Ammo shelf life?

[Lori Ann]

Truly do not know the answer to this question so I am turning to my S&W Friends for help...Does ammo have a shelf life? I want to stock up on some .38+Ps, .357s and .357 critical defense. Does this type of ammo ever "go bad".
I store it in a wooden ammo box, nice dry room, etc. I would appreciate your help/expertise!

[NYlakesider]

Originally Posted by Lori Ann

Truly do not know the answer to this question so I am turning to my S&W Friends for help...Does ammo have a shelf life? I want to stock up on some .38+Ps, .357s and .357 critical defense. Does this type of ammo ever "go bad".
I store it in a wooden ammo box, nice dry room, etc. I would appreciate your help/expertise!

As long as the humidity is OK as you state any you do not shoot up your grandchildren can.

I have shot ammo over 75 years old with no problem!

[Dragon88]

Yup, it's all about storage conditions and environment. Properly stored ammunition can last several decades.

[Chuck Jones]

Properly stored in a cool dry place the shelf life of modern metallic cartridges is practically unlimited, i.e. it will out live us.

/c

[MichiganScott]

I currently issue 45 y/o ammunition at my club's John C. Garand matches. The competitors don't complain.

[k53]

I'm burning through ammo that my dad reloaded back in the early 70's

[yeti]

Properly stored ammunition (low humidity with reasonable temperatures) will last for generations.

[Old cop]

I retired 15 yrs ago and had a bunch of old PD ammo at home. I just shot it up and it all ran just fine.

[Biginge]

Currently shooting Greek 8 mm in my Mausers that was mfg. In 1937. Keep in garage in Texas for years.
Best I have ever shot in 8mm.

Regards

Bill

[mkk41]

Most top shelf US factory ammo since the 50s is sealed with lacquer at the primer and tar pitch around the case mouth/bullet. So basically , it's hermetically sealed. Peters Cartridge Co used to say WATERPROOF-OILPROOF on the box. I've fired pistol ammo that went under seawater more than once with no problems.

[Rangerpat]

I like to store my ammo in military surplus steel ammo cans and throw a few packets of deoxidizer in the can to absorb any moisture.

[FloridaFlier]

I have seen signs of corrosion on brass stored in humid areas. As long as 'indoors' means 'in the house' where the A/C is on, ammo life can be measured in decades. I am not quite as optimistic about rimfire ammo. Age seems somewhat more damaging to those rounds.

[Frank46]

Regarding .22 rim fire ammo. this had been stored in a file cabinet in the basement. No signs of oxidation or corrosion. Shot in a model 60 marlin. There was a very real difference in the sound of the report. Some would make their usual bang, others would just pop. This was the standard CCI mini mags. I also had a few boxes of old CCI stingers. For the most part they would go bang, but every so often one or two would sound a little off. Cases were fine, no bulges or splits. Frank

[Maddog 521]

IMHO the stored ammo will last as long as the shelf.

[bp231986]

I keep my ammo in their original box and store them in the military surplus steel ammo cans 10 boxes per steel ammo can at 100rds per box . Shotgun shells i have two military surplus steel ammo cans one for bird shot and the other for buck shot.

[Steve C]

If you store your ammo in conditions that you would feed comfortable in, not too hot or cold, it will be good for 50 to 100 years.

I've shot 303 Brit ammo in my Enfield close to 100 years old and stored under dubious conditons. Some individual boxes would fire without issue while others would have the occasional hangfire or failure to fire.

[ArchAngelCD]

Like said above, ammo will last a very long time without worries.

I have personally fired 45 Auto ammo that was produced before WWII and 30-06 M1 Garand ammo from WWII and all rounds fired as they should. I have heard stories of ammo much older being shot and it fired as it should.

[tgwillard]

I have fired reloads that I made back in the late 60's and early 70's. Every one went bang.

[N7BLW]

I still have a little powder from 1942 30-06 ball ammo that is just fine. I pulled the bullets and saved the powder and bullets in 1965. I tossed the corrosive-primed cases.

As long as there is no acrid odor evident, the powder will be fine.

[rburg]

This stuff isn't like milk, meat or cheese. Its metal, mostly. The seal is metal on metal, forced fit. Air can't get in and air can't get out. I'm always mystified about the dry conditions everyone suggests. What's going to go wrong? They store smokeless powder under water. Its just not water sensitive. Rimfire ammo is even more secure, its usually got a wax seal with the heal type bullet. No other place for air, etc to get in.

Someone said above it will out last the shelf. I agree with that. I buy old ammo when its cheap. Many times I've been tempted to promote the idea it went bad in a few weeks, just like milk. If only to drop the price. I've got a bunch of ammo from the 40s and 50s. I shoot some from time to time. I'm getting old now, and I've shot a bunch of it. I've never had any problem I can assign to age of ammo. Most of the 1950s 22s shoot better than today's production. I'm guessing its because of better quality control back then, and every rim got its dose of priming compound. Unlike today's production.

