Odor from the Powder after reloading

G

Guest

Guest
Can anyone explain why I can smell the odor of the powder (Retumbo) coming from loaded rounds after placed inside the plastic shell carriers. Is this leakage around the case neck area and/or something I'm causing during the reloading process? Something I've noticed should I be concerned?

Don
 
The only time I ever smell any odors from any powder is when i stick my nose in the jug. other than that I never notice any smell at all........ Common smells around my bench are: Spray lubes, metal polish (in the tumbler), and copenhagen.......... thats about it.
 
I have never noticed it with loaded cartridges, only when I smelled the jug of powder and when I touch them off. I love the smell of burnt powder in the morning... :lol:

JD338
 
It's something I have noticed using Retumbo and IMR 7828. I know the smell upon opening the containers to handle powder but it still lingers after I have loaded the rounds, usually after they have been in the plastic shell holders for awhile, like overnight or for a day or two,then when opened I can smell the odor.

Would this be leakage from the primer pockets and or neck area?

Don
 
In order for an odor (say that ten times fast) to leak from inside a loaded cartridge...... i would think that the powder was stored at a lower temperature - then brought in to charge the cases. Then as the cases sit, the sealed contents get brought up to room temperature and expand. Causing the gas to find a weak spot and escape..... Hell! I dunno it's just a thought!!! :lol:

Once, as a child i found an abondoned duck nest.... I cracked the eggs..... I puked.... and puked.... and showered..... and puked....... and bathed...... and puked some more! :oops:

IIRC, it was about 7 days before the rotten odor left my nostrils (memory)
I never got any of the rotten stuff on me, but I sure felt like it. Since then I've noticed that certain smells stick with me long after the source has faded away..... deer blood is one. And there's another that shall not be spoken of on this fine forum :mrgreen: i washed and washed til my knuckles bled.....

Just sayin that maybe when you walk up to your loading bench, you sub-concious triggers that odor as a memory........ oh yes I can still smell the lunchroom of the old elementary school.....
 
I worked with a lot of beta mercaptoethanol while conducting enzymological studies. To this day, I can pick up the odour of mercaptans in much smaller concentrations than most people. Likewise, having worked with quite a bit of butyric acid at other times, I can detect when milk is beginning to sour or when butter is going rancid long before the taste is affected. The nose can be trained. I suspect that your nose is trained to whatever is used as a detant on the powders in question. Alternatively, it is entirely possible that for whatever reason the odour molecules bind with a higher dissociation constant to the receptors in your olfactory bulb, so that you never fully purge the molecules or displace them only gradually as other odours are picked up.
 
Doc... Composing that reply would cripple most men.. Hurts me just to try and read all them big words... :shock:

Don, my visions of you smelling your loaded rounds in the plastic container is definitly Satuarday Night Live material.. ROTFLMAO!!!!!

Rod
 
Wow, Mike... I just had to google a few words, just so I didn't feel to bad about my English Vocab skills!!! Scotty
 
Hey it's a great conversation topic, but I really do smell the odor, really. While we live in an era to be scent free during hunting, and I strive to be scent free, the concern here is I do carry extra rounds in my pants pocket, if I can detect the odor, deer will also, given the right circumstance and wind conditions.

Some may think I'm crazy especially for gun hunting. But it's just my opinion. :)

Don
 
The only thing that you should be concerned with is old powder gone bad. It is easily distinguished from the acidic smell. You will know it went bad.
 
Thanks Pop,
I appreciate everyone's input. One consideration I thought of was to apply brush on sealant in this situation. Maybe I'll give it a try.

Don
 
Slightly off-topic here, but related to JD and Corbin's posts - I, too, like the smell of gunpowder. But what's amazing to me is the different smells that come from various powders. There is the expected "gunpowder" smell from many powders, but some have a more robust odor than others. The one that really has amazed me is Accurate MagPro. When I shoot rounds loaded with it, I smell mothballs, like I'm back at my Grandma's house when I was a kid! Bizarre!
 
dubyam":o6trysna said:
Slightly off-topic here, but related to JD and Corbin's posts - I, too, like the smell of gunpowder. But what's amazing to me is the different smells that come from various powders. There is the expected "gunpowder" smell from many powders, but some have a more robust odor than others. The one that really has amazed me is Accurate MagPro. When I shoot rounds loaded with it, I smell mothballs, like I'm back at my Grandma's house when I was a kid! Bizarre!
Click to expand...
When I am shooting Ramshot hunter it smells like a really sweet grass smell. It reminds me of our cabin in the pryor mountains. Isn't funny how the human body can relate the smells of things so well.
 
Long term memory appears to be determined by creating unique molecules that are stored in the neurons. Therefore, our memories are triggered by stimulation of these molecules, and presumably binding to receptors on the surface of the neurons. The memory of mothballs is likely linked to the smell of naphtha, which was the primary ingredient of mothballs for years. Today, paradichlorobenzene is used instead of naphtha because of the flammability of naphtha. Dubyam, I'll suggest that you are smelling chemicals created by the ignition process. The same is true for you, corbin. I'll guess it is more likely that the stabilizers and deterrents are creating the smells rather than the gun powder per se. Whenever I smell burning gunpowder, I'm transported to the mountains and some memorable hunts. The biochemistry of memory is one of the most fascinating subjects imaginable. Every shooter and hunter will have accumulated quite a catalogue of memories associated with the smells and colours encountered throughout a career of shooting.
 
Rod,

It is deep! We had a major dump a week ago. I cleared about eight to twelve inches off my drive in two days. Now, there is lot's of time on my hands. Ergo, I'm able to invest time in thinking (always a dangerous pursuit). What some may consider to be esoteric pursuits (biochemistry of memory, biochemistry of smell, biochemistry of sight) were areas of special interest in bygone years. I was also intrigued by biochemical weapons, though I spent a majority of my time working in bioregulation and enzymology. Wow, this is almost as good as being back in a rousing seminar! Maybe I'll go shoot tomorrow, and that will break the evil spell.
 
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