Powder Identity

[LoadOnSunday…Load Again]

Hi there,
I recently inherited everything that my Father-in-law had that had anything to do with hunting/shooting/reloading etc., which included 8 or 10 pounds of various powders. Now I've used already opened and maybe used a little bit cans of powders before But, these were from reliable people that I trusted completely!!……… My father-in-law, on the other hand, was well let's just say he liked to drink A LOT and take a lot of chances, which is exactly why he's not with us anymore.
My question is: Is there anyway to tell exactly what powder is in each of these containers. They all still have the factory labels However, 1 of the cans has the label scratched out and has hand written on it "38 super MIX"!!! That one will be disposed of! There is also a white paper bag in the lot that also has about a pound of powder in it, that will also be disposed of. I just want for obvious reasons to make sure of what powder I actually have.
Is there any website that describes and has actual pictures of what each powder is? I haven't found anything yet.
I'm also wondering the same thing about a clear plastic spice container full of primers that is marked Magnum Rifle. How do I know if they are actually Magnum or not? And why are they in a spice container? Could you buy them in bulk, he did live about 5min. away from the CCI Factory. And he also had a 300 win mag that he used for many of his escapades!
Any help or direction is Greatly Appreciated!!
BTW, I WILL NOT be shooting any of his hand loads! They will be taken apart and rebuilt to my standards. I heard the story too many times about how the gunsmith refused to fix his S&W 29 AGAIN because of how hot he was loading for it.

 

[FEENIX]

Hi there,
I recently inherited everything that my Father-in-law had that had anything to do with hunting/shooting/reloading etc., which included 8 or 10 pounds of various powders. Now I've used already opened and maybe used a little bit cans of powders before But, these were from reliable people that I trusted completely!!……… My father-in-law, on the other hand, was well let's just say he liked to drink A LOT and take a lot of chances, which is exactly why he's not with us anymore.
My question is: Is there anyway to tell exactly what powder is in each of these containers. They all still have the factory labels However, 1 of the cans has the label scratched out and has hand written on it "38 super MIX"!!! That one will be disposed of! There is also a white paper bag in the lot that also has about a pound of powder in it, that will also be disposed of. I just want for obvious reasons to make sure of what powder I actually have.
Is there any website that describes and has actual pictures of what each powder is? I haven't found anything yet.
I'm also wondering the same thing about a clear plastic spice container full of primers that is marked Magnum Rifle. How do I know if they are actually Magnum or not? And why are they in a spice container? Could you buy them in bulk, he did live about 5min. away from the CCI Factory. And he also had a 300 win mag that he used for many of his escapades!
Any help or direction is Greatly Appreciated!!
BTW, I WILL NOT be shooting any of his hand loads! They will be taken apart and rebuilt to my standards. I heard the story too many times about how the gunsmith refused to fix his S&W 29 AGAIN because of how hot he was loading for it.

It is not worth the risk, time, and effort for "me," but I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Gary in MD]

It sounds like your best move would be to dump all powder that isn't in a sealed factory container and move on.

 

[FEENIX]

It sounds like your best move would be to dump all powder that isn't in a sealed factory container and move on.

Exactly! Or save it for survival kit fire starter/augment fire-starting.

 

[ShtrRdy]

As an anecdotal story about primers in a jar, ..... there was a benchrest shooter that used the range I go to. He would load ammunition at the range. He carried his primers in a glass jar. I think the reason why he did that was because he used Federal small rifle match primers. The Federal primer boxes are quite large.

He's passed away last year from alzheimer's.

 

[Ol' Red]

dump the powder in a pan or bowl. Melt paraffin and dip pinecones in the paraffin, then roll them in the powder. great fire starters.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

Good luck on the powder and hand loads.

I store unused primers in sealed, glass spice jars myself when I don't use the full 100. I've never had a problem doing this. I think you're fine with using the primers.

 

[LoadOnSunday…Load Again]

Great idea about using the powder for fire starter! Great video Thanks Feenix! A few of the cans are the same ones I already have so I can cross reference with them and I think those will be alright. But, these others will be fire starters!

What about the primers though? Are they a different color on the inside? to possibly help differentiate between Magnum Large Rifle and Large Rifle? Is there any way to tell the difference?

 

[FEENIX]

What about the primers though? Are they a different color on the inside? to possibly help differentiate between Magnum Large Rifle and Large Rifle? Is there any way to tell the difference?

They are just as hard to identify. If you use the COW method to fire-form, save it for this process.

 

[Dmagna]

Could always just do a taste test. See what its tastes like and compare.

 

[Prairie Sasquatch]

If you are worried about the primers just use them for starting loads for setting up scopes etc. I had a bunch of primers from my grandfather which weren't labeled. He was good about keeping everything in order but these weren't for some reason. I used these for setting up scopes with starting powder charges and some misc bullets. I used the rest with starting loads and some misc .243 bullets for letting my nephew practice. All bullets were weighed and loaded appropriately but I wasn't concerned about accuracy. He learned gun handling and got to shoot and practice which was the most important.

 

[med358-boise]

Many many powders will look virtually identical - as other have said...fire starter or fertalizer.