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Shelf-life of .22 ammo

Sculpin67
How long will .22 ammo last? I had someone give me a couple hundred LR and birdshot rounds that I'm guessing are over 20 years old. Do you think they would work?

The birdshot rounds are interesting, in that the case is crimped closed, and there is not a plastic "cap", that allows you to see the shot.

I have a Browning Buckmark pistol that I would be using the rounds in.

Thanks.
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • reddnek
    Not sure I'd use the bird shot in the Buckmark,for one thing they might not feed.As far as shelf life I've shot some over 20 years and no problem.
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  • xxx97
    have some sears,montgomery wards from the late 60's/70's...no issue's...i'm sitting on 8k rounds of .22's!
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  • bpost
    I have underwear older than 20 years!

    They are good for DECADES if stored properly.
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  • XXCross
    A few years back I helped a friend of mine get rid of some odds and ends from his gun shop. There were many partial boxes of 22's and some of them were circa the 1800's. (loaded with "Lesmoke" or black powder) Very few failed to fire.
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  • nmyers
    Ammo that is kept cool & dry should last a long time. In an Arizona attic, not so long.

    I put a sticky tag on my ammo with the date purchased/loaded, & "Use only for practice after 100 years."

    Neal
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  • USN_Airdale
    i do not know much if anything about your Browning Buckmark pistol, i have two Ruger .22 pistols and they feed the crimped .22 shot rounds very well, as for 20 year old .22 ammo, it is still in it's "childhood" stage, i had some .22 shorts that i bought around 1950ad and they function very well in my Remington 550-1 rifle.
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  • Nwcid
    If ammo went bad after 20 years then there is a LOT of ammo that needs thrown out. There is still tons of surplus ammo from the 1940's out there being shot. A few years back there was TONS of 8mm ammo at least that old out there.

    There are some people shooting ammo from the early 1900's. Ammo's biggest enemy is moisture. I know a lot of guys say heat is bad too, and I personally believe it is too. With that said there are tons of people out there that have given no thought to proper ammo storage (cool dry place) and have ammo that is decades old and still shooting.

    That ammo should shoot fine in your gun but I highly doubt it will cycle the action. .22 bird shot, especially in a gun with rifling is very unimpressive.
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  • RCrosby
    Should fire. Wouldn't hesitate to use it in your Browning but the bird shot could gum up the rifling. Easily cleaned. Keep in mind also that .22 shot; whether 20 years old or 20 days, isn't going to be good for much more than making noise at anything past 10 feet or so.
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  • partisan
    I've shot .22 LR ammo that was 40 years old without problems. The key to any ammo is keep it dry![:)]
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  • Zinderbloc
    I remember those crimped .22 birdshot rounds from my childhood. We used them for field mice on the farm. From a .22 rifle they would throw a soda-can sized pattern from 4 feet. Any mouse inside that pattern was toast.
    I remember buying a box of 50 .22 crimped shotshells (Remington) for $1.18 in 1968 . . . twice the price of .22LR at the time.
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