Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Some old powder cans

I posted this on the main page but figured I might get a few different answers here.

We bought about 25-30lbs of powder for $50at a yard sale a couple years back. Most of it was blackpowder in regular cans. We used that. We did keep these ones though. most are 75% full and 2 are unopened. Any ideas on how old these cans are?

There is also 1 more of the red dupont can its one of the ones that are unopened. And a few more Hurcules cans.

No idea how old or what they are worth, but I'll give you 50.00 plus shipping for the remaining 8 cans, Chip

srry

You shoulda saw how that ol boy had some of his black powder stored. He he had multiple bottles of listerene mouthwash that he was usin to hold his powder. He would hold one bottle up to his ear an give it a shake then say "yup this ones FFg" or sumthin similar depending on the bottle.

Ol guy had enough powder stored back there to blow the whole subdivision.

H570 = early 60's.
HS-6 = mid 70's.

I recently sold off some Hogdon in the paper 1-lb containers from an estate I bought out. Most had a purchase date marked on it, or you could get an idea from the original retail price sticker. Trying to sell the 40 year old, unopened 50lb barrel of H4831 was interesting. Are there more hoarders in the PNW that elsewhere?

The HS-6 price tag is 4.99
THe H570 is 2.50

I cant imagine tryin to sell that 50lb keg.

Not sure I understand your last question.

I always assumed hoarding was a genetic defect. Maybe it is instead a viral infection, picked up from living in the Pacific Northwest. Lots of hoarders here. Never mind; I'll stop now.

gotcha now. And yea I agree with you.
You shoulda saw this guys shop though. He was about a zillion years old and his memory of his life was blending with his memory of books that he had read. That in turn made for some interesting stories.

This guy even had an old rifling machine in his shop. Turns out he was an old muzzleloader maker. There was so much cool stuff in there that it all blended in with each other. What I would have given for a weeks time and permission to snoop through that shop.

my hoarding problems are with 22lr ammo and cheap pocketknives.

I have a container of H-4831 that's exactly like your H540 except for the markings that was purchased in 1966 and also a like container of HS-6 purchased in late '70's early '80's.

I'm thinking that those rectangular Hercules cans ( black sporting )are from the 1920's or 30's .....

I have an NRA reloading handbook with articles in it thatdate to the 1950's. One article on black powder has a picture of a can of DuPont black powder that looks like yours. The Hodgdon can pictured in another article is quite different. Sometime in the mid 1970s I bought some Pyrodex in a can like your HS6 can. The book has a list of "available cannister powders" and it doesn't have H570. I don;t know if the book was printed before or after that powder was on the market.

OK good info here. I just took a count and there are a total of 4 hurclues cans. But only one has that cool lil screw on funnel.

Not that these would get sold but is there any value to these cans?

just found this one in the safe.
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ahhh yes , IMR 3031 .... the formula has changed a bit since that era ( I think 1950'ish ) , but a staple in my cabinet nonetheless .... .

THe can has a different powder in it. Western oval according to his writing. Its funky lookin powder.

Mud bogger, yes those cans are worth something! If they have good powder in them, so much the better. Get a copy of Gun Powder Cans & Kegs by Ted & David Bacyk & Tom Rowe. The only book on the subject that I know of. Any that you have two or more of, that you might want to sell, let me know, I'll be very interested. Dave
I am working two 12 hour shifts this weekend or I would look them up for you. PM me if you are interested in what they have to say about them.

22hp

ypu have a pm

You mentioned that you used some of that powder.

DON'T USE ANY MORE OF IT!

I can attest to the fact that unknown-open powder can be and is disasterously dangerous. I was lucky no one was hurt in my experiences, but I blew up 2 solid firearms not paying attention to the very warning I have just sent you.

Learn from my mistakes, don't make your own!

Shrapnel

The stuff we did use was in their original modern style goex blackpowder cans and most of them were unopened. We gave it a carefull look over as well before using it. And we did set a few aside that just didnt look right.

All the stuff was used was used in flintlock an percussion muzzleloaders as well.

Whew!

I would hate to see you get blown up, unless of course you are jihad.

thanks for the concern though