g.willikers
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The caution for not mixing different batches of the same powders might be more about consistency and accuracy than safety.
mixing powders ?
- Thread starter rebs
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I've always poured the last little bit of powder into another bottle of same stuff.. Works for me over the past 30 years. Sometimes I'll even pour more than that into a new bottle, just to make more space on the shelf. Unique is .. well Unique. Red Dot ... is Red Dot.... Etc.
??the story about bullseye as I remember it was that it was originally powder meant for red dot (iirc) that went through the screenings. Chips, flakes, undersized, not full sized flakes.
The full sized flakes went on into the regular batches, these chips would be sold as "faster" red dot, so to speak.
It goes to show that there can be a significant difference between the same plastic that is altered just by shape or size of granule. That didn't really last very long, soon the factory saw that bullseye had a market, and started creating it as a product of its own.
Back when cordite was still being used, they were able to alter burn characteristics by altering the shape and size of the extrusions. Square exposed more surface, ridges too. Some flake powders were perforated in the center.
Ball powder, a lot of people will disagree, was never meant to be a better powder, the ball powder process was the simplest way of making it in train car load quantities. it was also easier to work with in automated machinery. The military stopped using the standard tubular powder about the time we switched to the .308, iirc, and never looked back. H110 was originally created as a ball powder for the .30 carbine. Blc was originally the nato loading for the .308. 5.56 used a ball powder but I don't know what.
There were a lot of folks that started buying ball powder because it was the coming thing, and honestly, I don't see that it makes a big difference anymore, you can buy and use great powders that are made both ways. I'm really surprised that a lot of the extruded and flake powders haven't just been discontinued, but seriously, I can't see anyone ever having the nerve to tell thousands of heavily armed and angry men that 4350 is going to be replaced by 4350-B.
This information came from phil sharpe, in some of his books.
The full sized flakes went on into the regular batches, these chips would be sold as "faster" red dot, so to speak.
It goes to show that there can be a significant difference between the same plastic that is altered just by shape or size of granule. That didn't really last very long, soon the factory saw that bullseye had a market, and started creating it as a product of its own.
Back when cordite was still being used, they were able to alter burn characteristics by altering the shape and size of the extrusions. Square exposed more surface, ridges too. Some flake powders were perforated in the center.
Ball powder, a lot of people will disagree, was never meant to be a better powder, the ball powder process was the simplest way of making it in train car load quantities. it was also easier to work with in automated machinery. The military stopped using the standard tubular powder about the time we switched to the .308, iirc, and never looked back. H110 was originally created as a ball powder for the .30 carbine. Blc was originally the nato loading for the .308. 5.56 used a ball powder but I don't know what.
There were a lot of folks that started buying ball powder because it was the coming thing, and honestly, I don't see that it makes a big difference anymore, you can buy and use great powders that are made both ways. I'm really surprised that a lot of the extruded and flake powders haven't just been discontinued, but seriously, I can't see anyone ever having the nerve to tell thousands of heavily armed and angry men that 4350 is going to be replaced by 4350-B.
This information came from phil sharpe, in some of his books.
"...mix Bullseye with Bullseye from a different lot number..." Isn't an issue. Same burn rate. The issue is inadvertently mixing Bullseye with Unique or Red Dot or the like.
Mixing rifle powders is really bad. Pressures in handgun loads are nowhere near rifle pressures.
"...reprocessing black powder..." Earliest stuff would separate into the 3 components when transported by cart over the almost roads in the Middle Ages. Gunners had to remix it to use it. And the ratios of sulfur to potassium nitrate to charcoal were different from place to place.
"...never meant to be a better powder..." Just a different manufacturing method.
Mixing rifle powders is really bad. Pressures in handgun loads are nowhere near rifle pressures.
"...reprocessing black powder..." Earliest stuff would separate into the 3 components when transported by cart over the almost roads in the Middle Ages. Gunners had to remix it to use it. And the ratios of sulfur to potassium nitrate to charcoal were different from place to place.
"...never meant to be a better powder..." Just a different manufacturing method.
Some one ought to ask Alliant if they recommend storing gunpowder under water. And then, ask about the shelf life of the stuff once it is dried. I am quite certain they won't recommend the first and they will hem and haw about the second. Water storage is bad for the lifetime of gunpowder, and stuff leaches out of gunpowder stored in water.
Back in the 70's you could find Hercules bragging about their experiment but they have not done that in a while. Probably because someone copied what they saw in the ad, and then, sued once their house burnt down or their gun blew up. Companies are liable for the claims they make in ads.
Old gunpowder is stored under water, the Navy used to do that, because the water will keep the gunpowder cool and it will dissolve the acid gas that comes out of deteriorating gunpowder. Bulk gunpowder will autocombust as it ages. Shooters are generally ignorant of the amount of munitions being destroyed each year, basically, they don't want to know. They want to assume that they and their ammunition will last forever and the ammunition industry encourages this ignorance. It is in no ones financial interest to educate the public because the shooting public will become picky. Might not want to pay full price for 10, 20 year old ammunition and powder.
The Small Arms Survey has some of the best information in the public domain on this,
They have a number of articles about demilling under
Weapons Collection and Destruction
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/regu...sures/weapons-collection-and-destruction.html
The tonnage to be demilled by the US alone, in the 600,000 tons range, is beyond the conception of someone who things ammunition lasts forever.
Burning the Bullet: Industrial Demilitarization of Ammunition,
A gun shop that I spent a lot of time in bought a lot of used reloading stuff .
He would get a lot of opened of cans of powder Half Cans and the like .
He would not sell the opened cans of powder but would dump it in an old keg .
This was the powder he used to load shotgun shells . He was a trap shooter and a good one he shot a lot for years never a problem .
He used any opened can of powder that came in the shop for years and years . He was also a very good trap shooter as was his wife and shot the same Winchester Model 12 Trap gun for years . I never seen any problem .
Would I do this no and no .
He would get a lot of opened of cans of powder Half Cans and the like .
He would not sell the opened cans of powder but would dump it in an old keg .
This was the powder he used to load shotgun shells . He was a trap shooter and a good one he shot a lot for years never a problem .
He used any opened can of powder that came in the shop for years and years . He was also a very good trap shooter as was his wife and shot the same Winchester Model 12 Trap gun for years . I never seen any problem .
Would I do this no and no .
Some people just get away with dangerous behavior due to luck. Old gun powder is more likely to auto combust in bulk and that gunshop owner was lucky his business did not burn down.
The contractor at Camp Minden Louisiana had been storing old artillery powder in pallets, many out in the open. The powder was to be demilled but in 2012 15 million pounds of the stuff exploded. I can’t find an official report, but old gunpowder will auto combust if stored in bulk, but then, lighting could have set off the propellant stored outside. You can look at the various pictures in these links. If you notice, the Feds were going to take the path of least resistance and burn the stuff into the open air, and of course anyone down range of the toxic waste in the air would have been breathing the toxic fumes. The more I read of the competence of Federal Employees, the less competence I detect.
New Information: Bunker blast at Camp Minden
By USAHM-News on October 19, 2012
https://usahitman.com/nibbacm/
6 arrested in Camp Minden explosives investigation
http://www.fox8live.com/story/22637088/la-company-managers-indicted-in-explosives-case
Execs accused of improperly storing explosives at Camp Minden due in court
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/04/camp_minden_explosives_court.html
Camp Minden: From blast to possible burn
http://www.ktbs.com/story/28065933/camp-minden-from-blast-to-possible-burn