What brand is this older powder??

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Hello All,
I bought some bp at an estate sale that was in the old mostly white type label metal goex cans but after shooting it comparing to goex 3f I found that it will not group the same. Hence, it is not goex. I'm thinking it is an older brand no longer sold. What brand would it be? It's 3f. Also, what loads with it will shoot good in a 45 percussion rifle?
Thanks for the help.

FYI- it could very well be old production Goex and since you mentioned it was nearly to the top of the can, it may even be a mix. Couple things affect black powder. First up is humidity. You don't know how it's been stored. Second production lots vary in strength. I shoot enough competition to know to look at ALL my load data when shooting a different production lot.

Last, it's not a good idea to use opened powder from an estate sale. You have no idea of provenance, how it was handled, or even what brand it really is. You could even have somebody's "secret sauce" duplex load that is flirting with the danger end of pressure curves. But choose your comfort level. I prefer to keep my hands and fingers operable.
 
Agree with above posters regarding unknown powder. Even tho' I'm still shooting powder well over 50 years old from Dad's stuff, I know what it is and where it's been stored. While it may be safe to shoot, consider the possibility that what's on the bottom of the can may not be what's at the top of the can, especially since it was filled to the top when opened. Just sayiin' - most of us will dump several partial cans of the SAME powder into another can to save shelf space, but I know at the time what I'm doing.

Some well-intentioned relative preparing for that estate sale may have done the same thing, not knowing the difference between black and similar-appearing smokeless powder. Anyway - hope it's all good.

Old ammo and old powder tends to be more "disappointing" than "devastating" in my experience.
 
Theyre most likely only collectible if youre buying, not selling. I too have thrown lots of old cans away, and dont regret it. I have enough clutter without those too.
 
My first pound? was sold to me from the back room out of a keg I guess. I guess it wasn't legal at the time in NY to sell it, I got the pound in an old Coco can. I didn't even know at the time the granulation? The two cans I had in a box I was working with today I must have bought in the 70s as well. Feltwad, notice where they were made.
 

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My first pound? was sold to me from the back room out of a keg I guess. I guess it wasn't legal at the time in NY to sell it, I got the pound in an old Coco can. I didn't even know at the time the granulation? The two cans I had in a box I was working with today I must have bought in the 70s as well. Feltwad, notice where they were made.
Meteor is new to me. I've collected different old cans, and think they are neat! I'm not interested in the intrinsic value, only the old art work.
 
I still have a couple full cans of Meteor powder. As I recall it was a decent performer, bought several pounds of it years ago. Shot up most of it, had two cans left in my stash. Figure so long as it stays dry it will be good for years to come.

I've actually collected a few older cans of various brands. Some were full, some empty, some partials. Mostly picked up here and there, at shows, flea markets and yard sales. Some of the old cans have scary high prices on them at the collector shows, I tend to avoid those. Like the artwork but only buy when the price is right. I have used odd batches of old powder but I always spread it out on a white fiber board and inspect for any signs of contamination. If it checks out okay back in the can it goes for use, anything suspicious goes into the burn pile.
 
I have 2 different batches of Goex FFFg with different lables on the front , one shoots brilliantly in my rifles , the other no so much . I use the good batch for serious competition and the not so good batch for plinking at gongs etc.
 
david w, please tell me how to do what you said, there might be hope for me yet.
Not davidw...but...

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