I screwed up!!!

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I accidently poured a relatively small amount of Unique powder into my Bullseye 1 pound container. The Unique was in my Lyman Uniflow powder measure (about 1/3 full). The Bullseye can was at least half full of Bullseye.

Now I know that the textbook answer is DO NOT MIX POWDERS.

In reality... I use the Bullseye for LIGHT target loads (38 special) 2.8-3 grains.
The BE is the faster burning of the two, so how much danger is there to using my "hybrid" Bullseye? Please feel free to flame me for asking this question and I would NEVER tell anyone to mix powders on purpose. It just breaks my heart to have to destroy the Bullseye.

Thanks

-Rick
 
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"The BE is the faster burning of the two, so how much danger is there to using my "hybrid" Bullseye? Please feel free to flame me for asking this question and I would NEVER tell anyone to mix powders on purpose. It just breaks my heart to have to destroy the Bullseye."

I honestly do not know how much danger there is, but every single reloading source I've read in 50+ years of reloading have warned against what you are proposing to do! Besides, you have no control over how the two powders mix. You might get 55% BE and 45% Unique in one load and 50% BE and 50% Unique in the next case. Powder is cheap compared to the cost of a wrecked gun. Just my two cents.
 
I did the exact same thing you did earlier this year. Cost me $20 for a new can of BE. The 50's era K frames I shoot with BE loads are worth CONSIDERABLY more than $20. Not to mention my eyes, and fingers, etc...

Toss it and buy more.
 
Sell it at the gun show.

NO! NO! I'M KIDDING !!!!
DON'T SELL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pitch it in the garden.
 
Mixed Up

The problem here is you do not know how the componants that make up the Unique will affect the burn rate of the Bullseye. It may accelerate it to a great degree & cause serious problems. I agree that you have to dump it. You could try to call the power company & pose the burn rate as a hypothetical question. If you do,please let us know what they say
 
If you want to see how it burns, pour it out where there is absolutely no chance of catching something on fire then burn it. You'll be amazed at how slow smokeless powder burns when it isn't contained. Blackpowder goes poof! Smokeless burns at a nice steady pace. It is a good experience to try with your otherwise useless powder.

I hate to waste anything like this either, but since there is zero way of using it safely, burn it and learn from it.

BTW, it will start easily, but it won't explode or flame up fast and hard, so make sure that it is in the open away from anything. If you have a garden, burn it in there, then rake in the residue.
 
I can't say I have ever done that before. That is one reason for only having one open can of powder on the bench at any given time. If you are loading and using a certain powder, make sure it is the only can on your bench.

Mark your powder measure with the powder you have in it with masking tape and make sure you verify before you dump it. Remove the tape when you dump the hopper.

Don't use the powder and make sure you dispose of it in a safe manner. No reason to cause someone else harm because of your mistake.

Now, I said I had never done what you have done, and that's true. It's also true that there are a lot of other mistakes that I HAVE made. To err is human, dear friend. Don't make it two mistakes by using the powder! ;)
 
Thanks for all the good advice. The Bulleye will be fertilizer shortly!
 
I always get only one container of powder out of the cabinet at a time. When I'm finished with it, I immediately empty the powder measure and trickler into the container that is still out of the cabinet. So far, this method has prevented any mishaps. I screw up easily, so having access to only one canister really helps.
 
gregintenn said:
I always get only one container of powder out of the cabinet at a time. When I'm finished with it, I immediately empty the powder measure and trickler into the container that is still out of the cabinet.
Click to expand...

I do the same thing. All of my powders sit on a high shelf out of reach unless I'm loading with them. Then I sit the in use container on the bench with the label facing towards me.
 
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