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Older ammunition

mrm1299
Hi all,

This is a strange question but I have a box of .38 ammo that's probably 30 years old. Is there anmy reason this ammo isn't still usable?
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Comments

7 comments

Date Votes
  • jonk
    If stored in a fairly dry place that didn't get too hot (a humid attic is horrible for instance) it's fine. I've shot 70 year old 8mm Mauser ammo regularly, no issue and very few misfires. 1 or 2 per 1000.
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  • mark christian
    Extremely high heat or very cold wet weather are the true enemies of ammunition. Time is not as much of a concern and thirty years on the shelf is nothing at all for a box of ammo that was kept warm and dry.
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  • Don McManus
    Put 100 rounds of 1963 headstamp 30-06 downrange yesterday. Click-boom every time. 30 years should be no issue for quality ammo.

    Before using, look it over for corrosion. If you don't see anything you are good to go. Even a little green here or there doesn't mean the ammo is bad, but you should remove it before shooting as the roughness will alter how the shell is chambered and how the empty is extracted.
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  • bigbossman
    I've cranked off a lot of .303 British over the years - including cupro-nickle plated rounds dating back to WW I.. Of course I have never claimed to be normal. Your ammo should be fine as long as it is not visibly corroded, etc, as the other posters have said...
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  • RCrosby
    1964 .270 reloads still doing it for me in the deer wood. Almost all gone now, but I like the old style Nosler bullets and power and accuracy seem unaffected after more than 40 years.
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  • 22hipower
    One more testimony to old ammo. Came across a box of 357 mag that I had loaded in 1976 last week. Its been sitting in my hot (most of the time) garage in Texas for 20 years. Tossed it in the range bag and fired it. Every round went bang and there appeared to be no loss of power. . . .or accuracy.
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  • BUCKAWHO
    Hi....I have some 38 spl from the fifties that belonged to my Father.
    I've shot some, and none has failed to go BANG ! BT
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