Any of you other old reloaders remember DuPont P-5066 Pistol Powder? I don't see any reference to in in my 1970 Speer reloading manual. I am helping the wife of a 85-year-old disabled shooter clean out his stuff and ran across 2 cans. Any thoughts on whether it is safe to use, and if so, what caliber, etc is is appropriate for. I appreciate your thoughts. Walt

Man I been loading since around 1964-65 but never heard of this one. Granted I didn't have much of a loading operation and only a few powders like Unique and Bullseye, 3031 and 4895 back then but I certainly don't recall that powder.

Nitro-cellulose powders make good lawn fertilizer. Try that.

P-5066 is an old powder that I believe was discontinued about forty years ago. I can remember using it to load 45 acp years ago. Don't ask me what amount I used as I can't remember what was for supper last night.

I would first see if it was still good by smell, color and visual.

Then e-mail the company to see if they would have any data for you.

It actually works well as a 45 and 38 target powder but was discontinued around 1966 or 1967 I think. I never used it but one of the gentlemen that started me in reloading had old data on this
powder........ but I would try to verify this data before using it, since it is second hand to me.

P-5066

38 spl
148 wc 2.9grs at 744
158 LRN 3.8 grs at 875 max load.

45 ACP
185 Jswc 4.2 at 655
185 Jswc 5.8 at 1005 max load
230 fmj 5.7 at 833 max load

I still have about 3 pounds of it! The opened can smells as fresh as new! I have a few older manuals that still list loads with it too.

I have 30 pounds of it, it's a great powder.

Use it!!With pride.
Anybody that throws good powder away should be muchched
Dupont P5066 and Alcan Al-5 - Pistolsmith
http://www.castpics.net/LoadData/OM/IdealHandbook38.pdf

I started handloading in 1960. For my 38 and 357 P5066 was my favorite powder. I used it till my drum was gone. It was discontinued (don't know why), but I replaced it with Bullseye. I use other powders for the 38 & 357, but for years I loaded 3.3 gr 5066 behind a 148 gr wadcutter and 5.0 gr 5066 behind a 125 gr HP. For my 357 I loaded 3.5 gr 5066 behind 148 gr Speer Bullet.
I shoot a lot of 38's these days and load 3.2 gr Bullseye with 158 gr round nose (lead). I'm 80 now and all my shooting buddies have passed away or moved away so I shoot very little anymore.

That's your short term memory, not long term. Short term memory is the second thing that goes. I can't remember what the first one is but I can remember what my girl friends name was in high school. She wasn't the only one I remember either. That's your long term memory.

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That's just somebody talkin.

Speer #7 (1966) has 5066 data; Speer #8 (1970) doesn't.

Discontinued about 65 or 66. It was a powder that took the place of both dupont previous pistol powders. Used in 12 ga shotshell too. Still have some myself and it is still good. You really can't tell it's condition by smell very easily but will guarantee it is still good.

That is a myth. Smokeless won't fertilize anything, it is insoluble. No idea how that story got around.

I have used it, but many, many years ago. duPont stopped selling it in 1967. It is in the medium-fast burn rate family, much like Unique or Green Dot but slightly faster. My old Lyman manuals show many handgun loads using it. Provide cartridges and bullet weights by PM and I can tell you what loads the Lyman manual gives.

Just because it's old doesn't mean its bad. I have used up far older cans of powder than that without problems.

I started reloading in the early 1980s, and happened upon some 5066 back then. It was already discontinued. I used it for target loads in 45 ACP (for one of the first 645s, believe it or not!) and really liked it!
I wished I had more then, and wish I could still get some!
The predecessor to 5066 was DuPont Pistol #5. That was, also, a fine powder.

I hope someone gets to use that stuff!

Jim

About 8 months ago I stumbled into two pounds (4 cans) of duPont #5, unopened, in 1930's style cans. I have been using it to load .38 S&W for my Victories. 3.4 grains drives 146 grain lead bullets to a MV around 800 ft/sec. Also got an unopened can of duPont SR#80 bulk rifle powder of the same era, but I haven't used any of it yet.


