50 Cal. BMG ammo
I have been shooting 50 Cal. BMG for about a year now and ran across some inexpensive ammo on gunbroker. I asked the seller what the age and condition of the ammo was? He replied that the dates were veried and that it was all 50 cal. black tipped military loads.
I wrote him back and told him that I was asking because I had been told that you should not shoot any ammo, military or otherwise that was over 20 years old. The age of the ammo weakens the powder, and make them unreliable at best. He wrote me back and said there is no such thing as an expiration date on ammo. I have shot some old military ammo that was over twenty years old and it had a second to a second and a half delay after the trigger was pulled. This stuff was dangerous to say the least, so I discarded it. 50 cal. bmg is designed to peirce 2 and 1/2 inches of solid steel, so the last thing you want is an accident with one of them. I am not buying the ammo from the guy because he refuses to give me the date of manufacture on the stuff. My question is what is the rule of thumb on this stuff? Thanks
I wrote him back and told him that I was asking because I had been told that you should not shoot any ammo, military or otherwise that was over 20 years old. The age of the ammo weakens the powder, and make them unreliable at best. He wrote me back and said there is no such thing as an expiration date on ammo. I have shot some old military ammo that was over twenty years old and it had a second to a second and a half delay after the trigger was pulled. This stuff was dangerous to say the least, so I discarded it. 50 cal. bmg is designed to peirce 2 and 1/2 inches of solid steel, so the last thing you want is an accident with one of them. I am not buying the ammo from the guy because he refuses to give me the date of manufacture on the stuff. My question is what is the rule of thumb on this stuff? Thanks
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I'd say don't ague with the guy, just don't do business with him. There is no experation date on ammunition though. It really depends on how its been stored. I've fired ammo that was 50year old or more with no problems what so ever. The only problem I've had was with cordite cartridges and corrosive primers. Thats about all I'd watch out for. 0 -
I feed my Hakims old ammo all the time, as Leeblackman said previously it all depends on how it's stored. I've burned up a lot of 1939 German MG ammo with no misfires and it still punches holes through 1/2-3/4" plate easy. Ammo that is in sealed cans and kept at a steady temperature will last longer than any of us with little loss of power/reliability. Ammo stored in a unkept hot/humid ammo dump in some third-world army base for the last 25 years is probably not going to perform well. 
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I got a Catalog, I think its through Sportsmans Guide, it has a big HQ on the top, and its called like Government Surplus Headquarters I believe. Anyway, they have 100 rnds of 50 bmg for $200. $2/round.
Oh, heres a link..
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=78454
Its called Talon Blue Tipped..
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SOG (Southern Ohio Gun) has 50bmg on sale this monthe for 19.95 for a box of 20. 0 -
I just purchased 600 rounds of IK 98 50 ammo from Century arms for .90 cents each. the best thing is if your order is over $500 the shipping is free, thats 210 pounds shipped free[:D] 0 -
Whoever told you that twenty year old ammo is unreliable is blowing smoke up your shorts.
I have never had U.S. ammo fail and a lot of it was 1942 stuff.
Two and a half inches of steel???
Not quite. Some AP incendiary has to penetrate 7/8" at 100 yards and the black tip goes through one inch. That's the specifications.
I don't know why he wouldn't give you a few dates, but he must have been worried because you had this idea about 20 year old ammo.
Very few dealers will guarantee their ammo will shoot in your rifle. You also can't guarantee your rifle will shoot PERFECT ammo all the time.0 -
Storage conditions are the key. I've seen fairly new ammo exposed to extreme heat / cold cycles which had very poor performance and pre-WW2 ammo which shot fine because it had been carefully stored for decades. The individual who told you of a 20 year shelf life on military ammo is one of those people who knows just barely enough to be dangerous.
And I.Shute is entirely correct about any guarantee of performance; the ammo and firearm are a symbiotic system . . . neither of any great use without the other, and neither performing any better than the weakest link of the system.
Presuming the rounds offered for sale are of US origin, the black tip indicates these are AP. Most nations follow this convention, but not all. For example, British Commonwealth rounds of the WW2 era used a green tip to indicate AP if they were loaded by a US arsenal (Remington - RA - made a lot for them).0 -
I have shot pre WW 1- yes world war ONE ammo with no trouble. And had stuff from the 1990s be unreliable and fail. All comes down to heat and humidity. Even then, I think the primer is the likely culprit in most cases as when I pull the bullets the stuff works fine with a new primer installed.
"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf0
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