Powder and primers surviving the elements??

[miller_man]

So, I've had my reloading setup and everything I had with it - sitting in a storage unit (not climate controlled) for a solid 24 months - 2 summers and 2 winters and everything between. I thought I just had a half box of primers and less than half a pound of powder (all pistol). Just got into our house 2 months ago, and getting around to getting stuff setup in my barn. Went through the tub of reloading stuff today to see about making some dummy rounds. Found 2 1/2 pounds of HS6 powder - 2 unopened, 1 opened and 2 boxes of primers. Is this stuff going to be any good? Or did the moisture/humidity/heat/cold probably ruin it? Should I find out for curiosity and fun sake or is there risk with doing so?

I'm not too excited about reloading on the single stage press right now, but could get around to making some rounds.

[olstyn]

My press lives in my insulated but not heated garage, and my powder and primers seem to survive cold MN winters and hot, humid MN summers just fine. Admittedly the bench is on the side of the garage that shares a wall with the interior of my condo, so it doesn't get super cold out there, but how cold does it really get in Nashville during the winter? I'd expect the two sealed containers of powder to be just fine, and the opened one to be fine as long as the cap was on tightly. I wouldn't expect any real problems with the primers.

Other folks may have different opinions, of course...

[Malamute]

If any question, Id just use them up for practice ammo.

[miller_man]

Ya, I'd only be making rounds for plinking/practice anyways. Its gets cold enough here in nashville to have snow and ice the last two winters! It is pretty mild overall though.

[Malamute]

I believe heat is more of an issue in degrading powder and primers, and moisture can also cause problems. If the powder smells normal, its probably OK. It seems to get slightly weaker as it degrades from what I understand. Somebody left several bricks of 22 ammo in his attic for 10 or 20 years. He had chrono'ed them before and after. They all fired, but were consistently slightly lower velocity, with the same basic vel deviation spread. I think it was at least 90s in the summer.

Several years ago one of the guys on the leverguns forum fooled around with primers and percussion caps. He put them in water for various periods of time to see what it took to kill them. I think even after being in water for several days all the primers still worked. I don't recall about the percussion caps, but just a simple dunking or short term dunking didn't kill them.

[Jim Watson]

Smokeless powder is pretty much plastic, related to celluloid and old nitrate filmstock. Cold and humidity won't bother it.
Heat is detrimental but two summers is not really much.