Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Powder cost and storage longevity ???

Looking to buy at least 8 lbs. Individual 1 lb. cans will cost $4+ per Lb. more than bulk purchase in 8 lb can. Will the life of the individual 1 lb cans be longer than 8 lb can since powder in the 8 lb can will all be exposed to air once the top is removed? Which would you buy and why? Thanks for any and all input.

I will likely buy at least 8 lbs of each of 2 separate powders.
Can save about $80 on the 16 lbs if bought in 8 lbs container vs in individual. If the individual 1 lbs cans will store longer without deterioration I may prefer to do that. Input appreciated.

Don't know but here is what I do. IF, and only if, I have a 1lb can of the same powder, I will transfer 1lb to that can and use it, refilling it as I need. That way the 8lb container only gets opened 8 times over it's lifetime. Of course there is a risk involved as it is possible to transfer it to the wrong container. Be very careful! I have some powder I got from my Dad that was opened over 30 years ago that is still good.

I suppose it depends on your weather, and if you are an active shooter. An 8# keg only survives in my house for a year, if I'm being stingy with the shooting.
If you struggle to make 100 rounds a year, then I like the previous suggestion. I would say however, if there is any "Danger" in putting the wrong powder in a given container.... You aren't paying attention to what you are doing.

For me, transfering to smaller containers is for convenience. It's just easier for me to keep 1lb cans out near my workstation that 8lb. I can use an 8lb in 2-3 years in most rounds. If I only used a pound a year I probably wouldn't bother with the 8lb and that's what I do for some of my more obscure powders that only get used a few times a year.

I buy large containers when I can - 5 or 8 lbs. I haven't had any problems, but it is a dry climate here, and my powder is stored in a cool, dark place all year around. Powder lasts for years when stored properly.

I should shoot more and use up some of my stocks.....

Thanks very much for the input. I will buy the 8 lb containers. Like the idea of using 1 lb container, refilling it from the 8 lb container as needed, for every day use in reloading.

You also get the benefit of not having to change lots very often.

Stored properly, it'll keep all but forever.....

As late as the 70's some bulk powders were sold in cardboard slip-top tubs. I have some powders bought back then and they still perform normally. There are some compounds in the formulation that protect against oxidation and I don't think air exposure for 50yrs or so is much of an issue at normal temperatures.

I shot 4831 from surplus back in the 60's packed in slip top cardboard ice cream containers sealed airtight. I store all my powder inside a cool dry closet, no problems

I've never had the privilege but any number of people bought surplus powders after WWII. Bob Bell as I recall wrote a sentimental article for Gun Digest about his 150 or so pounds of surplus 4831 enduring in the barn but getting lower in the keg for years and years and years.

My experience has been that powder I've bought over the years has lasted better than I do and will in the end outlive me if I don't get busy and shoot it up. I've still got 452 in the cardboard tubs mentioned above - but then again ball powder was touted for a long time as having a superior life. Maybe it does but I'll never have grandchildren so it won't matter.

I'd say don't overthink it and even if storage is an issue buy more powder rather than less for storage.

Back in the 60's, as a youngster, I bought H-4831 in paper bags. There were 10 bags in a cardboard box. I still have some of that powder, although I've transferred it to empty powder cans, labeling with a Magic Marker. The paper was getting brittle and friable. You could stick your thumb through the side of the bag.

It's as clean as new powder, no brown dust, even smells like fresh powder. In fact, it shoots better groups than some of the new stuff.

I kept it in climate controlled rooms most of the time. It was surplus powder when I bought it, so no telling how old it actually is.

DF

Actually Bell's article was about 150 pounds of surplus 4895, but the idea's the same!

A friend of mine was given 45 pounds of the original mil-surp H4831 in 1-pound cardboard containers maybe 3 years ago by an older handloader. The powder's still good--and he's still shooting it.

The biggest enemy of powder is heat. I keep most of mine in the garage with cheap plastic coolers, like the one's you can buy for $20 or so from Wal-Mart. Have tested them with a thermometer in the hottest part of summer and the powder almost never gets above 70 F.

I inherited a bunch of surplus 4831 that was originally bought in paper bags according to the prior owners.
Must have been stored right as it looks like new and over the chronograph is almost identical to my new can of H4831. As a bonus I have several rifles that shoot it very well.
Biggest advantage of buying in bulk (other than price) is not having to check loads between different lots.

I'm still shooting war-surplus 4831. And it still performs the same as when I bought my first chronograph back in the mid-70s.

I will bet a crisp five-dollar bill that the powder will still be going strong even after the last WWII veteran has passed on to eternity, God rest his patriotic soul!

In 1987 I pulled some Mosin Nagant rounds apart that had been loaded in the 20's. I used the powder to reload 308 with issued 173gr bullets. It shot about 2 MOA out of an M24 Sniper Rifle but had a lot of vertical dispersion at long range. All rounds hit an E-type shilouette at 600yd though.

I'm pretty sure that we break down faster than modern smokeless powder.

some very interesting info. Thanks a ton. Al