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How Long Can You Store Black Powder Ammo?


Mountain Man Gramps

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I know that you can store smokeless ammo for several years if you keep it cool and dry.  But what about black powder ammo?  I'm guessing it doesn't have as long a shelf life, but does anyone know for sure?  I know you can store black powder itself for a long time, but ammo has black powder in a brass case, not plastic jug that isn't supposed to corrode.

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There are stories about people finding a Civil War musket that was still loaded and when they caped and tried to fire it it want off.  So black powder can last a long time even in a musket.

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6 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Decades, if stored properly. 

OLG 


Forever if stored properly.  Decades even if stored improperly!

 

:D

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Plastic containers for BP are a recent thing. It was stored in metal cans for 150 years before that, if not longer. I know a cartridge collector and he has original brass cartridges from the beginning of their development and they have no signs of corrosion. I have a .32 RF cartridge from the 1870s and the lead looks bad. The copper/brass looks good.

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27 minutes ago, Cholla said:

Plastic containers for BP are a recent thing. It was stored in metal cans for 150 years before that, if not longer. I know a cartridge collector and he has original brass cartridges from the beginning of their development and they have no signs of corrosion. I have a .32 RF cartridge from the 1870s and the lead looks bad. The copper/brass looks good.

None of this will tell ya if the round will go bang...

 

Like others have said, "IF"...

 

Phantom

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18 hours ago, Mountain Man Gramps said:

I know that you can store smokeless ammo for several years if you keep it cool and dry.  But what about black powder ammo?  I'm guessing it doesn't have as long a shelf life, but does anyone know for sure?  I know you can store black powder itself for a long time, but ammo has black powder in a brass case, not plastic jug that isn't supposed to corrode.

 

What, if any, type of boolit loob is probably a factor.  You don't want that loob contaminating the powder.

 

 

 

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If you're properly assembling your BP cartridges... they'll probably last longer than you will be around.  I'm shooting BP shotshells that I loaded well over a year ago.   I don't bother dating when I load a box of shells, so some could be several years old.    Some of my rifle cartridges are also well over a year old.  If you're using a lube wad or cookie in your cartridges, you SHOULD be using an over-powder card to keep that lube from fouling your powder.

 

(The above is for real black powder, my experience with subs is quite limited.  I have to remember some folks apparently don't know the difference between subs and black powder, referring to both as "black powder"... however incorrect this is).

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The degradation of the primer compound in old center fire black powder rounds is the factor that makes a round a dud when you pull the trigger on it … not the powder 

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1 hour ago, Griff said:

If you're properly assembling your BP cartridges... they'll probably last longer than you will be around.  I'm shooting BP shotshells that I loaded well over a year ago.   I don't bother dating when I load a box of shells, so some could be several years old.    Some of my rifle cartridges are also well over a year old.  If you're using a lube wad or cookie in your cartridges, you SHOULD be using an over-powder card to keep that lube from fouling your powder.

 

(The above is for real black powder, my experience with subs is quite limited.  I have to remember some folks apparently don't know the difference between subs and black powder, referring to both as "black powder"... however incorrect this is).

Some of the BP subs (like Pyrodex) are hydroscopic.  Ammo loaded with them can become squibby when stored in humid conditions.  See Alliant's comparison table for the discontinued Black MZ.  When shooting in humid conditions I prefer real BP.  Real BP would be my choice for long term storage.

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I did an EOD call in the early 1980's to Batoche Saskatchewan in Canada where there was a battle in 1885 and recovered a cannon ball. When we detonated it the explosion was far bigger than anticipated as we were trying to use a minimal amount of explosives. At that time I think it is safe to say it was over 100 years old.

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Asking the right question makes a difference..

Did you just want to store it, like in a collection, answer:  Forever.

 

Or are you asking how long it will be functional?  Answer:  also possibly forever, if stored properly.  I would suspect storage method to be  a factor in its longevity.  I have a metal canister of BP that has been kept dry in my garage attic for about 50 years.  A couple years ago, I opened the can and used some.  It worked fine. 

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On 6/22/2021 at 12:39 PM, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

I found a firecracker at an estate sale of a guy that ran a Chinese restaurant.  It said Made in China, Yuan Dynasty 1367.  I lit the wick.  It went off.

If the labeling was authentic, you likely blew up a fairly valuable artifact. 

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I'll report here on my experience. The Chinese virus cancelled almost all of the Canadian and most of the US matches so I have many thousands of rounds to be expended this year.

 

The good news is the ammo shortage has not affected me. 

 

 

 

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