Powder Identification

[ElDestructo]

OK...now this may sound like a Juvenile Question...but here goes...I have not reloaded in 6 months....but I left my Powder Measure filled (and sealed...so it's still good) with Powder...but the masking tape has fallen off...and I can't remember what Powder it was for sure...I know it was for 45ACP...because that's the Dies that are in the Press...I believe that it is Bullseye...but I have none to compare it too...I hate to throw away a Pound of perfectly good Powder...if I can save it... I don't expect anyone to Identify it for me and take the chance of being wrong...but could someone post me a Picture of a pile of Bullseye...so I can make the identification?...sure would appreciate the Help.

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/yankeemongiat/MysteryPowder001.jpg

[7.62guy]

take and spread it in the yard for fertilizer. best thing to do with it.

[holescreek]

Why don't you measure how many grains it's dropping then look at your books to see what 45 load uses that weight?

[jbruney]

Take it out Saturday night and burn it for the kids to have an exciting show. I always dispose of powder this way if I am not absolutely positive of identity...Better than ruining a piece or eating steel.

[rpmfly2]

Unique is what it looks like since no visible red, green or blue dots! 2400 is flattened round ball!

Best used as fertilizer for safety though!

[yellowhand]

That looks just like the bottom of my coffee cup, where did you find it???
Like dirty coffee cups and left over, not 110% sure what powder it is left in the hopper, dump it out, clean it up, and learn a 25.00 lesson in life.
Your hands, fingers, and eyes are not worth taking a chance with them for 25.00!!!

[Schmitty]

I say dispose of it and not use it; not worth the risk.

If you take a road flare and use a tool to scrape out some powder from it and then mix it in with gun powder, 50-50, it makes a tall, bright, red flame.

[tump]

i only use unique, but it looks just like that.:icon_biggrin:

[jfowl31]

Why not just load it on the light end of all your loads instead of using it as fertilizer? Surely you can find a weight that is inside the limits of all your loads and still functions with this powder.

I definitely wouldn't throw it out... but that's just me. I'd pick what I thought it was in the charts and start on the bottom end and stop when it cycled the action reliably and shoot the hell out of it.

[Lalvis]

If your not sure what it is then I would get rid of it! Better safe than sorry!:America:

[72guns92]

I would use it for fertilizer, wouldn't want to take a chance on it. semper fi

[jfowl31]

Am I crazy or are loads for 45 auto pretty stinking close as far as how many grains are safe to use in a load? I don't have a reloading book in front of me, but I'm fairly certain that they all are PRETTY close about how much will even FIT inside a case.

Just stay on the low end and don't put an amount in that is over the high end on any of the powders you've ever owned.

For instance.

Powder A: safe range 7.0-10.0 gr
Powder B: safe range 8.0-11.0 gr
Powder C: safe range 7.5-9.5 gr

Load the MYSTERY powder at 8.0 grains and fire away and know that you aren't above any of your powder's safe limit.

What am I missing here?

[robocop10mm]

Could be Unique, Bullseye or (I believe) Herco. If you are a cheap bastage (like me) you might be tempted to use it. What other powders do you (did you) have on hand during that time frame?

The absolute best answer is FERTILIZER!

[deth502]

i concur with 90% of the posts, throw it.

[97th Signalman]

What powders and containers do you usually keep on hand? I agree that the photo sure looks like Unique but if you can't be pretty darn sure based on what containers you have on hand to help you remember then you may have to use it as fertilizer.

The only unlabled powder that I keep on hand is a pound of stuff that I pulled from a bunch of bad Bulgarian surplus 7.62x54R. The brass often split and a lot of primers had died so I pulled the bullets and powder and I use it when reloading that same caliber. I weighed the charges I pulled and that's what I use for my reloads. I used my lable maker to make a lable for the canister I put it in.

