Just inherited a pretty good collection of vintage ammo. All in great shape and in many varieties from shot gun shells to 30.30 to .22. I will definatly do somthing with the boxes for a display (not sure what yet) but they look great.

The question is should I shoot the ammo (and of course save the boxes) or would it be more valuble in the original boxes and save it all?

Don't shoot it up until you know what you have. The ammo does add substantial value in some cases.

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"I also cook."

Vintage boxes are worth more with the ammo. I know this as I have sold many to collectors.

What is vintage? I have some 30-30 and 30-06 that my dad bought from Sears & Roebuck in the 70's. Ted Williams and Hornady. Is it of any value or should I just shoot it and use the brass for reloading?

I'd save the Sears ammo. While some ammo collectors spurn it, it's a sign of a past long-gone. I feel that such ammo will grow in value soon, when folks look around and realize they don't see it anymore.
Just 10 years ago you'd see an occasional box of Sears or Montgomery Ward ammo at gun shows. I haven't seen it in nearly that long, though. I suspect that it got shot up and the boxes tossed.
Common ammo can become collectible when it is no longer readily obtainable.
Don't think so? Have you priced a box of World War II-era .30 Carbine ammo lately? Or a full box of military .38 Specials dating to the 40s or 50s?
I have a full box of Remington 12 gauge plastic shotgun shells an old guy gave me. Few would recognize it, but this was the first 12-gauge cartridge to employ a one-piece, plastic wad. That little tidbit, and the fact that the box and cartridges are like-new, add value.
Sears, Montgomery Ward, Smith & Wesson, Alcan and other makes of ammo are getting scarcer every day because people shoot them up.
Trade your ammo to a collector, or salt them away and wait for values to rise. A new box of .30-30 cartridges won't set you back much.

As stated, vintage needs to be established. Summer 2009 is a vintage, just not a very desirable one for wine. There exists a pretty well established collectors base for this stuff. To collectors, the older the better. To shooters, the newer the better.

My gun showing pard, Joe, wanders about kind of aimlessly at gun shows. He then returns with armload after armload of ammo. Usually 10 to 50 years old. All priced at about what it sold for brand new. Basically he steals it from ignorant sellers. Then I spend a few hours trying to put a guilt trip on him so he'll share some of it with me.

American commercial ammo lasts just about forever. Its rare the stuff won't go bang, just as well as it ever has. And I think the accuracy is still better than most shooters can tell the difference.

So the real trick is to figure out from the box how old the ammo is. And if its newer than maybe the 1960s, its probably good to shoot as the collectors value is pretty low. If anyone begs you not to fire it because they want it, offer to trade it to them for the same quantity of the same brand new ammo. They'll stop suggesting you not shoot it.

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Dick Burg