I inherited a bunch of old powder, primers, and loaded ammo. Some of this stuff is in excess of 30 yrs old. I just don't trust it in my hunting rifles. My question is how do I get rid of it? I wouldn't want to blow the ass end off of the local garbage truck.

Powder you can spread on your lawn or flowers. It's a great fertilizer. Primers I would mark as old, save them and use them for fire forming brass. Shelf life of primers is almost interminable. You can also use them for plinking, foulers or other non-critical recreational shooting. I'd do much the same with the loaded ammo, or take it apart and use the components as above.

Personally, I would burn the powder! But then, I am a bit of a pyro!

Pour it out on the driveway and light it!

Is the powder possibly mis-identified or in a non-original container? Is it "lumpy" from moisture absorbtion? Is it discolored or has a suspicious odor as if it is deteriorated? If not, then there is no need to discard it. My best loads are with some surplus 4831 which is approaching 60 years old. Nine out of ten big game animals I have killed in the last 30 years have been done in by this powder, and I'm not about to use it on my yard for fertilizer.

As to the primers, most of these loads of 50+ year-old 4831 have been sparked by some 1973-vintage RWS primers. It's hard to damage powder and primers with age alone.

(If your powder really is questionable, as a nitrogen-based organic, it will flush down the toilet without creating any problems.)

I know a fellow who swears he dumped a pound of accidentally mixed powder on his wife's roses in the fall. Come spring she was having guests on the patio and someone dropped a cigarette butt in the flowers. There was a mighty flash and my buddy went fishing for a few days.

Scatter it thin if you scatter it.

As an NRA Reloading instructor Bob338's info is right on with what we teach. Do spread any powder thin, it is a good ferterlizer.

As for primers the old addagage was to spray them with WD-40 to deactaviate. Well its been proven that it dosn't work. They can and do go off even after oil. Like Bob said use them in a non critical operation.

Take the old rounds a part and use the components. Chamber the empty cases and detonate the primers (in a safe area etc).

Scout Master 54

Leftoverdj~
Try and light some powder on your lawn or driveway, and then come back and say whether or not you believe your buddy.

Bob. you would let facts stand in the way of a great story?

Must be a Yankee.

From further south than you! "Yankee" is about as big an insult as I know. Must emanate from a mugwump!

When I need to get rid of bad powder I just feed it to my chickens. In about three days I use the eggs as hand granades and they make real good reactive targets too.

A guy in the business of demilling military surplus ammo deactivates primers by putting cases with live primers in a drum of antifreeze. Don't know if it's mixed with water or not. Says he's not had a live primer detonate when punching them out of the cases. He leaves the cases in the drum for a couple of days. Not recommending this as 100% safe and as said, the safest way to be sure the primer is inert is to fire them in your gun with the powder and projectile removed. Also, the antifreeze that he uses is the standard "green" type.

If you have deep pile carpeting, you could mash a few of the old primers into it and watch the fun when your wife vacuums (just kidding) .

Dennis

I bought a wooden crate that contained a Stainless steel container with 150 lbs. of military old surplus 4831 (sometimes known a 4350 Data Powder) the same stuff that Stonecreek is talking about. the same stuff that Jack O'Connor quotes in his writings that folks say is too hot or they cannot get that much of it in a case as O'connor did...Well, he was talking about a different 4831 than todays IMR or Hodgens 4831...the old stuff will out do the new stuff in velocity with less pressure...Its 60 plus years old and still as good as new...I sold most of it off and cleared about 50 lbs of the stuff free...I still have 40 lbs...62 grs. of the old stuff gives me 3200FPS in a 22" .270 with a 130 gr. bullet, now thats cooking and at less pressure and 200 FPS more velocity than I get from 58 grs of the new stuff...Hope I don't run out...at my age I doubt that I will..

Also I have been playing with this stuff and my double rifle and its getting some very interresting results..I would like to push it a bit as all seems well but I afraid to as these double ain't cheap...wish I had some pressure data equipment on this....

I'd sure take a good look at that old powder and see if its any good as I suspect it is old 4831...Have someone inspect it...its easy to tell if powder is any good...It is excellent fertilizer BTW....

Gentlemen,

We tried a test to see how to kill primers. I tried several types of oils - including WD-40.

What we have found was that any oil will kill a primer IF it penetrates the lacquer coating they use to seal them.

Primers with the seals intact are not affected by any oil.

If you look at a number of primers, you will find a few that have some break in the seal, These are very easy to kill. The rest are better used for something, as oil will NOT kill them.