About 5 years ago, I found five cans of duPont #6, which was formerly considered to be the best propellant for .45 ACP with 230 grain bullets. In fact, I have seen that #6 the propellant used for loading GI .45 ACP all through the 1940s. I don't remember the load, but I shot it all up without problems. I saved the cans, probably also from the 1940s.

DWalt , interesting reading . Thx for sharing . Regards Paul

Great info here, guys. I started reloading in '72 and have never heard of these powders. But as stated before, if they smelled ok, I would happily use them. In the late 80's I found a pound of Hi Vel at a yard sale and used it up. Still have the tin around somewhere.

I have a couple cans of baked beans from 1962. Should I eat them?
The data provided in the link to the old forum by Jim Watson, he is a knowledgeable guy but using data from a forum is still risky, Plus determining if the powder is good or not, no one here can tell you. Depends on how it was stored. For a few dollars I would dump it out and save the cans
No, powder is NOT good as fertilizer,

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Still Running Against the Wind

Powders very seldom go bad..esp pistol/shotgun powders. Heck I still use Hi Vel #2 from a can sold in 1937. Much powder from the 50s 60s and 70s....and a whole bunch of WWII surplus. Only can of powder I ever had go bad was a can of surplus powder Hodgdon sold one lot of.(4676??) I still have WWII 4831 some WWII/Korean war vintage 30 carbine ball powder and even some cans of Hodgdon Ball C not lot #2 surplus. All still good and used sparingly. I happen to have a few cans of WW 230 and 295 I will use the 230..probably not the 295 though. I don't use 296 either cept in 410s. I am also going to use up the 5066 I have.

In a former life, I worked for Hercules (back in the pre-Alliant days). We actually had some Bullseye which was made prior to WWI, and every few years, strictly for historical monitoring , a small sample was taken and performance tested (actually several tests were run) and in all those years, it had not changed or deteriorated in the slightest. Whether those tests have continued during the past 50 years after I left Hercules, I have no idea.

I have personally experienced only one instance of noticeable powder deterioration, which involved surplus WWII IMR 4831 military powder. Back in the day, Hodgdon sold it for under a dollar per pound. I bought 5 pounds of it (in 1-pound metal cans) back in the late 1960s, and didn't use much of it, other than for .270. It's really too slow for most of the more common calibers. Back around 1995, I had maybe 2 of the 1-pound cans of it remaining. One day I had decided to use it for loading something (don't remember what, probably .270). When I opened a can, it had a definite acidic vinegar smell, and when I poured some out, it looked rusty, i.e., like it had powdery red rust mixed into it. Both cans were the same. At that point, I decided to get rid of it by burning. I dumped it out in the alley behind my house and threw a match into it. It burned, but nothing like you would expect smokeless powder to burn, it was more like watching plastic burn, very slow and smoky, and it was sort of bubbling as it burned. It left quite a bit of black residue on the pavement. I always suspected that powder manufacture, of at least that particular lot, during WWII was more of a hurried operation, and the washing and neutralization process used during manufacture to remove acid from the nitrocellulose was not as thorough as it could have been, or maybe not enough stabilizer was added.

One of my univ. profs. used to quip, "I can't remember the last time I had a memory lapse." We thought it was funny at the time, but 40+ years later I realize he wasn't entirely joking.

Regarding powder deteriorating, I recently opened two partial cans on DuPont 4756. One can I had bought about 15 years ago. The free can
had the rusty color and fumes. Out of curiosity, I loaded 50 rounds of the rusty powder. It delivered decent groups from 50 feet, and I could see no
reason to discard it. I used it all in .45 acp rounds. I suspect it was stored in a damp environment, whereas the other can was not, and is good as new. As others said, stored properly it will last indefinitely. Likewise for ammo.