Shoot, I'm still using some old H-4831 that my dad and I bought back in the late 60's. It is undoubtedly the original WWII surplus stuff Bruce Hodgdon got his start with. We bought a 25 lb. keg for, as I recall, around $25. Still have a couple of pounds in airtight metal canisters. Having been stored in good climate conditions , it exhibits no signs of deterioration. Now and then I load a couple of '06's with it just for old time's sake.
By the way, the loading technique we used back then was to dip a primed case in the keg, strike the excess powder level with the case mouth and then crunch a 150 grain bullet into it. Worked like a charm. Very accurate in every '06 we used it in. You couldn't get enough of that old surplus 4831 in an '06 case to worry about excess pressure, or so we were told. I certainly don't do that now, nor do I know how the modern 4831 compares to that old stuff as far as burning rates go.
