Cracked Open A New Can

[Chesterwyo]

I finished off my last can of H4895 yesterday. Had to open the next one in the rotation tonight. If this new 308 continues to show me nice things with this powder, I’ll have to buy a new can by fall. Can anyone tell me if the price has gone up any since this one was purchased? ???

 

[Captain_coues]

Price has gone up a little since then. Good luck finding anymore of that type.

Make sure to hang on to the empty can. I’ve never seen one like that. I have vintage Hercules, Unique and IMR, but no Hodgdons.

 

[Chesterwyo]

I think this is the old military surplus that Bruce Hodgdon started that business with. I’ve got a bunch of the new stuff as well.

 

[Bluehair]

That’s about what some rounds cost now. Crazy.

I’ve been trying to use up some old stuff and kept some of the bullet boxes with the handwritten prices on them I guess because I think they look cool. No $3.50 cans of powder though.

 

[HikeHunt61]

Is that can made of cardboard?

 

[Bluehair]

Is that can made of cardboard?

Yup….and a “stopper” instead of a screw top. i still have at least one cardboard can in use.

 

[HikeHunt61]

Wow- cool. I have some 40 year old stuff with stoppers- but they are metal cans.

 

[HikeHunt61]

Price has gone up a little since then. Good luck finding anymore of that type.

Make sure to hang on to the empty can. I’ve never seen one like that. I have vintage Hercules, Unique and IMR, but no Hodgdons.

IMR 4895 is still available last time I checked. My dad used it extensively in 243. Pretty sure it killed my first deer!

 

[Captain_coues]

IMR 4895 is still available last time I checked. My dad used it extensively in 243. Pretty sure it killed my first deer!

I have a lot of IMR 4895, I bet close to 9 or 10 pounds. I got it because it was available when the others I like were gone and since I never used it, I wanted to experiment. It’s good stuff but it seems like the H 4895 is better in some cases, at least in some of the data out there. I have never used it and can’t seem to find it anywhere so can’t really talk about it. The IMR 4895 does really well in the 338-06 for fire forming to AI with 185 grain bullets and has great accuracy doing it.

 

[sjhgraysage]

I have a can like that, same label but it is round instead of square.
I also have a container of H205 that is square made of cardboard with the rubber stopper.

 

[Flyjunky12]

Do you guys shoot like 2 rounds a year? How do you have powder that old still around?

 

[Captain_coues]

I bet some of the old stuff out there is from older people that only loaded what they need to hunt and ended up getting passed down to the younger family. My grand dad was like that. He wasn’t a reloader, but he had boxes of 300 savage that go way back and he only hunted deer with it. He thought that recreation shooting was a waste. He saved all of the empties in the old boxes and it looked like he shot a little over 80 rounds in 40 or 50 years. The Unique I have is old and not used because I feel that powder is junk. At least compared to all of the temp and pressure stabilized stuff we have now.

 

[littlebighorn]

Most of us who have reloaded for a long time have old stuff hanging around. I just opened this one to try in my 220 swift. Of the 4 powders I tried this old H380 produced the second best groups...proving that old powder and old guys are still worth something! ?

 

[Chesterwyo]

Do you guys shoot like 2 rounds a year? How do you have powder that old still around?

Can't speak for anybody else, but I buy a lot of stuff from people who are clearing out their dad, or grandpa's old stuff. I've probably burned up 50 lbs of odds and ends powders through the years.

 

[Zeke]

Someone will have one helluva windfall when I kick the bucket.

I have 3 sons-in-law and 4 daughters who hunt so I'd suspect it will all get used by family. At least that's the plan but honestly, when I'm gone, I'll have way bigger things to worry about than where all by trinkets went. Way bigger, haha

Zeke

 

[littlebighorn]

Someone will have one helluva windfall when I kick the bucket.

I have 3 sons-in-law and 4 daughters who hunt so I'd suspect it will all get used by family. At least that's the plan but honestly, when I'm gone, I'll have way bigger things to worry about than where all by trinkets went. Way bigger, haha

Zeke

How about me Zeke? Ain't I family???
Oh wait, I'm going first, but I'll save you a seat next to the fire.

 

[Captain_coues]

Here are a few of my old ones. I have used plenty of the IMR 4831 and bought new ones in the past 10 years. I’m not sure why this pound survived being used. You can see some were purchased from Furr’s and T, G, &Y. All I remember about Furr’s is that my grandparents liked to go there for lunch as it was a Cafeteria in Farmington, NM. We got pie there during the holidays every year too. I don’t remember them selling gunpowder but never really looked. T,G, &Y I remember very little about.