Ammo shelf life?

[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]

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]

Old ammo

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]

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!
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[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]

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.