Yikes! I just got word that a friend of mine was seriously injured when he poured a large amount (less than a pound?) of powder into a garbage dumpster! Aparrently there was an ember or a small flame (cigarrette?) in the dumpster! The resulting flash/flame/gas burnt his face and he ingested heat or gas into his lungs! He went to a local hospital but was flown to a trauma center 100 miles away for treatment!
Apparently my friend had loaded up his big progressive press with what he later discovered to be the wrong powder or he poured the wrong powder on top of the right powder and then discovered his mistake! He then took the powder and went to the dumpster and opened the lid leaned over and poured it in!
My friend is home now and when I get to speak to him I will add any pertinent details.
The point is I have only had to destroy (throw away) powder on a couple of occassions. Once I poured the powder in a can of water and then threw it away. The other time I had been given some old military surplus powder and it turned on me (seperated) - I burned this powder in a remote stump burn!
Anyone have a good suggestion for the best way to render inert or destroy powder prior to disposing of it?
Lets all be as careful and as attentive when reloading as humanly possible!
More later
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Just scatter it over the lawn.

Hog Killer

down the toilet!

black powder or smokeless powder?

Either actually....pour it on a gravel way in a line no more than 1/2" deep and as long as it takes.....just light one end of the line and let it burn.

With black powder I'd touch it off with a long stick.

Hog Killer is right, it makes a good fertiliser.

Hey VG, I'm with the "fertilizer" folks. Had some of the "RL" Powders(15, 19, 22, 25) that were a bit too erratic for me and I gave them to a buddy, along with that information. He messed with them awhile, didn't like them either and spread them over his garden. Got some fine tomatoes from that RL series of Powders.

Thanks all for the advice! At the price of powders anymore I hope I never have to dispose of anymore.
But for safeties sake I have plenty of lawn to spread it on!
Hold into the wind
Varmintguy

Varmintguy I hope your friend is alright.

I pour it in the flower bed.

When younger I would try different and exciting ways to get rid of it.

But during the years and all the horrible accidents I have seen and heard about and the responsibility of having a child watch me for an example, I have come to different ends.

fertilizer. Works good on lawns and tomatoes. Not too good for potatoes.