Pulled Powder

[truck driver]

I got my new Foster Collet bullet puller and collets for 338,358 and 284 today.
Set it up in my press and started pulling bullets out of the 338 ammo I loaded for Montana. Pulled the 338 bullets and wondered what took me so long to get one of these and made fast work of the 30 couple of rounds I had loaded. I moved on to the 7mmRemington loads and pulled the first bullet with easy, went to dump the powder and it was packed tight and had to use a dental pick to dig it out of the case. Out of 25 rounds I only had 3 the powder flowed freely out of the case.
The powder is H1000 and it was lightly compressed.
The ammo was properly stored and protected from the elements during travel and hunting and I had no problems with the R17 in the 338Wm loads which flowed freely from the cases after the bullet was pulled.
This is my first time pulling bullets from large quantities of ammo and only them when there was a perceived mistake while loading.

Is this normal or could this be a bad batch of powder and should I pitch it?

I have used this jug of powder for all my 7mmRem loads and testing with no problems. I even used these loads to check my POI and scope settings before hunting while in Montana with know problems.
I have kept the pulled powder separate from what is left of the remaining jug and will continue to do so till I use it or pitch it.
The $64 question is what to do with the pulled powder so what are your experiences and thoughts?

 

[DrMike]

I've reused powder for years. Yes, even light compression will cause caking of the charge. This shouldn't be a detriment to ignition. I do keep the powder separate from canister powder, however. Use it for the initial load when working up a load if you have some particular concern about the effect of caking. If you're somewhat uneasy about the powder, scatter it on your vegetable garden or on the wife's rose bushes--it's fertilizer, after all.

 

[Elkman]

Mike glad to see you back !!!!!!

 

[SJB358]

I've reused powder for years. Yes, even light compression will cause caking of the charge. This shouldn't be a detriment to ignition. I do keep the powder separate from canister powder, however. Use it for the initial load when working up a load if you have some particular concern about the effect of caking. If you're somewhat uneasy about the powder, scatter it on your vegetable garden or on the wife's rose bushes--it's fertilizer, after all.

Mike nailed what I was going to say as well. I'd bet a buck it's good to go.

 

[Kodiak]

It gets dumped in the back yard. Neighbor says we have the best looking yard in town!

Jim

 

[Nimrod84]

+3 on what DrMike wrote. Initial load re-development (changing primer or cases) and mid-pressure loads are what I use my pulled powder for. Have tossed some on the lawn as well.

I might be reading too much of my personal experience into what DrMike wrote... But, I think any significant change in burn rate should be due to environmental acclimatization, rather than the caking / decompression of the powder.

Normally, I need to open a new can of powder (H4831, IMR4831, RL-22 and IMR 4551) and let it acclimatize for a few days before use, otherwise the powder seems to burn about 2-3 grains hotter in my 280 Rem and 30-06. Pulled powder seems to run a hair slower than seasoned can powder, but I do not have a rule of thumb on it. I generally don't pull ammo until I'm ready to re-use the primed cases and powder - if ammo has been hunted with or has been loaded for more than a month I do not put the pulled powder back in the can; additionally, I keep loaded ammo and powder in different locations so the powder stored in cans and pulled powder never hit the same moisture content / environmental equilibrium.

 

[Divernhunter]

If I know what powder it is I save it for plinking loads.
I have had powder compressed in the case many times. I use a straight O-ring tool to loosen it up and dig it out of the case. Never a problem. Just remember to wipe off any powder that is stuck on the bullet.

 

[truck driver]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
I did save it in a separate container and labeled it as pulled powder.
The 338Wm loads that were pulled didn't show the caking which was R17 and poured right out of the case.
Just first time experience since I usually just used the old ammo for practice in the past or the next season for hunting.
Since I want to work up different loads with different bullets I had a need for both the brass and powder for other uses.