Primer Shelf Life?

[rge1066]

Just recently my Godfather generously gave me all of his old reloading equipment and supplies since he stopped loading some time ago and knew that I would appreciate it greatly...

Among the supplies were about 1500 CCI primers which are shown in the picture below. To the best of my knowledge they are from the early 80's (When did 1,000 primers cost $10 as marked on the price tag?). My question is what kind of shelf-life do primers have, and should I bother loading with these or just dispose of them?

Thanks

 

[mstuhr]

Hi RGE,
I'd try them. I just finished up some primers I have had since mid 80's. I had them in a closet in my garage. They have been subjected to -0 to 100+ temps and midwest humidity and I never had any problem with them.
They were kept dry at all times.
I'd bet your primers are just fine.
Good luck
Mike

 

[John R]

Primers will last almost for ever if stored properly.
Not a lot of high temp's and kept dry.
I have primers that are over 30 years old and work fine

 

[john traveler]

For all practical purposes, primers have an indefinite shelf life, assuming they are not stored continuously under high desert heat or tropical humdity conditions for generations.

Most of the US produced WWII surplus ammunition available is still 100% reliable. What does that tell you? It was made more than 65 years ago.

In my ammo stores are many, many rounds of ammunition loaded back in the 1980s using primers and powder made in the 1960s and 1970s. They are still completely reliable.

The only time you have to use some descretion is when loading for absolute accuracy, say for benchrest competition or extreme long distance shooting. That is when you want the most consistency and relatively fresh components.

 

[HKSmith]

Primers have a very long shelf life - these should be fine. Lots of WWII surplus ammo is still being used wthout problems.

About 10 years ago I came across a box of Winchester Large Pistol primers that I had bought in 1966 ($5.80 per 1000). There were 600 left - I loaded them in .44 Special and .45 Colt cartridges and had no misfires.

 

[rge1066]

Thanks mstuhr, I will certainly give them a try. I was thinking of loading up 50 or 100 of them as a good sampling just to see if they functioned well.

I believe these primers were kept in a box in a basement and a garage over the years, and I'm sure they were kept dry as well.

Ryan

 

[epj]

Load 'em and shoot 'em. Keep in mind the reputation that CCI primers have for needing a firm hammer strike. If you have a gun with a lightened hammer spring that gives problems with these primers, it would probably give problems with new CCI primers as well.

I just loaded a batch of .38 ammo with Remington primers left over from the late 70's. They worked just fine.

 

[rge1066]

It's good to know I can put these to use. I was just looking through more of the components I received and found several hundred CCI 550 primers as well.

Given the long shelf-life of primers, I see no reason not to stock up on several thousand more and just keep using them on a first-in, first-out basis!

 

[dewidmt]

Just used up the last of a batch of CCI's purchased in the mid-80's. They all worked.

 

[Paul5388]

Here's part of the primer selection I use. The box you're showing is some of the newer ones I have.

 

[VonFatman]

Burn 'em (in your reloads that is!!

)

I have older primers on my shelf too...

Bob

 

[tomf52]

On the average, shelf life is about 1002 years.

 

[Falcore]

Tomf52, how much did they cost back then?

 

[tomf52]

Can't remember, you know how it is.

 

[2152hq]

I've been loading two cartons (1000e) of #57 size shotshell primers that I recently bought and they're just fine. They are probably from the 50's,, maybe very early 60's,,just before the industry switched to the standard #209 shotshell size. I've loaded and fired alot of older primers and powder from 50's, 60's,etc and as long as it's been stored well & not been contaminated , it's been fine. The primers will take storage in higher heat conditions than powder will w/o breaking down when packaged as a separate component.

Use 'em up!!