When my father past away about a year ago I inherited his left over reloading stuff. There are several cans of Dupont IMR series and some Norma powders dating back to the early 70's. Most of the cans have never been opened. I assume that as long as the cans are in good shape, the never opened powder should still be usable. How about the opened cans? Also, where can I get reload data for Norma 201, 204 and Magnum Rifle Powder?
Thanks
RKlaus

Yes, unless the cans show outward signs of deterioation, the unopened cans should still be good.

The opened containers will still be good if there is a "sweet" chemical smell to the powder. If a sour smell and rust colored granuals - discard by spreading in your wife's flower bed/garden (great nitrogen fertlizer).

Look up Norma with a Google search and see if they don't have a listing for these powders. There's lots of old reloading manuals (your father's gear should have at least one or two) that will show these powders. If not, let us know specifically what cartridges you're interested in and some of us with the older manuals will be able to help you.

The magnum rifle powder is listed as MRP in the older manuals. A friend used to use it in a 25-06 bench gun, and liked the stuff but then had a hard time getting a second can of it.

Smokeless powders are very stable chemically and typically have useful lifespans of at least several decades. Some powders have been known to remain usable after 100 years.

Deterioration is the enemy; therefore, testing is important. Heat is the primary cause of powder deterioration, so it good to store these materials under cool and dry conditions.

Powder manufacturers offer essentially equivalent guidance on how to check for deterioration.

IMR Powder ("http://www.imrpowder.com/data/general/deteriorate.php)
Alliant Powder ("http://www.alliantpowder.com/safety/storage.php)
Accurate Powder ("http://www.accuratepowder.com/det.htm)

So, more often than not, older supplies of powder and loaded ammo retain their effectiveness for many years. Nonetheless; however, it is prudent to employ fresh factory ammo (no reloads) for police duty and personal defense use.

All the best!

Bob :)

Next time you go to a store that sells powder, ask for the free reloading manuals from the powder mfrs.

I have free load data books from Winchester, Hodgdon, Alliant, Accurate & IMR. I just ask and get their updates every couple of years. My dealer doesn't handle Norma, but if yours does, ask for the load book.

If you fone or mail them, you can probably get one mailed to you. Forget email, though, I haven't yet received a reply to any e-mail I've ever sent to any reloading-related company!

When my father past away about a year ago I inherited his left over reloading stuff. There are several cans of Dupont IMR series and some Norma powders dating back to the early 70's. Most of the cans have never been opened. I assume that as long as the cans are in good shape, the never opened powder should still be usable. How about the opened cans? Also, where can I get reload data for Norma 201, 204 and Magnum Rifle Powder?
Thanks
RKlaus Rifle's Handloader magazine has been doing a series on Norma powders which specifically covered 201. Also, Rifle has a website for LoadData (http://www.loaddata.com) which you can subscribe to that will have information. I'd suggest emailing Norma with your cartridge application, bullet weights and powder asking for load data. I'm sure that they'd send it to you. Wish I could find Norman 201 myself, it's an excellent powder for the 358 Winchester, but almost impossible to find.

Had some Unique powder that I bought back in the mid 70's. Bought a new Lee Turrent Press and wanted to see how My Ruger P97 and My Wife's P345 shot reloads before buying new powder. I loaded some Winchester brass with the powder, and primers that were the same age, and it shot fine. The powder don't smell too good and there some discolored flakes in it so I ordered new powder. The newer powder is supposed to be cleaner burning than the old powder was. I loaded and shot some 230 gr. Rem. HP Golden Saber and some 200 Gr. Hornady HP bullets and sure liked them.