Found during my recuperative road trip. (Congratulatons to State, you were the better team on Saturday.) $12.00. Still sealed. Wish I knew how it was stored these 40 odd years (1970s production, don't you think, Lot 266). Anyone know when Hercules (or the powder division to be specific) was sold to Alliant?

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Certified Curmudgeon

Wierd. Does anyone else have board not allow pictures in post. But then permit them.to be edited in?

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Certified Curmudgeon

I had 1lb of circa 1987 Hercules 2400 given to me once. It smelled perfectly fine so I started low and it worked up just like modern 2400. There was basically no difference. Shot it all up and now 2400 is a staple on my reloading bench.

I'd crack it open and see if it's any good. Check the smell. If nothing out the ordinary, I would load up some mild rounds and give it a try. Out of a gun that is for utility. Can't beat $12 for a # of 2400.

I have three cans like that: finishing one, will be starting on the second next week I think.

Works just fine.

I started loading in 1979 and that style of can was completely off the shelves. I am thinking that was a can from the 60's. However there is no reason that time is a problem. Moisture and heat are the big problems!

Ivan

I started reloading in 1964 and had cans of Bullseye, Unique, and 2400 just like that. They were not 1 pound cans though, they held 11 ounces and cost me $1.80 at a LGS near New Haven, CT. The powder is probably still good, but you'll need to open the can to find out for sure.

Around the 100th anniversary of Unique, Hercules ran an ad showing a sample of the first lot that had been stored under water. A sample was removed periodically, dried out, and tested. It still met the specs for modern Unique! Who says moisture is bad for smokeless powder?

Addendum to my post above :

Hercules introduced #2400 in 1932 and sold their powder business to Alliant in 1994.

I use 2400 in .357 and 7.62x39 (funny thing both are 158 grainers and use the same charge). Last pound I bought cost twice as much and didn't half fill those huge bottles.

So if it smells ok, it likely is? Thanks.

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Certified Curmudgeon

I started loading about 8 years after HKSmith and used the same 3 powders in the same 11 oz cans. Those 3 powders and Alcan primers loaded thousands of 38 and 357 cartridges. Still use those powders but now use CCI primers.

I think 2400 and other rifle powders always came in 1 pound cans, while the various shotshell powders, Unique, and Bullseye were 11 ounces. Earlier Hercules rectangular cans were cardboard with metal ends. Later containers were tall round cardboard, and still later, plastic.

I started reloading in 73 and all my Bullseye, 2400 and Unique came in the tubular cardboard canisters......like what we buy today. I have accumulated various types of powders dating back into the 50's and loaded with them without any misadventures. If it is stored properly powder will last a long time.
2400 has always been my "go to" powder for magnum loads, particularly in the longer barrels.

It's from the 60's.........if it smells okay I'd use it!

2400 in a .41 magnum, under a good cast bullet is a thing of beauty, not to bad in a .357 either.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

I have a 16 pound red can of Bullseye with a lid like that with about 4 pounds left I bought in the 80s. It was old then. Your can looks like it has been in a dark dry place with no moisture. ------I looked this morning & it is a 15#. Looks like this.

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I don't remember seeing a Hercules 16 pound metal can. But the red 4 pound metal cans were not unusual, I still have several of them (empty). Back when I started shooting trap and skeet in the 1960s, I always bought the red 4 pound cans of Red Dot. Later, I went to the larger fiberboard drums with slip-on lids, I think they held 8 pounds, but I don't remember for sure. I still have a partial 4 pound cylindrical cardboard can of Green Dot. I used that for 20 Gauge.

If still sealed, that can may be worth far more than a new one to a collector.
Completely mint cans like that are rare.
You could sell it to a collector and buy a few new pounds and then also know your powder is fresh.
I am just emptying my last cardboard can of Hercules 2400 that is from the 1990's.
The ones whose collapsible necks would break if you used them too much.
Also have a few pounds in the new plastic bottles.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

This is my stash of 2400. I have had this 5lb keg for many years. I don't use it much. It was given to me a long time ago and every now and then I try it on different cal. that I load. Last time was when I was working up a load for my 22 Hornet. It came in second on that one.

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When I started up around 1980, Hercules pistol powders were in cardboard canisters, with a plastic plug on top. One canister of Unique had a pull out pour spout.

IMR rifle powders were in the cans similar to your examples, but the labeling was slightly 'modernized'.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I fondly remember 2400.
Used a lot of it back in the 70s and 80s.
In fact, shot enough of it to beat up my 29-2 so much that it finally needed a factory overhaul.
Haven't seen it for many years.
Discontinued maybe?

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

My local emporium, Recobs, has 2400 at $20.79 for 1 pound bottles.
Browsing ALLIANT
I got a couple of those from them a couple years back.
Definitely not discontinued thankfully!

