Thread: Old propellant OK?

Found an old tin of AR 2201 that from memory was bought by me in the early 80’s (?)

Will it still be OK to use?

Greetings Finnwolf,
AR2201 had a short shelf life especially in hot conditions. It was replaced with AR2206 in the early 1980's which had improved temperature sensitivity and shelf life. AR2206 was the first powder in the series later marketed by Hodgdon as extreme powders. I would not take the risk on it. I have recently broken down some old CAC .303 rounds probably loaded with AR2201 and it was badly degraded. AR2201 was never a canister powder so varies from lot to lot.
Regards Grandpamac.

Thanks grandpamac, I won’t bother using it except to put a match to the end of a long trail of it to watch the pretty flame!

How timely on your post, I just unearthed some AR2201 in 7lb can & was looking for some data to use, does any body have any ?

Got a bit of 4070 to, I think it is ?

Or you could sprinkle it around your cabbages or on your lawn. High in Nitrogen so makes good fertilizer. Just don't light it.

I have some AR2206 (not 2206h) and 2208 from the mid to late 90's. It smells and looks okay, IIRC ADI have info on their website about what to check.
But....when I pulled the projectiles on some reloaded ammo of the same era, most of the 2206 powder had started to cake, and needed to be broken up to get it out of the cases. The 2208 seemed fine.

The load I use in my 9.3x57 is a 2206, and was still listed in their 2016 manual. Luckily I have about 200 grams left which should last a year or 2, as it's not often shot.

Scout: what data do you need for which cartridge for AR2201? I have an older Nick Harvey manual which has the info.

Hi @rupert I have a bunch of calibers & I don't know which one it will work best in, I think back in the day in Aussie we used it in a 222Rem for Roo shooting ?

But I have from .22Hornet to .458Win so any thing in between would be good .

Nick Harvey says it is good in the 222, 22-250 and 45/70 (but does not give any loads for 45/70).
222Rem:
45gr 20.5/3100ft/sec - 22.5/3320
50gr 20.5/3000 - 22.5/3250
55gr 19/2800 - 21/3150
60gr 18/2750 - 20/2940

223Rem
45gr 25/3300 - 27/3550
50gr 24/3200 - 26/3400
55gr 23/3000 - 24.5/3300

22-250Rem:
45gr 30.5/3300 - 34.5/3780
50gr 29.5/3200 - 33.5/3650
55gr 28/3150 - 32/3500

Greetings Again,
I think that 4070 may have been made in Canada during WW2 but am not certain on that. It was used in NZ and Aus prior to AR2201 becoming available. Both were military powders and speed can be quite variable. In turn AR2201 was replaced with AR 2206 which was supposed to be similar in speed. Cyril Waterworth published loads in Reloading Simplified about 1962 and Nick Harvey seems to have copied at least some of Cyril's loads. I found a lot of the AR2201 loads unreliable. All were developed without any pressure testing and often ,I suspect without a chronograph. In my opinion at least it would be best not to use either. Results could be disappointing at best and dangerous at worst.
Regards Grandpamac

Cyrils book was the first reloading book I ever got when I started reloading. It was given to me by an old guy at the club who took me under his wing and got me hooked on reloading.
I've still got that book.

Thank you Rupert, nothing in there for the 303Brit, I think that was another ?

I have used tons of old powder people were throwing away, If any body has some the don't want I would be happy to take it, pick up next month or when this stupidness is over !

Been trying some old powders from the late 80's early 90's my brother in law had and wasn't going to use. Win 748, seems to be working fine with reasonably consistent velocity, the 2207 and IMR 3031 still work fine. If it smells alright and has been stored well it should be fine.

I agree Scout, nothing wrong with older powder as long as a bit of common sense (rationality) is used. I'm still using powder from WW!!. It is in good condition and it works well. I have picked up a few lots of old powder along the way that retired reloaders were going to throw out.
A bit more Nick Harvey data for AR2201
303Brit
130gr 38/2600 - 42/2800ft/sec
150gr 37/2535 - 41/2700
174-180gr 34/2120 - 38/2450