My friend's dad passed away last year and one of things they found in the garage was a box of various reloading supplies. How long up in the rafters, hard to tell, probably a decade or more.

The various powders will be dumped on a gravel road and we'll watch some neat little trails of fire burn down the line.The old primers are a different story. I wouldn't trust them anymore but I doubt they can simply be thrown away in the garbage "as is" now. What's the best way to denature them so they won't combust any more...?

Soak in oil.

Safely never makes for cool stories

Yep, just toss them in the bonfire around midnight after a couple more than an appropriate number of beers.

Do you know any boyscout troops that go camping? They'd be a great addition to a campfire.

I “disposed” of a tuna can full of blasting caps about 50 years ago!! That was as fun!

You all slay me!!

Thanks coonlove. I'll follow your advice and then probably bury them on some farmland edge I know well.

If you've never done it, you really ought to put one on an anvil, or the something similar (I use my vise), then take a center punch and hammer and pop it. Not a bad idea to wear ear muffs when doing it, especially if you're indoors. I wear glasses so I don't bother with safety glasses.

Its an impresive pop.

At the current price of primers?
Test a few and SELL!

I'm still using some I.bought in the '90s

WD-40 or other petroleum oil will kill them. I sure hope you don't consider any of the "throw in a fire" ideas. My dad did that with starting blanks and caught one in the face. We were lucky one of us around the campfire didn't lose an eye.

On the other hand, I kept my reloading supplies in a garage for decades and never had an issue. That included powder and primers.

Ok, that's something to consider, especially if you live in hot and humid Virginia.

I would give them away with disclosure to the recipient about their condition

They may be fine

Unless they are corroded or have been in a humid place there is probably nothing wrong with them

And if I wanted to "test" them I would put one in an empty case, chamber it and pull the trigger.
It will either pop or be a dud

I would probably not use them to reload anything other than target rounds though

Burn barrel in proportion.

Found a box of blasting caps in a storage shed at my friend's place.
Probably close to 50 yrs ago.
We discovered that they fit tightly over some arrows he had for his recurve bow.
Wonderful afternoon blowing the bark off of big cherry trees in his backyard.
Didn't make it thru the dozen or so arrows he had.
Neighbor lady called us into the law.
Told them we were trying to kill each other.
Took a few minutes to convince the cops we were playing with firecrackers even though they were illegal also.
We figured firecrackers were less evil than fuse caps for dynamite.
Not sure what happened to the rest of the caps left over.
Great memories.
Thx

That powder and primer is still good. They don't really go bad if they are kept dry.

Safety is for sissies.

I tell my grandkids, "there has to be an element of danger in everything you do, otherwise, what's the point". Their parents don't appreciate my wisdom.

At the time I lived in either the piedmont of SC or far western Ky, both of which are hotter and more humid than where I live in Va.

You can tell when powder goes bad. when it does it makes good fertilizer. Just dumped in the yard. something about nitrogen or some such.

I have been told it has a foul odor when bad. Never smelled bad powder myself. Guys regularly shoot old surplus military ammo without problems