New Member with a ?? to start

Saltydog235 · October 20, 2010, 12:06 PM

First of all, I want to say hello and look forward to learning and getting tips from the members here.

I use to load and shoot quite often but was away from it for years because of well, life and its ups and downs. I'm getting back into it and have become a hunting nut again.

Its been a while since I was active in the reloading scene and recently just set up my presses again. My first question is this, I have numerous bricks of primers and countless cans of powder, some that have never been opened. Most of them have been stored in cabinets in my garage or in a climate controled atmosphere but I am skeptical as to the shelf life of them. I have 150 rounds of 30'06 loaded with Nosler 165grn BT over 57grns of IMR 4350 that have performed flawlessly so far this year in the hunting season. Just last week I preformed a DRT shot on a 400lb boar and a 60lb boar. What are the chances that the powder that has not been loaded is good/bad or should I just load a few rounds and see what I get? Same with the primers?

I'd hate to throw all that away if it was still good but would rather not have an accident with it either. This stuff has gotten expensive of late.

What say the masses?

Sefner · October 20, 2010, 12:09 PM

Welcome to TFL!

We have an awesome reloading board you may wish to check out.

Next, let's see some pictures of those boars

Saltydog235 · October 20, 2010, 12:15 PM

Wish I had some, I forgot to take the camera but that'll be the last time it happens. No one else had one either. Below is a tale of the hunt hopefully to be repeated this weekend. We have an overabundance of pigs on the club. Since September 1, 27 have been taken and we haven't even made a dent. The group I reduced by two had about 15 in it and had already laid waste to 240lbs of shell corn put out the day before.

Went to sit in the stand on Saturday night at about 4:30. All the rain that we had gotten a few weeks back has made for a pure T Hell walk to get into the stand. Even in a Bug Tamer the blood suckers are relentless. Finally got in the stand, cranked up the Thermocell, tucked in the hood and got some relief from the demons of hell. After about 20 minutes in the stand the thermacell started clearing them out and making hood removal possible.

About that same time off to the left I heard the pigs start making some noise a distance off. Five minutes later, I heard a group making a ruckus back in the planted pines I was sitting in to my right. I kept hearing them and knew that my deer hunt had probably just turned into a hog hunt from all the noise. Around 6:10 I heard them close by and all of a sudden there is a group of about 12 or 15, I didn't really count them cause it was shootin' time. At 6:12 the carnage and blood letting was to begin.

I got the 30'06 out trimmed down the scope to about 4X and started looking them over with the crosshairs. The biggest was a brindle colored beast that I thought would be the matriarch sow so I settled in on it. This thing dwarfed all the others, huge head, thick legs and was big. I let the crosshairs settle in on the front shoulder and squeezed off 165grns of Nosler Ballistic Tip over 58grns of IMR 4350 and that hog hit the dirt immediately. It went to kicking but I knew it was dead from the get go.

The rest ran off but not far. It probably wasn't 10 minutes and a couple of them came back and stood under the feeder. I had cycled in a new round and set up the shot. I sent another one down range and the little piggy ain't going to market anymore. That shot was DRT in the boiler room. That big bullet on a 60lber was devastating.

The big one turned out to be a big old boar with moderate sized tusks. The bullet never made an exit wound because this thing was so thick. I doubt that my 338 would have exited this bruiser. We didn't weigh him officially but guessed the weight to be around 400lbs. By far my biggest to date and so far the biggest killed at the club this year.

Got some Barnes X 165 grain bullets on the way for my '06 loads and am intrested to see how they do on big uns' like that. We have a pig problem and I just want to do my part to settle it down. I really need to bring in the AR and go to blasting next time, that would be an epic time for sure.

Oh yeah, Sunday I sat in another stand and didn't see squat but birds, squirells and the state mascot skeeters.

ClayInTx · October 20, 2010, 12:20 PM

My experience it that primers and powder don’t “go bad” just sitting on the shelf.

Sefner · October 20, 2010, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Even in a Bug Tamer the blood suckers are relentless.

Blood suckers? You mean leeches?

pgdion · October 20, 2010, 12:29 PM

Blood suckers are much worse than leeches. They're larger and eat through your skin really fast. I got nailed by some (at a Webelos camp no less). Nasty little buggers. Hey SaltyDog, welcome! This is a very good sight, lots of good info with lots of smart folks. My favorite (and not just because my work doesn't block it ;-) ).

