. I want to try the Golden (citric acid based) as I had heard so much about it, mostly bad, in the day, but never actually seen a can of it until now. I have visions of shooting Tang out the barrel. :)
 
DE_Shooter, i would like for U to identify "SOME ONE"....whoever that is can be placed in the category of a rumor starter
What are you talking about? We all know some powders have different shelf life. Some years ago, there was some news about the Government requiring all powders to have a short shelf life. Rumor? I don't know. Haven't heard anything since. If there is a rumor starter...we'll get that culprit🙂. For now...keep your powder dry.
 
It's rare, but from time to time we hear about someone being killed or injured by an old WBS shell dug up or found among discarded relics. A couple of years before we moved from Virginia a collector was killed by an old shell exploding as he was tinkering with it. We're talking about 160 year old ordinance lost, discarded or buried and left to time and the elements.
 
I have to agree with Hanshi in that old ordinance is dangerous. Where i hunt in Brownwood Texas was part of the old WWII Fort Bowie tank training camp. The land was returned back to the ranchers with stipulations they could not cultivate the land. There are unexploded ordinance in the hills and valleys. Next to the ranchers barn is a stack of shells he collets. When he gets enough he calls the Army disposal unit and they come and get them. Have not seen one explode but the old rancher says he has seen them detonated on site. We hunters are told to report and not touch. Got one about 150 yards from my stand in a creek bank. It is tempting to pop a cap on it but then again???

:dancing chicken::dancing chicken::dancing chicken:
 
1584631676424.png

THE GOEX STORY

GOEX Powder, Inc. is a proud American business with a rich history.

In 1802, E.I. Du Pont de Nemours broke ground on his original black powder plant along the Brandywine River in Delaware. To meet the growing demand for black powder, E.I. Du Pont de Nemours began construction on the Belin Plant in Pennsylvania and produced the first batches of black powder in 1912. The Belin Plant supplied military black powder during World War I, World war II, and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.

In the early 1970’s, the Belin Plant became a part of GOEX. GOEX continued to supply black powder for Military and Industry and for a growing Sporting interest. In 1997, GOEX moved to Minden, Louisiana to continue the tradition of manufacturing fine quality black powder.

On 01 January 2009 GOEX was bought by the Hodgdon Powder Company and became GOEX Powder, Inc. The Hodgdon Powder Company’s philosophy is, “We are here today. We were here yesterday. We will be here tomorrow.” The Hodgdon Powder Company has taken care to replace critical processes at GOEX with state of the art equipment. The state of the art equipment and procedures have enhanced the safety of the employees and the quality of GOEX black powder.

Today, GOEX manufactures black powder used for sporting applications such as civil war re-enactments and flint lock firearms, and is a vital component for industrial and military applications. It remains as the only U.S. manufacturer of black powder.

GOEX has over a 200 year history of black powder manufacturing in the United States and GOEX Powder, Inc. intends to be a good steward of this company’s history and tradition.




birthday 80.jpg
 
I agree. My Dad is Shooting OLD Metal Can Goex 2F, I am not up on the Oldest of Goex Cans? But I know the Powder Dad is Shooting is OLD Stuff. It goes BOOM Everytime, And he gets Darn Good Accuracy with it 👍
.
They don't put it metal cans, when did this change ???? o_O

Lewis, I'm still shooting Goex 2F that has a sales price stricker of $2.29 on them, now how old is that - 1950 or older ??? Still have 1F, 2F, 3F and 4F that I purchased with $4.00 price strickers - purchased in the mid 70's. All of it goes bang ..... For the heck of it this morning I pealed the sale price back and found an earlier sticker that shows $1.08, now just how old was/is this stuff ????



time.moves.jpg
 

Attachments

  • birthday 80.jpg
    birthday 80.jpg
    79.4 KB · Views: 44
Last edited:
.
They don't put it metal can, when did this change ???? o_O

Lewis, I'm still shooting Goex 2F that has a sales price stricker of $2.29 on them, now how old is that - 1950 or older ??? Still have 1F, 2F, 3F and 4F that I purchased with $4.00 price strickers - purchased in the mid 70's. All of it goes bang .....


Look at this RIDICULOUSNESS Buck o_O :)

ALL Black Plastic Jugs Now Days
RA5zOx6.jpg
 
I have to agree with Hanshi in that old ordinance is dangerous. Where i hunt in Brownwood Texas was part of the old WWII Fort Bowie tank training camp. The land was returned back to the ranchers with stipulations they could not cultivate the land. There are unexploded ordinance in the hills and valleys. Next to the ranchers barn is a stack of shells he collets. When he gets enough he calls the Army disposal unit and they come and get them. Have not seen one explode but the old rancher says he has seen them detonated on site. We hunters are told to report and not touch. Got one about 150 yards from my stand in a creek bank. It is tempting to pop a cap on it but then again???

:dancing chicken::dancing chicken::dancing chicken:
To bad we had to cancel our trip to Brownwood to visit my Sis. Like the country( but not enough to leave Wyoming LOL)
 
Mossie
i too love that northern country. Wyoming, the Dakotas, Montana, Colorado, and Nebraska and these north central states have always been one of my favorites to vacation an camp in. Son i was born and raised in north central Texas. My winters are highs in the 40-50's and lows in the 30-20's. Rain, some ice, hardly ever any snow. I dont feel i are my wife could handle the long hard cold winters up north.
DL
This photo was Dec 12 2018 and about 35 degrees around 1pm.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0244.JPG
    IMG_0244.JPG
    681.8 KB · Views: 4
I have to agree with Hanshi in that old ordinance is dangerous. Where i hunt in Brownwood Texas was part of the old WWII Fort Bowie tank training camp. The land was returned back to the ranchers with stipulations they could not cultivate the land. There are unexploded ordinance in the hills and valleys. Next to the ranchers barn is a stack of shells he collets. When he gets enough he calls the Army disposal unit and they come and get them. Have not seen one explode but the old rancher says he has seen them detonated on site. We hunters are told to report and not touch. Got one about 150 yards from my stand in a creek bank. It is tempting to pop a cap on it but then again???

:dancing chicken::dancing chicken::dancing chicken:



Just finding out I was that close to one of those would leave me sweating for a week!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top