Thread: Powder Use By Date?

Originally Posted by kiwi-adam

Dupont IMR4895 smells like spirits, and has zero rust inside.
AR2208 smells a bit stronger, but still not vinigery or acidic.Attachment 153866

Greetings Kiwi-Adam and Zimmer,
A little digging produced the following.
First IMR4895 was only marketed by Dupont from about 1962. The markings on your can indicate it was made from the late 1970's to the mid 1980's. I can't be exact on the later date when Dupont disappeared from the label.
Second, I have not seen that type of AR2208 container before. Mulwex disappeared from the AFI labels about 1995 and AR2208 first appeared about 1984, perhaps a little earlier. It was one of the early new powders, after AR2206, produced by ADI.
AR2206 was an improved version of AR2201. It was much less sensitive to temperature driven velocity changes and so gave reliable port pressure in the .223 assault rifles. AR2206 also was much more stable in storage. I broke down some CAC .303 cartridges, almost certainly AR2201, in which the powder had clumped and the inside of the cases corroded somewhat. AR2206 was the first of what Hodgdons later called their extreme powders.
Regards Grandpamac.