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Posted By: Joe Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/15/17
Does this powder have a brownish hue? Thanks
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/15/17
No. If it does, it's turning bad.
Posted By: Joe Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/15/17
Thanks, I was afraid of that. A friend, who probably didn't store it properly, gave me a pound and it defiantly had a brownish hue to it but, no red dust as of yet. A little more fertilizer. wink
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/15/17
Luckily it's only a pound!
Posted By: BullShooter Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/17/17
Originally Posted by Joe
Does this powder have a brownish hue? Thanks

Benchmark is one of the powders with a coating that Richard Mann described as "greenish-brown" in color:
Article on 'Gunpowder'
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In popular firearms literature descriptions of deterioration include acid smell, rust-colored granules, and rust-colored dust. SAAMI currently says deterioration is indicated by "acidic odor and may produce a reddish brown fume".

When a jug of powder begins to deteriorate and turn brown, do all the granules display the change in color simultaneously or is it a progressive phenomenon, starting with a few granules and then increasing until all are brown?

--Bob
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/18/17
Well, many humans see colors differently. But I read the article several times and don't find where Richard s Instead the photo caption says, "Extruded powders are most often used in rifle cartridges and can be distinguished by the long, tubular-like granules. Color can vary from a silvery charcoal to a greenish brown depending on the coating."

I just looked at my supply of Benchmark, which looks silvery charcoal to me, exactly like Varget or H4831, other Extreme powders made in the same factory.
Posted By: BullShooter Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/18/17
John-
Here's a photo of Benchmark, Varget, and IMR-4895 from my powder supply:
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[Linked Image]
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When the vagaries of digital photos, adjustments of computer viewscreens, color software, and the human visual system are mixed together, there's a lot of room for foul-ups. The Benchmark in the photo is sort of glistening khaki (much like Mann's description of greenish brown), the Varget is a shiny dark silver, and the IMR-4895 is a lustrous black.

The Benchmark bottle bears a lot code sticker indicating it was packaged in 2001. Benchmark was my first encounter with a Hodgdon Extreme powder. I noted its color was odd when I first opened it, and my sample's color hasn't changed noticeably However, it would not be surprising if the powder maker has changed the coating's color at times during the last 16 years.

Thanks.
--Bob
Posted By: Joe Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/18/17
Mine looks very much like the pic. Thanks
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/18/17
My Benchmark looks most like the photo of IMR4895, except for Benchmark's smaller granules. It's from a lot around 10 years old. As a matter of fact so does my Varget, which is a similar age.
Posted By: bea175 Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/18/17
just load it and shoot it
Posted By: DakotaDeer Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/19/17
My Varget and Benchmark both look exactly like that. Definitely not black in color. Some sort of green-brown-black mix.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/19/17
Well, now I'm going to have to buy a pound of recent Benchmark and see what it looks like!
Posted By: Yondering Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/19/17
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Well, now I'm going to have to buy a pound of recent Benchmark and see what it looks like!


I have a recent pound of it, from within the past year anyway; it looks just like the pic above, as does my older bottle of it. 8208 XBR looks the same way. No graphite coating on any of them, unlike 4895.
Posted By: Boise Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/19/17
If the last two numbers on the code are the year then my Benchmark is from 82 and look like the image above. It smells the same as powder I purchased last week.
Posted By: BullShooter Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/19/17
Boise-
I'm pretty sure that "82" does not represent part of the date code for your bottle of Benchmark, because the powder was introduced about the year 2000.

An early description of the powder is in Handloader No. 205, June 2000, page 22. VanDenburg describes Benchmark as being light gray in color with a greenish tint.

Current Hodgdon practice prints the lot numbers in two lines on the label at the seam. The top line has seven digits with the first digit indicating container size and the next six indicating date of filling the container. The second line of three or four digits is a lot number

My older Hodgdon bottles have an orange sticker on the bottom with the code in a single line. The first digit is separated from the remaining digits, and indicates container size. The next six digits show the date of container fill, and the last two, three, or four digits indicate lot number.

--Bob
Posted By: Boise Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/20/17
Bob,
Thanks for the info. My Benchmark has the orange label and the 2004 date makes a lot more sense.

The CFEBLK I purchased this month has the label as you described with the first line being exactly as you describe but the second line only has the number 2 which shows the lot number may be a single digit, FWIW.
Posted By: Mule Deer Re: Hodgdon Benchmark - 05/20/17
I managed to find a pound of Benchmark locally, which definitely has a greenish color, with perhaps a hint of brown. Don't know why my one batch (an 8-pounder Hodgdon sent me directly) is definitely far more gray, rather than green. But the hint of brown is also definitely not the same color I've seen in powder that's gone bad.
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