Caked Blackpowder usable?

[ol' poke]

I had a friend give me 10 1 lb. cans of Goex FFg that he found in his barn. The cans were old and rusty, and the powder was caked solid inside. The cans were so rusty that I literally peeled the metal off of the caked powder inside. I now have several cakes of FFg. Has anyone ever used this re-dried stuff? After I crushed down these cakes, the stuff resembled a mixture of fines and chunks. No more FFg grading for this stuff. Think it would it be usable in 12 gauge loads? I also have .45 and .44-40 brass cases to fill as well. I'm thinking I could use this rough stuff for the shotgun, but stick with new/consistent/standardized grade for the rifle & pistol. Whatcha all think?

ol' poke

 

[midget]

I found this: Black Powder - Storage Lifespan? - Survivalist Forum

You will likely be OK as long as it is chemically intact. You will need to investigate getting the grain size correct. There are quite a few DIY black powder videos on youtube that go over the procedure to do this.

 

[ol' poke]

Thanks midget,
Sounds like a lot of work to "re-granulate" the stuff - good thing the price was right . I'll have to look up more info to find out what size screen I'll need for FFg.

ol' poke

 

[Aszerigan]

According to most online sites, they say it'll probably be fine. Personally, I wouldn't use it.

Ask yourself if it's worth putting the firearm at risk.

 

[tv1217]

You can always make firecrackers with it.