I have read all of the articles dealing with the fact that you can't keep black powder, or many of the substitutes for very long without them losing potency, is there a way of stopping that from happening? Is it caused by oxygen or moisture, or a combination of both, or something else? And if so, what can we do to keep it longer… put it in the fridge?

Black powder can last a LONG time . There are some who have found out the hard way when they played with an old Civil War gun and it went off !! The rule for all powders is to keep them cool and dry .wet black powder may be difficult to ignite but if dried it's still potent AFAIK. Smokeless powder will break down creating a very unstable substance.If it has an acrid or ammonia smell [solvent smell is normal] or has changed color disgard it !!

I've had black powder in 20 year old dupont cans that worked just fine. The substitutes, particulary triple seven pellets, are another story. Triple 7, Black Mag 3, and clean shot absorb moisture like a sponge. I store my unopened containers with a vacuum sealer. End of problem.

I'm still shooting Hodgdon Black Powder that is a couple decades old, red metal can marked made in Scotland, good as ever and wish I had more. I used it to take a whitetail this season.

I doubt there is any powder more stable than true black powder.

The substitutes are another story.

Brent

A friend gave me several pounds of blackpowder from the 60's at least,the cans were marked herters,and it worked just fine.

Thanks for all of your replys.
I can appreciate that powder will still go boom even after being stored for a while. What I am wondering if it is possible to keep the volocities and therefore paterns consistant after I have broken the seal.

quote:

Originally posted by quarterbore:
Thanks for all of your replys.
I can appreciate that powder will still go boom even after being stored for a while. What I am wondering if it is possible to keep the volocities and therefore paterns consistant after I have broken the seal.

Yes, if you keep the temperature below about 125 deg F.

Brent

Degradation of black powder and subsitute black powders is caused by atmospheric moisture.

Keep your black powder in a tightly closed metal container, like the can it comes in, in a cool dry place and it will last virtually forever! Loaded artillery shells full of black powder occasionally dug up in Europe from Napoleonic battlefields are still considered dangerous! The same is NOT TRUE of some of the substitutes, but if they are kept in a sealed, airtight container in a cool, dry environment, they will all last a lot longer than if they ares tored so that the air has continual contact with the powders. I have several of the plastic jugs of loose Pyrodex I bought years ago, and the powder in them still delivers adequate ballistics. I store them with the lids tightly screwed on, and when I open them, I remove the amount of powder I need then immediately put the caps back on. The jugs are stored in a dry environment.

quote:

Originally posted by El Deguello:
Degradation of black powder and subsitute black powders is caused by atmospheric moisture.

Not really. Certainly not in a day to day or month to month fashion. BP is remarkably insensitive to moisture.

Brent