Shelf life of components

[Brinky]

Just curious on how long one can store primers and powders? Seeing we are in a bit of a crunch and need to hold on to things a little longer I began to wonder how long is too long. Never had to conserve on these before just shot em and bought more. What would be the best way to store for the long haul other than the obvious cool dry place? Might be wise when things catch up to have a couple five thousand primers and a few extra pounds of powder in a rotation for the next crunch.

[DogGone]

I know a shooter who has broke into his long time stash that he had in his crawl space. Powder he wrote dates of 1967 and primers 1955 everything still works fine. I know another guy who is still shooting Herters primers. The spelling might not be right as I have never seen them. He said they are older than I and I am 35.

[Brinky]

That's good life. Not sure a crawl space would be my choice of storage though.

[yellowdog]

Most of the articles that I've read on this subject say pretty much the same thing, & that is a rule of thumb of about 10 years on powders, primers, & loaded components. Not to say that they won't last longer, but that is the recomended "safe" shelf life.

[bearhntr]

Gun powder is a pretty cool substance. you can get it wet and after it dries it is just as potent. It has a very long shelf life and should never be taken lightly. Now that said I am not sure if the companies are adding any "special" ingredients that might have a shelf life, but gun powder is well over 10 years. I am not so sure of just how long primers are able to last.

[yellowdog]

I was told that if a red coloration occurs it's the nitrates in the powder breaking down to nitric acid, or nitric that wasn't cleaned out of the powder by the maker. When powder was still made in metal cans the break down was easier to spot by active rust on the inside of the lid.

[majestrate98]

I'm still using primers that my Dad purchased in the early '60s with no issue. However, some of the powder from back then is deteriorating. You can tell bad powder from both the color (rust - mentioned above) and the smell. If you start to get an ammonia smell, that tells the powder is breaking down. I've loaded some of it and seen some velocity drop. It was from a can of 4350 that was about half full when I opened it. Powder from an unopened container will last a long, long time.

[bearhntr]

If there is nitric acid that forms and turns to crystal be very careful. Once in crystal form it is very unstable and can explode!!! If you see this get rid of it right away. It is basically like Nitro glycerin! It is also very sensitive to light and can explode just being exposed to sun light for a short period of time. If you have ever seen a bottle that contains any nitrates it will be a stained (tinted) glass bottle. This helps filter the UV rays.