Pyrodex longevity

I found a container of Pyrodex in my safe and I was wondering how to tell if it was still good. It's probably over 25 years old.

If it's not clumpy, it's probably good. I have several jugs I got back in 1979 or 1980, and I shoot a little every year as an experiment. Still going strong.

I also have some from the seventies and still shoots.Even has a few clumps.Just break em up.

I saw a guy at the range once using some that was definitely bad; no bang! more like ker..puffff??
Had a chance to look at his Pyrodex and it had turned from the usual gray to a gray-brown mix.
He said he hadn't shot in years.

Was/is it sealed or open.If sealed shoot it and see,if it was open shoot it and see.I have some from 1990 that is still doing just fine,but you never know for sure till you pull the trigger.

doug60 said:

...still shoots.Even has a few clumps.Just break em up.

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Good to know. I'll try it next time that happens. I've always dumped lumpy powder, but shooting is more fun.

I have a really ancient round container of Pyrodex. LUMPY but also alot of fine powder. I have had good luck with it, same as a new can. The lumps do shoot as well as the fine for me. I stopped using it though as it one day will have value? NOT. But ya, I say it should be fine. Just load with a sloppy wet patch and clean barrel for the 1st try, then easy to pull if it won't fire.

ancient round container of Pyrodex

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Interesting. :hmm: Dan Pawlak sent me some for pre-market testing and it was in the standard rectangular-ish can. Yours might be a collectible.

I have about a dozen round ones. That's all we saw up here for years and years.

There was an article back in 2015on the North American Black Powder hunting forum that ran a test on the potency of Pyrodex once it was opened. The author tested the same load in the same gun every month for a year. It seems, the RS and Select granulation's lost about 20% of it's potency over a year. The Pyrodex "P" granulation did not lose as much over the same period of time.

Each time the can was opened for the test, it was re-sealed tightly and kept in a cool dry place. The author suggested starting with a new can at the start of each hunting season, and using the remaining powder for garden fertilizer once the season was over. Pretty expensive if you ask me. What little Pyrodex I use, I keep tightly sealed and stored in my gun safe which is kept dry with a golden rod de-humidifier. The suff shoots just fine, and I can't tell if it is losing strength.

I have a partial ancient can of it somewhere in the garage. It is in a square can similar to cans of BP. I also have some a round plastic can that are around 35 years old. It still goes bang. If I remember right the square can was used originally and then Hodgedon had a fire and after they resumed manufacture of it went to the round bottle.

My ”˜ancient’ Pyrodex is a 1989 vintage per date code on the bottle. Still goes bang. ”˜Test’ and use it every 4th in a Spanish blunderbuss with short (14” or so) barrel and a percussion lock. Use a cotton ball for the ”˜bullet’. Rattles the windows. Have safety glasses and earplugs on hand for any kids that may be around and let them shoot it off. They think they are Captain Jack. Better use for it than fertilizer. Plus the kids remember shooting a muzzleloader and ask if they can shoot it everytime they see me. Most of Pyrodex that I have came from Wallyworld back in 1999 to 2001. Couldn’t pass it up for $5 a bottle at the end of the season.

As far as keeping any powder ”˜moisture free’, once opened, I put a moisture absorbent packet in the container when I close it back up. Brand name of packet is SORB-IT. At least to date, I have never had a moisture problem.

The moisture free pack is a great idea. Don't know why I never thought of it. I trow them away, but now I will save them.

If reusing packets would have to make sure they are dry (moisture free). Have larger ones that I dry out in a low temperature oven (after use in BP DO NOT DRY IN OVEN). Once dry they need to be sealed up in an air tight container until put to use. I have an inexpensive digital hygrometer that I can check relative humidity with. When you buy the packets in bulk there is humidity indicator strip or card in the package/container that changes color as the humidity changes in the package/container, letting you know the condition of the packets - are they dry or already saturated with moisture.

burn test some on a piece of paper to see......

I recently shot 1/2 bottle left from the mid '70s

I would expect that it is still good. I have some that is pretty old and it still shoots but I have a bunch of real black powder so I seldom shoot any of the substitute stuff. I know that Pyrodex will have some deterioration over time and the MV will drop off as it ages. So, if you measured the MV at some time in the past and set your sights accordingly, you will likely have to adjust your sights or your powder charge for any decrease in MV. Still, even with a drop in MV, if you take that into consideration the stuff should work just fine providing it has been stored properly.

Of course, it only works in caplock guns, not in flintlocks. But, I suspect that you know that.

BrownBear said:

I have about a dozen round ones. That's all we saw up here for years and years.

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Interesting. But, for me, to answer the OP original question: about as long as it takes me to get to the garden to dump it. I met Dan Pawlak, a fine person. But, I'm not a fan of his Pyrostuff.

So do the substitutes fare better or worse than real black powder

shotgunner87 said:

So do the substitutes fare better or worse than real black powder

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Real black powder has an essentially indefinite life. Centuries old powder still will work fine if kept dry.

Properly stored, black powder will last indefinitely. It just doesn't deteriorate. I haven't purchased any synthetic powders in many years but they used to have a caveat in the literature about Pyrodex having a finite shelf life. I haven't read any of their literature in several years so I don't know if that statement is still contained in it or not.