I gave up on getting my press running. That has been probably six years ago. I'm finally going to give it another go (so I get to relearn what little I knew about it!). I have several bottles of powder on the bench. They have been sitting in the garage for 6-7 years. I only opened one of them (I think). Am I OK to use the unopened ones, so long as the seal is unbroken? And on the opened bottle, exactly how does one dispose of a bottle of gunpowder??
How long is it safe to use sealed powder?
- Thread starter JBB
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That's not a good place to store powder. Too hot in the summer. The smell will be your key. An acrid smell means bad. An acetone type smell means good. I started reloading shotgun with a loader and Green Dot that had been in a pack house for some years. Worked fine. If its bad it makes great fertilizer--high nitrogen content.
What press are you having learning pains with?
OK, thanks guys. Another question... sorting the brass and I see AR15 rounds that are marked 'LC 12' but no caliber. Lake City, I'm sure. But why no caliber? Also, I have some that are marked "MKE 14" What are those? I assume I'm good to load all of these to .223 specs?
Thats Lake city, 2012 production, and the other is MKE 2014 production.
Both are 5.56 cases, the Lake city will be thicker then most .223 cases so you may need to check case capacity to make adjustments. The MKE SHOULD be 5.56 spec, but may not be quite the same. It's Turkish(?) Production stuff, may not be exactly the same construction.
As to not having a cal. Listed on the headstamp, well, alot of military ammo doesn't... *shrug*
Both are 5.56 cases, the Lake city will be thicker then most .223 cases so you may need to check case capacity to make adjustments. The MKE SHOULD be 5.56 spec, but may not be quite the same. It's Turkish(?) Production stuff, may not be exactly the same construction.
As to not having a cal. Listed on the headstamp, well, alot of military ammo doesn't... *shrug*
Any 5.56 that has a cross in a circle on the base is NATO standard. Same with 9mm, 7.62, .50, etc
Anything that is cross in the circle is the same specs. Non NATO specs should meet SAAMI guidelines but not guaranteed.
Just an FYI, all NATO (that I have seen) have crimped primer pockets. If the crimp is still there when you process it then it has only been fired once. If the crimp has been removed then it has been previously processed by someone and you have no idea how many times it has been fired.
OK. So I'm good to reload all of the cases that I have with .223 information. Now I've just got to get the press up and running. I've still got to look into which dies in which stations to use. For those with the LNL, what are you using? Heck, it's been so long, I need to go figure out what I have on mine!
RedneckFur
Smith & Wesson is a religion of peace.
Powder stored in an airtight can will last a very long time. I've got powder that my dad bought 30+ years ago that was stored in a non-climate controlled shed, and it loads and shoots fine. No funny smells, no funny colors.
Think of all that surplus ammo from the 50-70's that's been stored in warehouses that people buy and shoot. As long as its kept dry, it goes bang.
Think of all that surplus ammo from the 50-70's that's been stored in warehouses that people buy and shoot. As long as its kept dry, it goes bang.