[Justin Pasternak]

I was just curious to know how long gunpowder and similair materials last, does it become unstable after a given period of time?

Does gunpowder become unstable over a period of years?

I actually have a firearm that belonged to my grandfather, its an M1 Carbine ( I think its from 1943) from World War 2 and it still has a clip full of ammunition.

If I were to fire the M1 Carbine could one of the bullets explode causing serious injury or even death?

[Daniel Staberg]

[Thomas Watt]

I think it depends on storage conditions.
I know some U.S. ammunition made during WWII is still in use for several calibers (.50 cal for instance). And instances of cannon shells from the 19th century being still "live"...
Exposure to dampness degraded the gunpowder and shells onboard the C.S.S. Alabama during the American Civil War to the point that it turned the tide of battle against the U.S.S. Kearsarge.

It also makes a difference whether you are asking about black powder weapons ("real" gunpowder) versus more modern materiel ("smokeless" gunpowder) because the chemistry - and therefore potential degradant conditions - is different.

[E.B. Erickson]

I think it mainly depends on how much moisture has gotten into the powder. If tightly sealed, even black powder can be useable for years. Here's an illustration - about 15 years ago I was repairing a broken barrel tang on a plains rifle from about 1840. I had removed the barrel, had it clamped in a vise, and was using an oxyacetylene rig to do a weld repair to the tang. The breech was getting pretty hot, and all of a sudden KERBLAM!! That gun was loaded, and the heat from the welding set the powder off. The soft lead ball hit the cast iron base of my drill press and spalttered all over the workshop. I was really glad that I hadn't been standing in front of the muzzle.

So the moral of that story: gunpowder can still be good, even after extended periods of time. From that time on, whenever I had to work on an antique gun's barrel, I always checked to see if it was loaded!

--ElJay

[Michael Ahrens]

Justin

if you are really interested is firing the M1 carbine get a box of new ammo. the rounds that are in the magazine may be fine. to answer the question of how old the ammo is, remove a round from the magazine and look at the bottom of the case. most military ammo has a date stamp. i can tell you that i have fired thousands of surplus rounds from WW2, WW1,
and before with little problem as long as storage was good. the one major problem with old ammo is the fulminate primers, if not cleaned properly the barrel will start to corrode. hope this helps.



Mike

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Justin Pasternak]

Thanks everyone for your input on the topic!

And to tell you the truth, I've never actually fired a real gun before, (whether it being a type of muzzleloader or breechloader firearm) the closest thing that I've actually fired is a high powered BB gun. But I treated the BB gun as if it were a real firearm!!!

I know very little about firearms and I have a few more questions.

1) what kind of ammunition can I substitute for the original ammunition for the M1 Carbine's Ammunition?

2) What are the steps taken to clean and maintain a firearm so that it functions properly?

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Lin Robinson]

Your question has been answered pretty thoroughly but I would like to throw in something else. WWII (and later) ammunition is primed with fulminate of mercury, which is very corrosive (as mentioned by another poster). Firing WWII vintage ammunition in your carbine will necessitate some extra cleaning with hot water or G.I. bore cleaner (using both is a good idea) to avoid further corrosion to the barrel and gas system. If you are, as you say, a neophyte where firearms are concerned, this may be something with which you will need help. It is really best to use the modern ammo, after you have had the gun checked by a competent smith.

Regarding deterioration of powder, modern smokeless powders are chemical compounds. They will deteriorate over the years if not properly stored. Even when properly stored they will break down eventually, but it does take awhile. Loaded milsurp rounds with sealed primers and cases may last 50 years or more, but reliability does come into question with such old ammunition, which is why the military rotates ammo stocks on a regular basis.

Black powder is a mixture of sulphur, saltpeter and charcoal. Because there is no chemical bonding of the components black powder has an extremely long life when property stored. Even when it is not, it can be quite volatile after very long periods. A Union gunboat was raised from the Mississippi during the Civil War Centennial. Stores of powder from the boat were brought to the sruface at that time. Once it had dried out it was just as explosive as it had been 100 years before, when the ship went down. In our part of the world, especially along the coast, unexploded shells from the war are occasionally found. It is then necessary to a call bomb disposal from one of the military bases to deal with it. One exploded some years ago when an amateur relic collector was trying to drill into it. Created a bit of a mess.