I did a buyout of an older gentleman today and he gave me...yes gave me (as part of the deal)...about 20lbs of powder of different types. The newest one here looks to be from the early 80's...and I am sure some of this goes back to the early 60's. It was kept in a finished basement and the cans look great. No rust. They all smell like they should. No visible rust. Some of them are of the paper type, which does scare me a tick as compared to the steel containers. I had two containers that just had a little bit in them, so I poured them out and lit them. They burned just like new stuff does. Some of these containers are still sealed and have never been opened.
From what I have read, I think I will be OK. I know the safe thing to do is work up a few rounds to see what happens, but has anyone else used powder this old?