cold rifle shells
I was wondering, I found a couple partial boxes of rifle shells in my car. Evidentally I left them in there from deer season last Nov. My question is will it hurt them to bring them in the house? Keep in mind it's below freezing here in WI right now, close to 0 deg. I was wondering about condensation? I think they would be fine as the shells I use during hunting season are out in the cold and I bring them in. I probably answered my own question but I wanted to make sure. Thank you for any answers ahead of time.
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JUST LEAVE THEM IN THE BOX UNTILL WARM, THEY WILL BE FINE. NOW IF THEY HAVE BEEN BOUNCING AROUND ON YOUR DASH FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS THAT IS SOMETHING ELSE. 0 -
I have had shells in the pickup both center fire and rim fire bouncing around for many many years. They still work in gun. Found a couple by the heater core that had fallen in the vents. No problem on firing. 0 -
If they have been bouncing around for years in the floorboards or whatever, they may still fire but they probably won't be consistent or accurate.
Shaking the powder up, down, and around, can pulverize it and cause ignition issues while the primer could fracture from the constant jarring.
I wouldn't use them for hunting although they may still fire.
YMMV
Dan R0 -
These were in their box only since last Nov. I was just thinking if They would be alright bringing them in from the cold would hurt them. There was no bouncing or rolling around. I just use my car for work so it is all smooth roads. 0 -
"Found a couple by the heater core that had fallen in the vents.".........LOCAL HUNTER 'TOOK APART' A WIN. M-100 WITH AMMO THAT HAD BEEN ON HIS PICK-UP DASH FOR SEVERAL YEARS (BOX WAS BREACHED WHITE). AFTER PICKING UP THE PIECES OF THE RIFLE AND EXAMING THE AMMO, THE POWDER LOOKED LIKE IT HAD BEEN IN A BLENDER. 0 -
Vinc, I can tell that you are worried about condensation forming inside the shell case, and being absorbed by the powder. Here is something simple you can do to avoid any chance of any condensation forming. Find a small ice cooler like a Little Oscar or something similar. Take it outside to your vehicle and put your shells in it. Take the cooler back inside. In less than 24 hours, your shells will be room temp (or close enough) and you can remove them from the cooler. Or even easier, just take a big bath towel outside to your vehicle and super layer wrap the bath towel over/around the shell box. Take the whole works back inside. It will take a couple of hours for the shells (being insulated by the many layers of bath towel) to warm up to room temp. No condensation will take place, as the temp warm up will be very gradual. Personally, I think you are worried about nothing, though. Assume that you hunted outdoors in zero degree F temps for 8 hours, such that the shells in your receiver were also zero degrees F after 8 hours outdoors, and you return back to your hunting cabin for lunch to eat and warm up, when you empty your gun and take the shells back inside the warm cabin, sure, they will have condensation form on the outside of the shell, but I'll bet when you check them 15 minutes later, that all the condensation has evaporated. Nobody ever throws shells away because they had condensation form on them them for a short period of time. 0 -
Just put the shells (box and all) into a plastic food-storage bag. Zip-loc it tight. Bring them inside.
..'ya caught me during one of my brilliant moments0 -
Obviously if you have cartridges left after deer season you didn't shoot enough deer...hehehehehehehe
That said, just bring them in, and it shouldn't be a problem.
Best0 -
My ammo is stored in a cabinet in my garage all year round. It stays cool in the summer and very cold in our Wisconsin winters. Despite some of it dating from the early 60s, it goes bang every time I walk out back to do some shooting. I would be more concerned about heat affecting your ammo.
BTW, here in SW Wisconsin we have so many deer, one shot is all it should ever take to get one.0
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