Saltydog235 · October 20, 2010, 12:51 PM

Blood sucker's right now are Mosquitos. Not your run of the mill kind either, these come in clouds and then waves. Think of the old Off commercials with the hand in the box full and its like that everywhere in the woods. Only thing is these particular demons of hell don't know that Off, Picaridin or anything else is a repellant. The week before they were actually lighting on the Thermacell.

.284 · October 20, 2010, 02:38 PM

I will try to shed some light on your situation. I used some 18 year old W296 for my 44 mag that gave me some great results. Real cosistent velocities and zero problems. If you open the powder container and get a rancid odor, you have fertilizer. As far as primers, not sure about that one. I would load a few test rounds and make sure the primers do their job before I did some mass production.

One other thing, the Barnes bullets are high quality projectiles and will do a great job for you. However, they are unique and must NOT be loaded using data for jacket bullets of the same grain weight. Because they are all copper, they are longer than lead core bullets of the same weight. Make sure you use data specifically for the Barnes TSX you have coming. This data can be found online through some powder manaufactures as well as Barnes' website.

Good luck, Jeff

GWS · October 21, 2010, 11:20 AM

Agree with .284. If it looks and smells good it probably is goot. I found some Bulleye this summer hiding behind some stuff (3/4 full canister) that was bought in 1975. Smelled it, ran some powder through my fingers...looked fine. Shot it all recently...zero problems. Have just finished off a bulk stash of primers the same age. Nary a problem.

I live in a dry climate (Northern New Mexico) so humidity is not much of a factor, except that I run water into my house every summer via the evaporative cooler on the roof, and my garage gets some of that.

asavo757 · October 21, 2010, 03:11 PM

just rember that most powder has a smell to it smells like cleaning fluid.that smell was put inthere to let you know ist ok. the smell of bad powder is very nasty or no smell at all. try shaking powder in can if a red powder comes off no good. primers pop off a few if good go with it

October 20, 2010, 12:06 PM	#1
Saltydog235 Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2010 Location: Pawleys Island Posts: 1,563	New Member with a ?? to start First of all, I want to say hello and look forward to learning and getting tips from the members here. I use to load and shoot quite often but was away from it for years because of well, life and its ups and downs. I'm getting back into it and have become a hunting nut again. Its been a while since I was active in the reloading scene and recently just set up my presses again. My first question is this, I have numerous bricks of primers and countless cans of powder, some that have never been opened. Most of them have been stored in cabinets in my garage or in a climate controled atmosphere but I am skeptical as to the shelf life of them. I have 150 rounds of 30'06 loaded with Nosler 165grn BT over 57grns of IMR 4350 that have performed flawlessly so far this year in the hunting season. Just last week I preformed a DRT shot on a 400lb boar and a 60lb boar. What are the chances that the powder that has not been loaded is good/bad or should I just load a few rounds and see what I get? Same with the primers? I'd hate to throw all that away if it was still good but would rather not have an accident with it either. This stuff has gotten expensive of late. What say the masses?

October 20, 2010, 12:09 PM	#2
Sefner Senior Member Join Date: June 24, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 769	Welcome to TFL! We have an awesome reloading board you may wish to check out. Next, let's see some pictures of those boars __________________ gtalk:renfes steamID: Sefner

October 20, 2010, 12:29 PM	#6
pgdion Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2010 Location: MPLS, MN Posts: 1,214	Blood suckers are much worse than leeches. They're larger and eat through your skin really fast. I got nailed by some (at a Webelos camp no less). Nasty little buggers. Hey SaltyDog, welcome! This is a very good sight, lots of good info with lots of smart folks. My favorite (and not just because my work doesn't block it ;-) ). __________________ 597 VTR, because there's so many cans and so little time!

October 20, 2010, 02:38 PM	#8
.284 Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2009 Location: davison, michigan Posts: 665	I will try to shed some light on your situation. I used some 18 year old W296 for my 44 mag that gave me some great results. Real cosistent velocities and zero problems. If you open the powder container and get a rancid odor, you have fertilizer. As far as primers, not sure about that one. I would load a few test rounds and make sure the primers do their job before I did some mass production. One other thing, the Barnes bullets are high quality projectiles and will do a great job for you. However, they are unique and must NOT be loaded using data for jacket bullets of the same grain weight. Because they are all copper, they are longer than lead core bullets of the same weight. Make sure you use data specifically for the Barnes TSX you have coming. This data can be found online through some powder manaufactures as well as Barnes' website. Good luck, Jeff __________________ Guns have only two enemies, rust and politicians! Deer are amazing creatures....so please don't burn the sauteed onions and I'll pass on the steak sauce, thank you. Last edited by .284; October 20, 2010 at 02:47 PM. Reason: added to post regarding barnes bullets