Other than that, I only keep one canister of powder on my bench at a time and I don't put it away until I dump the powder measure back into it. I also put my load card (3x5 file card) in the clip on my bench until everything is put away. At my age I really have to scatter the bread crumbs to find my way home as I can't rely on my memory.

If I had no possible way of being sure I would not risk gun, life and limb on a pure guess.

[bhound]

I agree with the majority if in doubt don't take a chance!also in reloading meticulous record keeping is a must!

[bladeworks123]

Get a piece of threaded pipe about 6 inches long .......OH crap, wrong forum, never mind....:icon_biggrin:

[ElDestructo]

Get a piece of threaded pipe about 6 inches long .......OH crap, wrong forum, never mind....:icon_biggrin:


:rockon:

[ElDestructo]

Could be Unique, Bullseye or (I believe) Herco. What other powders do you (did you) have on hand during that time frame?

I had Bullseye...Unique....Reloader 7 ....800...and 4198...I beleive with the answers so far...it is Bullseye...I compared it to a new Canister of Unique I have...and the flakes are finer than Unique...and slightly lighter too.

[97th Signalman]

Some powders like Unique and Bullseye are tough to tell apart by appearance. You can certaily rule out any stick powder like 4198. I don't know about you, but I keep a record of powder measure settings for my most common loads. If one does this, then you can measure out a recorded volume of the mystery powder to see which weight in your charge settings records it matches up with.

[72guns92]

If it's bulleye and you load 8.0grain and fire it you could have pieces of you 45auto left. I still say fertilizer, semper fi

[jfowl31]

If it's bulleye and you load 8.0grain and fire it you could have pieces of you 45auto left. I still say fertilizer, semper fi

My numbers were strictly illustrative... like I said, I don't have a reloading book in front of me and I'm too lazy to look up the numbers.

Am I wrong though about 45 loads all being relatively the same? I'm working strictly off memory, but I remember most 45 loads being pretty much the same weight in powder.

If he could post the few different powders he loaded his 45 with, then someone could look those numbers up (or he could) and see if the numbers are fairly close. If they are, then just load it light and don't waste the powder. If they are drastically different, then either load it to the weakest weight or chunk it.

With the cost of powder nowadays, that is some expensive fertilizer for a 4' square of your grass.

I mean, I understand the whole "better safe than sorry" argument, but it seems like there is another answer here. If I still had my reloading book, I'd try and get some realistic numbers.

[jfowl31]

Well, I went and looked up some loads real quick and it looks like Bullseye is pretty consistently loaded at a lower weight than most powders. There are a few other powders that were around the same mark, but since its not more "in the middle" it might make it tougher to get a safe load out of it that actually works in an auto 45.

I might be leaning more towards having a little miniature bonfire with it now.

[72guns92]

I was just reading Hatcher note book the other night, the only powder that the govt used that did blow up a 45 1911 was bulleye, and they did it on purpose why I don't know. semper fi

[97th Signalman]

When I looked up load tables in a couple on my manuals for .45 ACP I noted that the max grain loads for Bullseye are much much smaller than they are for Unique. Obviously, If you guessed it to be Unique and it was actually Bullseye, there is considerable danger of going over pressure if you were to use the recommended charge weights for Unique. That's too risky for me. I'd discard it and spend thirty bucks for more powder.

[ElDestructo]

I was just reading Hatcher note book the other night, the only powder that the govt used that did blow up a 45 1911 was bulleye, and they did it on purpose why I don't know. semper fi

Well...I decided that if I went with 5 grains...and considered it to be Bullseye...then I should be safe no matter what powder it really is...will go to the Range this weekend and see how it goes!

[97th Signalman]

Well...I decided that if I went with 5 grains...and considered it to be Bullseye...then I should be safe no matter what powder it really is...will go to the Range this weekend and see how it goes!

My Speer Manual confirms the soundness of your plan if you are absolutely sure that the powder in question is either Bullseye or Unique. When using a .45 ACP 230gr FMJ bullet, 5.0 grains would be a safe load with either powder.