Look What I Found

[redlevel]

I was getting concerned about my stash of .22lr ammo, so I started searching some of my storage spots I haven't checked in a while. I came across two bricks of Remington Cyclone. Look close at the purchase date on the carton: 12-93. What's that, nearly 28 years? I wondered how good it would be. I decided to try it in a couple of Ruger handguns, a recently purchased LCRX, and an SR22 I have had for a few years.

Out of 50 rounds through the revolver, there was one ftf, and it fired on the second hammer strike. I only did one magazine in the little auto, and all ten rounds fired. Other than the one ftf, there were no hitches. Seemed to be fairly clean, and the shots sounded very consistent. I was pleased. The ammo has been stored in dry conditions, but not climate controlled. To tell the truth, I was expecting maybe 10%-20% misfires.

I'm going to keep looking under the bed, on the top shelf, etc, to see what I can find

I can't find a price tag on the cartons. What's a good guess from 1993? I figure maybe $8.95.

 

[brucev]

Very happy for you! Wonderful find! Enjoy it! Sincerely. bruce.

 

[teletech]

$8.95 would be a fair price for a brick of 22 in 1993, unless you caught some while on sale!
I've had issues with Remington that sat around a while, but I'm not convinced it wasn't junky to start with since I've shot a lot of ammo a lot more than 28years old with great results, including some WWI leftover .303 British back in 2000 that was some of my best .303 ever. I've also had junk, the Egyptian 9mm and the Pakistani .303 from the 1960s were nothing short of awful. So, storage conditions matter and who made it matter, but how long ago, not that much. The only .22 I ever found to be junk was some Remington Thunderbolt I bought ~15 years back and some antique black-powder rounds, everything else has been excellent.
Another case of "it's not the years, it's the mileage" I guess.

 

[arjay]

It seems like the bulk ammo we used to get in 50 round boxes was of a better quality than the bulk we get now.

 

[germansheperd]

It seems like the bulk ammo we used to get in 50 round boxes was of a better quality than the bulk we get now.

It was better

 

[Rudi]

You can re-finance your house!

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

I'm glad that you discovered those bricks of 22 LR. You should be set until ammo hits the shelves again.

I still have some Ely 10X and Army issue "White Box" 22 LR match ammo that are well over 30 years old. They go bang every time in my Model 52 Winchester and my S&W Model 17. Ammo stored in moderate and controlled environments has a very long shelf life.

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

Deleted. Double post.

 

[CLASSIC12]

What is it with those names, cyclone, thunderbolt

I was recently gifted a brick of thunderbolt and it shot fairly well in my Lightning

Well most of them were shot in the AMT small game Hunter II, and it was fairly accurate and very reliable