October 21, 2010, 03:11 PM	#10
asavo757 Member Join Date: May 3, 2010 Location: saylorsburg pa Posts: 39	powder just rember that most powder has a smell to it smells like cleaning fluid.that smell was put inthere to let you know ist ok. the smell of bad powder is very nasty or no smell at all. try shaking powder in can if a red powder comes off no good. primers pop off a few if good go with it

October 20, 2010, 12:15 PM	#3
Saltydog235 Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2010 Location: Pawleys Island Posts: 1,563	Wish I had some, I forgot to take the camera but that'll be the last time it happens. No one else had one either. Below is a tale of the hunt hopefully to be repeated this weekend. We have an overabundance of pigs on the club. Since September 1, 27 have been taken and we haven't even made a dent. The group I reduced by two had about 15 in it and had already laid waste to 240lbs of shell corn put out the day before. Went to sit in the stand on Saturday night at about 4:30. All the rain that we had gotten a few weeks back has made for a pure T Hell walk to get into the stand. Even in a Bug Tamer the blood suckers are relentless. Finally got in the stand, cranked up the Thermocell, tucked in the hood and got some relief from the demons of hell. After about 20 minutes in the stand the thermacell started clearing them out and making hood removal possible. About that same time off to the left I heard the pigs start making some noise a distance off. Five minutes later, I heard a group making a ruckus back in the planted pines I was sitting in to my right. I kept hearing them and knew that my deer hunt had probably just turned into a hog hunt from all the noise. Around 6:10 I heard them close by and all of a sudden there is a group of about 12 or 15, I didn't really count them cause it was shootin' time. At 6:12 the carnage and blood letting was to begin. I got the 30'06 out trimmed down the scope to about 4X and started looking them over with the crosshairs. The biggest was a brindle colored beast that I thought would be the matriarch sow so I settled in on it. This thing dwarfed all the others, huge head, thick legs and was big. I let the crosshairs settle in on the front shoulder and squeezed off 165grns of Nosler Ballistic Tip over 58grns of IMR 4350 and that hog hit the dirt immediately. It went to kicking but I knew it was dead from the get go. The rest ran off but not far. It probably wasn't 10 minutes and a couple of them came back and stood under the feeder. I had cycled in a new round and set up the shot. I sent another one down range and the little piggy ain't going to market anymore. That shot was DRT in the boiler room. That big bullet on a 60lber was devastating. The big one turned out to be a big old boar with moderate sized tusks. The bullet never made an exit wound because this thing was so thick. I doubt that my 338 would have exited this bruiser. We didn't weigh him officially but guessed the weight to be around 400lbs. By far my biggest to date and so far the biggest killed at the club this year. Got some Barnes X 165 grain bullets on the way for my '06 loads and am intrested to see how they do on big uns' like that. We have a pig problem and I just want to do my part to settle it down. I really need to bring in the AR and go to blasting next time, that would be an epic time for sure. Oh yeah, Sunday I sat in another stand and didn't see squat but birds, squirells and the state mascot skeeters.

October 20, 2010, 12:20 PM	#4
ClayInTx Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 1,066	My experience it that primers and powder don’t “go bad” just sitting on the shelf.

October 20, 2010, 12:51 PM	#7
Saltydog235 Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2010 Location: Pawleys Island Posts: 1,563	Blood sucker's right now are Mosquitos. Not your run of the mill kind either, these come in clouds and then waves. Think of the old Off commercials with the hand in the box full and its like that everywhere in the woods. Only thing is these particular demons of hell don't know that Off, Picaridin or anything else is a repellant. The week before they were actually lighting on the Thermacell.

October 21, 2010, 11:20 AM	#9
GWS Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2010 Location: New Mexico Posts: 688	Agree with .284. If it looks and smells good it probably is goot. I found some Bulleye this summer hiding behind some stuff (3/4 full canister) that was bought in 1975. Smelled it, ran some powder through my fingers...looked fine. Shot it all recently...zero problems. Have just finished off a bulk stash of primers the same age. Nary a problem. I live in a dry climate (Northern New Mexico) so humidity is not much of a factor, except that I run water into my house every summer via the evaporative cooler on the roof, and my garage gets some of that.