Anonymous
Favorite Answer
Try heavier crimp.
Glacierwolf
Properly stored powder lasts a long time.
Open up a new can of pistol powder and smell it..... then take a smell of your Bullseye. Good powder has that nitrate smell and pours pefectly fine. Bad powder has a nasty, acid like smell - and clumps. This is usually a sign it got wet - probably from condensation...... once wet the sulphur reacts with the salts in the powder and forms an acid ..... since it's a celluloide based powder, kinda like wall paper paste - this gives the acid something to work on and you get that nasty side effect acid smell.
I have a can of 30 year old powder I would show off in my reloading classes. It's just as nice as when I bought it way back when.
The Freak Show
Modern powder has an amazingly long shelf-life if stored properly. You didn't mention what load or cartridge you're dealing with. Unburned powder is usually a sign of low pressure. I get it when I do light target .357 loads that border the minimum Bullseye load for .38 Special. With some bullets, this can be helped by seating the bullets deeper or crimping. Or, for $25 you can just buy a new pound of it and see if there's still a problem. When you have doubts about components when you reload, it's always a good idea to cautious.
Andy
Your reloading using a 20 year old can of Bullseye? That's cool! If the powder is bad you should be able to tell. I had some powder go bad and it got an acrid nasty smell. On the other hand a friend gave me some Hodgdon powder from the late 40's that was fine. That Hodgdon powder was in cardboard containers.
JOHN B
I have noticed the same thing with Bullseye. Will leave a few kernels in the barrel, sometimes. I am still using cans I bought in '94. No problem.