Old powder/Old reloaders

[mongo]

I just opened a fresh can of bullseye from the 70"s. Smelled ok, not acidic so loaded up some .38 wad cutters and it worked fine. Tom

[gmerkt]

The numbers assigned to the Reloder series of powders can be a little confusing. The use of the trade name Reloder crosses over different ownership of the company. Accordingly, the patterns of number assignment are not entirely predictable. Reloder 11 and 21 were first sold in 1965 after Hercules realigned their cannister propellants. When Hercules ran the company, rifle powder offerings in their later years could be erratic. RL 11 and 21 were later dropped with nothing in the product line to replace them. Later still, Reloder 12 was introduced as the approximate replacement for RL 11, and Reloader 15 was the approximate replacement for RL 21. Both RL 21 and RL 15 were a bit slower than IMR 4320, perhaps right on the edge of usefulness in the M1 Rifle. The later-introduced Alliant Reloder 22 was much slower. Although the numbers 21 and 22 are close to one another, the actual propellant products were not next to each other in their burning rate.

If you get an adjustable gas cylinder plug for your M1 Rifle, you needn't be overly concerned about marginal propellants for it. You can tailor the gas pressure for the load.

I don't see anything wrong with using obsolete propellants, so long as they are still serviceable and you can dig up appropriate data for them. A gentleman I am acquainted with is in the business of buying abandoned storage locker contents at auction. He sometimes comes up with quantities of small arms propellants, some obsolete but otherwise useable. It is wise to retain nominally obsolete reloading publications for when such opportunities arise. I've got powder manufacturer's little complimentary pamphlets going way back, old reloading manuals, etc. I've got a dog-eared old copy of Phil Sharpe's opus on handloading and still use it on occasion. I think it's the updated version from 1944.

[skeet1]

Use it!

[jimb16]

I just finised off my last can of Rx11. I loaded it into .30-06 using Lapua 173 gr recessed BTs using 43 gr of Rx11. I just use it for practice since I can no longer duplicate the loads, but it is certainly accurate enough for 100 yd offhand sessions.

[phanjo]

That is what my old data states also. The RL21 is indeed too slow for the M1 Garand.

Larry Gibson

FYI i tried the R11 42gr with a Nosler 155 gr in 30.06. It is not safe for the M1 Garand bent my op rod, lesson learned worked just fine in my Remington model 30

[browningautorifle]

I read these things and just shake my head sometimes...if the book doesn't specify this powder for a load, don't use it. Old powders may or may not be useable. You as the user won't know if it's degraded or not until the catastrophic failure. You have no way to test it other than firing it. Sacrifice of parts or injury isn't the way to find out.

[enfield303t]

I was given some powder about a year ago from a relative of a shooter who had recently passed away, also a nice box of shells for a double rifle, put the ammo into my collection and poured the powder on the lawn and watered it.

Took the advice of one of the owners of the local gun store, he also told me not to smell it just use it as fertilizer. There was doubt as to how it was stored and it wasn't worth the risk as stated in post #16.

Also got a native made buckskin "scabbard" with amazing Beard work that probably is perfect for a 94 or similar sized rifle.

[browningautorifle]

Boy did I ever get sucked into this thread...it's from 2009...