Old black powder?

[1Morgan]

I bought an old ML and the guy gave me a few cans of powder with it. The price tag on the powder is $9.95 so I'm sure it pretty old. It is Pyrodex RS "The FFG equivilent." Both cans have been opened, I poured some on a log and it lit right off. SHould I just burn it all and get fresh powder or try it in the gun a few times first? It's a T/C Hawken percussion. Same question on the caps he gave me.

[RedBud]

I'd say it is ok to use. If it were real black powder it might be questionable. I'd try a few shots to make sure it works. I have a T/C Hawken percussion and like it alot. I have killed a lot of deer with it. It seems to like maxi balls. It does weigh a lot and is a lot of work to clean compared to the more modern rifles but it shots stright and brings down the deer.

[1Morgan]

Great to hear, I just bought a 1:66 roundball bbl for it. Hope it does well for me.

[shaman]

A little Pyrodex left over? 

Think about this guy:

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 910290360/

MOUNT WASHINGTON – The Cincinnati Fire Department called in its off-duty bomb technicians and others who work for Hamilton County after firefighters found 500 pounds of black powder – a type commonly found in ammunition – under a deck at a house in foreclosure Wednesday afternoon.

[/align][/align]It took nearly eight hours from the time of the original call to get the material into "bomb box vessels" and drive them to an undisclosed location for proper disposal, fire Capt. Michael Washington said.
"Most of the weight is due to moisture," Washington said during the operation. "Moisture makes it unstable. We have to move this stuff."
Washington said "a lot of fire personnel" are working behind the four-bedroom home built in 1967 in the 5500 block of Wasigo Drive, nearly half a mile from busy Beechmont Avenue.
This type of black powder is also known as pyrodex, Washington said. It's not clear what the former homeowner had the powder for, but it's often used in ammunition, he added.
Washington said the powder was discovered when the bank sent someone to look at the house.
Emergency crews were called to the scene about 1:30 p.m., according to a city police dispatcher.
The storage container that held the powder was rusted through, allowing water to get into the individual bags of powder, Washington said.
A police escort helped get the material out of the area safely.
It was unclear on Wednesday whether any charges will be filed stemming from this incident.