I use 24 grains of 2400 under a 240 jacketed bullet as 44 magnum equivalent in 444 Marlin brass.
19 grains under a 260 WFNGC in the 44 magnum.
I would use 2400 any day instead of W296 having given up on ball powder unless necessary.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

I have at least two identical cans received from an estate. I'm using them and they work just fine.

It always seemed a little sad to me how at some point they changed Hercules himself, swapping out his big knobby club for a boring straight line and making the wolf skin "hat" harder to see.

2400 got its name because it could launch a 22 Hornet projectile at 2400 plus fps, back in the 1930's I believe.

Elmer Kieth would be happy with your find...

Like these? Can photos courtesy of my Father in Law, alas they are long empty, and we'll not see thier $2.99 and $5.79 prices again.

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Certified Curmudgeon

I'd say 60s also. I first bought 2400 in the mid-70s and it was already in the round cardboard cans then.

All of the Hercules Powders I bought in the 1970's were in cylindrical cardboard containers with metal ends and plastic spouts. The metal cans pre-date those, so what you have there is probably from the 1960's.

Check the smell. Decant it and visually inspect it for the presence of rust colored particles. It would surprise me that powder nearly 60 years old would still be good. I've already had my 40 year old Hercules Green Dot deteriorate.

I got a red metal 5lb keg as part of a batch of reloading gear I bought used. It had been opened and about 4 lbs were remaining. I've been using it the same as some newer 2400 I had on hand. It's from the 60's I'm sure but still fine. Good stuff.
Scott

If I recall correctly, both Hercules Unique and 2400 were non-hygroscopic, meaning they did not absorb moisture. I also recall reading that cans of Unique dating back well over 40 years were used with no problems. Very stable powders, unlike the IMR "stick" powders.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

The oily base of the nitroglycerine making it so?

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Certified Curmudgeon

During the 60s I had some Alcan powders in the small square cans otherwise I bought Hercules Bullseye and Unique in 8lb round cardboard containers in boxes of 4(32lbs)

I bought this 1lb can of Hercules Unique at a recent gun show for $5.00

It works as well as a new Alliant Unique purchase.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

Double base powders (All of Hercules now Alliant) are more stable than the single base (most all of older IMR) due to dissolving of the NC in NG.
Many of the Hercules powders started out as Laflin & Rand powders and were sold as being waterproof.
2400 was introduced in 1932 after Laflin & Rand had been absorbed and DuPont broken up but it is double based and hence very stable.
If that can is unopened with the original seal there is no reason it isn't in good shape.
Ball powders are also double based and I still have cans of W680 that shoot fine.
If you are interested in the origin and history of some of these powders
the following is a cool story about Laflin & Rand who developed Bullseye and Unique among others.
The Smokeless Powders of Laflin & Rand and their Fate 100 Years after Assimilation by DuPont

The only powder I have had go bad was an almost empty can of IMR-4198 that sat for a decade or more.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

A few years ago I found an old timers stash of powder at an estate sale. 6 cans like yours---2400 and Unique. 1 had been opened by the grandson to check and see what was in them, the rest were still sealed. The way I was told to date them was to check the address line for a zip code, because zip codes didn't come into use until 1963. Using this info some of mine were pre 63 and some post 63. I think I gave $35 or $40 for all 6 including the nice little metal box that they were stored in. The seller also threw in a full can and a partial can of Alcan. He figured it would never sell and figured I would put it to good use. This was right in the middle of the big powder shortage---2 to 3 years ago, you better believe I was happy to have it and even more so at the price I got it for.

Also in the box was a dipper made from a cut down 45 shell with a hose clamp and a soldered on handle. When I checked the load data books, this dipper was just right for several loads for use with both the 2400 and the Unique.

Of course I have used up most of this powder by now and just recently stepped up and bought my first cans of powder that came in plastic. All the rest of my powder supply is in original metal cans or the cardboard type used in the 70's, 80's and 90's.

The price tag on the Bullseye is $2.90. Sure would be nice to find any of these powders at that price today.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

I've chanced up on a 12#steel can of 700X a few years ago right smack in the drought.Opened it up and smelled the regular smell(light solvent smell).Been loading with it and not only will it shoot great but it'll also outgroup one of my old time favorite.

Added a couple of pictures to my previous post.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

Hercules sold it's powder division to Alliant in November of 1994. By 2008 everything was sold and Hercules Inc. was no more.

I'm down to my last cardboard cans of 2400 and Unique. It still works fine.

Reminds me of sitting around kitchen table with my Dad and his friend Walt trying to come up with loads for .222 Remington. A lot of hand machined reloading tools then.

Thanks