Talked to a friend of mine the other day,and he said primers will have a shelf life of about 2 years then they will not work anymore? I guess it could be possible,has anyone else heard of this?

Myth. I first heard it during the shortages of the Clinton years.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Primers if kept in a dark, dry place which keep the temperature somewhat steady will last a very, very long time. I used some that were 40 yrs old with no problems.

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YouJustCantSeeMeLaughingIsAll

Myth.
If that were true, then ammunition more than 2 years old would not fire.

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John

Regular primers have an indefinite shelf life.

However, there are a few, but very few "non-toxic" or "heavy metal free" primers that reportedly have a much shorter shelf life.

I believe that one is a Russian brand, and Fiocchi also lists some, but only in small pistol (I think). These are "specialty" primers and not to be confused with the regular primers that these firms make- however it is reported these "non-toxic" ones do have a very short shelf life.

Oh, Winchester also makes a "non-toxic" primer, but it is only available in loaded ammunition.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

I have some that are 5 years old that I use with my black powder rifle. So far, they have all ignited when struck. Still have enough for 5 or 6 more years.

They will last indefinitely if stored correctly. Keep away from hot cold extremes and high humidity. Even though we have the AC on 9 mths of the year I store my extras in those Vacuum Seal Meal bags. Creates air tight/moisture free package.

Probably should bury them in the back yard and have a treasure map.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Dangit, I sure wish someone had told me about primers going bad. I bought a box of 270 primers in 1996 and a friend just used them a couple months ago for me. I shot the reloaded ammo last week sighting in my rifle. If I had known they would be bad, I would not have shot them up. Maybe I was lucky that the rounds I shot worked.

As already noted by several posters, it's the way that the primers have been stored that's important.

I sort of regularly come across shotgun primers from the 60s and, so far, all have worked for me.

Bob

Two months ago, I loaded 500 rounds of 9mm Para, using rimers that I bought in 1990.

All rounds shot fine. And they weren't stored in the best of conditions either. They were in an unheated, un-air conditioned storage unit for over five years. Temps ranged from 0 to 95 over that period of time. But they were kept dry.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I have some small rifle Winchester primers that date to the 50's. Have loaded with them ad recently as last year and still good as ever.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I have some Al-Can LP's with a price of $5.79 per 1000 on them that i am still shooting. I got them in an estate sale so no idea on their age.

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Front sight and squeeze

Another unmentioned thing that can damage primers is fumes from volatile solvents, so don't store them in your paint booth or elsewhere with such fumes...

Amen!
I have been told that the worst thing that can damage primers even if they are left in their original packaging is acid fumes from lead-acid (car) batteries. Do not under any circumstances store car batteries by themselves out of a vehicle for extended periods of time wherever you have your primers if they aren't sealed completely! I was told that the acid fumes react with the lead styphnate in the primers and will "kill" it. I have not tried to prove if this is true, but I trust the source that told me this.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

A few years I shot over 200 rounds of WW I (USC Co 18) 30-06 and only had ten dud primers.

The primers I am using now were purchased in 1993-94-95. They are stored in their original packaging in sealed ammo cans in a climate controlled home. Good as new.

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Georgia On My Mind

In the 70's a friend that I reloaded with had a brick of primers that seemed to have gone bad. About half way through the brick he started to get a very high number of duds. The only thing we could think of that would have caused this is that he had recently changed his storage habits and moved all of his shooting supplies into a large ammo can. Best guess is that somehow either propellant or product from the WD-40 he had stored in the containers with everything else leaked out and contaminated the primers.

I've got some Win Large Pistol marked $16.96. That seems like such a far distant time ago....

I leave primers in their original packages & store them on my workshop shelf. Have some LP's from the 50's that are fine. [Win #116] Just keep them out of sunlight.

I was given a coulple of bricks of old Remington small pistol primers that were water damaged in a flood and you could tell by the looks of them. I took the packs out of the bricks and just let em dry for a few months. I then tried them out in some .38 spcl range ammo. I had a few primers that took a second whack to fire but for the most part they worked fine. I wouldent use em for ammo that had to work though.

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Stay safe people!

The oldest primers in my stash that I've tried just lately were some possible pre-WW2 Remingtons and some Herters from the 1960's. Both work just fine.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

I recently loaded a couple large batches of both L and S Federal pistol primers I've had on my shelf since 1988.

They worked fine with no misfires.

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

I know I have been shooting ammo I loaded close to 40 years ago and it shoots as well as if it was loaded yesterday. I have some antique ballon headed .44 special that would be close to a 100 years old I have shot some of it without a misfire.

I've got factory ammo as old as 1938. Shoots fine.

The oldest handload ammo that I still have on hand, and that I did my self go back to 1978. Still shoots fine.

I think they will last indefinitely if just given a "reasonable" storage.

All my ammo and primers are stored in my garage. It get's down to below freezing in the winter and can go close to 100 in the summer. All ammo and primers are stored in GI ammo cans. Never a problem...for over thirty years.

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G.P. Charlie

I just received a range report from my brother who I gave some 45-70 and 45 Auto Rim that I loaded using primers that I had around since the early to mid 90s. They were stored for the most part in dry conditions but were in fairly damp conditions several times over the years. They all went off fine except for 2 of the Auto Rim and 3 of the 45-70. all fired with a second strike of the primer.

I stocked up on pistol primers @ $5/1000 in 1977 and have never had a misfire with them.

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6/23/2022

Back around 10 years ago I bought about 5000 WW2 30-06 from the CMP. Some in sealed crates never opened, some loose in open crates. Mostly dated 1942. No idea how they were stored over the years. The loose ones I decided to use for practice/fun shooting. I've been getting about 3-4% duds.