I've got a fair amount of Super-Vel ammo I bought back in the day. I add to it every time I see any at gun shows, at a fair price. Shoots and seems just as good as 40 years ago.

But if you've got some you don't trust, just ship it this way. If nothing else, we can pull the bullets and reuse them. The cheapest components are the primer and powder, the expensive ones are the case and bullet.

A while back the anti gun forces were promoting the idea of making ammo de-activate itself over a specific period. A few years was suggested. It was designed as an effective way to side step the Constitution. Make the ammo inert, and then tax it and restrict its use. The problem being that no one has come up with a way to do that.

So my advice is pretty simple. Don't trust anyone who suggests ammo goes bad over time. They probably have ulterior motives. Not in your best interests.

[Roundsworth]

Old ammo can be worth quite a bit, these days. Check the following link out, or, mill about on Gun Broker and Auction Arms to see what I mean. Ward's Collectibles draws quite a 'big spending' crowd, too.

http://rtgammo.com/

[brucev]

When it was less expensive I bought a good bit of surplus .30-06 military ball ammo... specifically M-2 ball produced in Korea, Greece, Denmark, Norway and the U.S. It was in solder sealed cans inside wooden cases or else in 20 rd. boxes inside .50 cal. USGI ammo cans. I have been firing this ammo since 1998. The oldest lot number is dated 1969. It has fired perfectly with excellent accuracy in my 1903/1903-A3 and M-1 Garand rifles.

[Moonman]

Properly Stored Ammo life (cool & dry) exceeds even that of the legendary HOSTESS TWINKIES lifetime.

[Lost Lake]

Originally Posted by Moonman

Properly Stored Ammo life (cool & dry) exceeds even that of the legendary HOSTESS TWINKIES lifetime.

And for the ultimate protection, store your ammo IN Twinkies. Reseal them in a Ziplock bag and they will survive anything forever.

[67tempest]

I found some 1911 dated 30.06 ammo a few years ago when going thru my fathers stuff. I waited until last year, 2011, when it was 100 years old to try it. Not all the rounds I tried went off but I'm glad I didn't bet they wouldn't!

[ArchAngelCD]

Originally Posted by 67tempest

I found some 1911 dated 30.06 ammo a few years ago when going thru my fathers stuff. I waited until last year, 2011, when it was 100 years old to try it. Not all the rounds I tried went off but I'm glad I didn't bet they wouldn't!

I really hope you saved some of that ammo just to keep ammo that's over 100 years old to pass on.

[Faulkner]

My elderly neighbor passed away back in the winter and his widow called me and said she was keeping all his guns to pass on but wanted to get rid of most of the ammo and asked me if I'd help her. He had a really nice stockpile of commercial hunting ammo, much of it dating back to the late 40's and 50's, so at least 60 years old.

She said she just wanted it gone if I'd haul it off, but I insisted she take $200.00 for it anyway. Lots of shotgun ammo, most of it paper hulled, including .410, 16 and 12 guage. A bunch of .30-06 hunting ammo, .30-30, .22 Hornet, and a case of USGI .30 carbine. Also a dozen bricks of .22 LR, a bunch of .38 Special, .45 ACP, and some .32 S&W.

I've shot some of each type ammo (except .22 Hornet, I don't have one of those) and all of it has worked flawlessly, including the paper hulled shotgun shells. No doubt this is due to his meticulous storage of his ammo stash all those years.

[Andy Griffith]

In all my years I've only had one box of ammo got totally "bad." Ammo that goes bad is from the incorrect processing of powder, and is extremely rare. It was on a box of .30-30 Winchester from the 1940's. I believe that the powder liquified and became acidic and ate through the brass cases. I found the box to be "wet" from the leakage. I pulled the bullets, found some more brass and reloaded them and after cleaning the box, I put the reloaded ammo back in it.

Ammunition going "bad" is extremely rare. Rounds from the War of Northern Aggression can and have been fired recently just to test. Oxidation of the lead is what will eventually "kill" a round after a century or two, as it becomes so oxidized it cannot be inserted into a chamber. Jacketed bullets may or may not have this problem. I have encountered this with shotshells where the shot became so encrusted and swelled the shell so much that they could not be put into the chamber of a shotgun!

[HalfStack]

All is well with old stock ammo but what the new stock ammo? Are they primed with limited life primers?

I've read stuff about that but I don't know if that's true or not. I'm trying to build a little stock for my 40sw pistol and I don't want to build stock if they're not gonna last.

[KJM]

Originally Posted by HalfStack

All is well with old stock ammo but what the new stock ammo? Are they primed with limited life primers?

I've read stuff about that but I don't know if that's true or not. I'm trying to build a little stock for my 40sw pistol and I don't want to build stock if they're not gonna last.

The ammo will outlast YOU. Stock up.