Old primed brass and powder

[Q_Sertorius]

I was setting up my reloading bench again yesterday and in the bottom of a bin full of boxes of fired brass, I found a ziplock bag with approximately 100 old primed .25-06 brass. By “old”, I mean probably 2004-2006. Also with them was an unsealed, but almost full can of 4831sc and a box of Sierra 117-grain bullets. As best I can remember, I was prepping everything during spring break 2004 and left them on the reloading bench in our old cabin and my dad must have packed them up when he fixed the bench to his new barn. All components appear “fine.”

The Scotch blood in me wants to load them up and see how they shoot (if they shoot?). Waste not, want not…

The contrarian in me thinks it would be hilarious if I was able to shoot good consistent groups with those components.

My more practical and prudent side says to fire off all the old primers, then pour the powder out on the driveway and light it on fire. Then deprime and resize the brass and get back to work. The brass is probably twice fired? Maybe only once fired?

What would you do?

 

[Choupique]

pour the powder out on the driveway

Noooooo

What would you do?

I am an exceptionally cheap bastard. I would use them all as if they were brand new and perfectly fine. Im sure they are.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Noooooo




I am an exceptionally cheap bastard. I would use them all as if they were brand new and perfectly fine. Im sure they are.

So, you are part Scotch too?!?!

 

[sndmn11]

I wouldn't think twice about it, they are fine.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I wouldn't think twice about it, they are fine.

My only hesitation now is not being able to replicate the load data.

 

[Caseknife]

All should be good to go as long as it was stored properly and you can remember what the primers were. Should have notes what the load was somewhere.

 

[Wrench]

You can smell when powder goes skank. It it's kept in a mostly low humidity and hasn't had the coatings beat off of it... I'll last basically forever.

I finished a can I bought in 1996ish off during the rona scare. I have shot 10s of thousands of primers that are around 20 years old.

 

[Chris in TN]

I wouldn't bat an eye at using the powder or primers or projectiles. I shot some reloads yesterday assembled with powder that has a 2003 manufacture date, IIRC. I don't even think of it as 'old', it's just powder that I bought a large container of, then didn't even open it for several years, and only use in one rifle that I don't shoot that much.

Brass is weird, though. If it's old brass that has been fired, age cracking can be an issue. I have seen BH reman ammo with old LC 5.56 brass, crack upon firing after storing 10+ years. But as I understand it, if it's new brass that was annealed then not used, it should be fine.

Here's an article that addresses the issue of brass age-hardening in far greater depth than I'll even pretend to understand. I'll just say I've seen old LC 5.56 reman brass, crack. But not 'new' brass.

https://www.ampannealing.com/articles/60/age-hardening-of-brass/

Also, as for powder, I regularly load and shoot a very low volume of shotgun or pistol ammo using faster shotgun powders in metal canisters that are older than I am. A twelve pound keg of red dot goes a long way when you use 4 grains at a time for a handful of rounds per year.