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ammunition shelf life?

jimbo1096
Was in a discussion with another shooter and friend and he professes any ammo has a fairly short shelf life, like 5-10 years max. I have military 45 ball ammo that is from the late 70's and early 80's that I have had no problems with. What about your thoughts? Any "shelf life" on this ammo? And what about reloads. I found a box of reloads that I had loaded in 1986 (38spl) and they got stuck away in a box when I moved. Just found recently. Any danger in shooting these? What would be the most likely problems, if any?
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • rufe-snow
    I don't know about your reloads, but I have shot military ammo in the past that was anywhere between 70 and 100 years old.

    It depends alot on the quality of the original components and how and where the were stored over the years.

    luger_4.jpg
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  • jimbo1096
    Stored in MTM plastic cases in a tight military ammo can. All military HS sealed primers 230gr(?) ball
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  • rufe-snow
    quote:Originally posted by jimbo1096
    Stored in MTM plastic cases in a tight military ammo can. All military HS sealed primers 230gr(?) ball



    I don't see you haveing any problem with it at all. Excepting if it's French, that stuff has give me fits in the past. I guess they make their stuff to automatically self-destruct, they just don't want the Krauts to use it.

    luger_4.jpg
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  • nmyers
    If it has been stored in a cool, dry location, I would throw it away after 200 years. Until then, it should be fine.

    If ammo has been kept in the attic, or has been in a damp location, I would not even use it for practice.

    Neal
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  • gap1916
    In 1971 we were using ammo dated 1944. I hope this helps. [8D]

    Greg
    Former
    USMC
    ANGLICO
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  • richbug
    I shot 1400 rounds of 1938 vintage over the last cople of months, it all went bang.

    My border collie is smarter than your honor student.
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  • allechalley
    I had some red dot powder that we were pretty sure was at least 12 years old (the keg was partially used so was open). It burned a little dirtier and seemed to work better with hotter primers (shot gun)in th colder weather. How much of this was old formulation powder and how much was age is hard to tell. We've even shot rifle shells that had "mildew" on it and seemed OK. Unless you can tell they've been under water or bulged, it would seem you're Ok to use it.
    It sounds like the other fellas are saying the've been OK with it and are giving sound advise.
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  • Mobuck
    I have a box of 243 win ammo that I loaded in the late 70's. Every 3-4 years I open it up and fire a 3 shot group just for kicks. So far, the groups haven't gotten noticably larger. I know this isn't real scientific or thorough but it's interesting. This ammo is stored in a nonmoistureproof plastic box in a basement with fairly even temps and humidity.

    Mobuck
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  • Hangfire
    I have reloaded ammo and components well over 40 yrs old, and all function as new. I have thousands of rounds of 50 to 75 yr ammo that works perfect. I store it in surplus ammo cans, and keep it dry.

    Love them Pre-64's!!!!-Bob
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  • jimbo1096
    Ya'll echo my feelings exactly. I have never (knock on wood) experienced misfires or duds with any of my handloads and some I have had around for years. Most of my regular shooting ammo is stored in a footlocker, but seldom used is in ammo cans with good rubber seals, so I feel pretty confident it is being kept under good conditions. I also have some of the WWII steel case 45's but don't think I'll try them out.
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