Should I shoot old reloads??

[L-Frame]

I bought some guns and ammo at an estate sale last weekend and didn't realize until later that about 6 boxes of the .38 special were reloads from 1975. I e-mailed the guy I dealt with and he said that the gentleman who did the reloads were a very detailed, conscientious reloader, but, the fact remains that they are 35 years old and, according the Mike (the guy I dealt with) they spent 6 years in a Tenn. garage, 2 years in a South Carolina garage, and 2 years in a Phoenix garage. I would shoot them out of my GP-100 and they are .38's so that would give me some measure of safety, but I really don't know much about reloading as I've never done it.

So I thought I'd ask the opinions of those who know more about it than I do. Any opinions would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[buck460XVR]

The age of the reloads would not bother me near as much as not knowing who loaded them. 35 years is middle age for metallic cartridges, and the 10 years spent in garages is no different than the time spent by MilSurp stuff in warehouses. Odds are IF your information is correct they are okay.........

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Considering they are .38 special rounds and you are going to shoot them in a .357 Magnum they are probably OK to shoot, but only because of the information you have about the reloader.

 

[epj]

I would probably shoot them, but only in a sturdy .357. The GP 100 should suffice. It's a tough gun.

 

[jframefreak]

Shoot 'em up. A couple of weeks ago I shot 2 of my grandfathers handloads from his .270 winchester that I inherited. Just did it for old times sake. They were loaded in his basement in Fort Riley, Alaska when he was stationed there in 1958.

 

[duckloads]

Good question on the age of usable reloads. I've been reloading all the cases I can resonably buy for when things get tough. They might be worth more than money some day.

 

[Dale53]

If you elect to shoot those old reloads, keep in mind that if they are cast bullets and stored in a hot garage, the lube may have contaminated the powder or primers. Take a dowel rod with you to remove stuck bullets and DO NOT fire a round behind a stuck bullet...

I don't shoot unknown reloads by people I don't know. Period!

FWIW
Dale53

 

[Wayne M]

Age itself is not a problem. DON'T SHOOT ANYBODY ELSE'S RELOADS!

 

[walnutred]

They are "probably" OK, but to be honest with you if I found myself with six boxes of a strangers reloads I'd probably pull them and recycle the components. The primers should be OK, I'd dump the powder in the garden, dump the cast bullets in the lead pot, and reload the primed cases.

 

[HoosierMike]

I would not trust them as they are. If not visibly deteriorated on the outside (corrosion, etc), then I would pull the bullets. Unless the inside is really messed up by lube then you still have good primed cases and good cast bullets. Repowder and go.

 

[n4zov]

The age of the reloads would not bother me near as much as not knowing who loaded them. 35 years is middle age for metallic cartridges, and the 10 years spent in garages is no different than the time spent by MilSurp stuff in warehouses. Odds are IF your information is correct they are okay.........

However the fact that the reloads were likely stored in unheated and uncooled areas would bother me a lot. If they are cast bullet loads, the lubricant may have melted and contaminated the powder if they were stored in a high heat area. All things considered, I would probably dispose of them.

 

[Duke426]

Age itself is not a problem. DON'T SHOOT ANYBODY ELSE'S RELOADS!

NEVER SHOOT SOMEONE ELSE'S RELOADS. PERIOD! You have no idea what kind of powder was used and in what charge weight. Maybe he missed a round and all you have is a primer - welcome to squib city.

I buy reloads all the time but ONLY to break them down into raw components.

 

[canoe on the yukon]

The age would not bother me in the least and the storage conditions have probably not affected powder or primer........BUT.....I would never use someone else's reloads....for the very same reason that I would never buy a powder that's in an "unsealed" container.

 

[Dr.-d]

I was at in indoor range one time and the guy next to me was shooting reloads of 45 long colt he got off of somebody and everything went fine until he left a fog of sulfer in there because some of the rounds were blackpowder. He did stop after letting 1 round go. But he was more surprised than the rest of us.

 

[L-Frame]

Thanks for the responses. Still not sure what to do here. The guy selling the ammo said the guy was conscientious about his reloading and he did have notes attached to the bottom of each box (which I didn't see when I bought them) listing the powder, weight, bullet type, etc. I'd actually be more worried about a squib load here. Shooting .38 reloads with a GP-100 should be OK even with a double charge, but the squib load would worry me. Thanks again.

 

[Alk8944]

.......in Fort Riley, Alaska when he was stationed there in 1958.

??

Ft. Riley is in Kansas west of Manhattan and just north of Junk Town (Junction City if you are looking). The Army does not duplicate post names.

LFrame. As everyone has said age isn't the issue. Not knowing the provenence of the ammunition is. No matter how careful the man who loaded these is there is no way to know if some other ammunition from another source got mixed in during a few decades. Go ahead and shoot them, but were it I it would be in an N-Frame gun or a Ruger single-action of some flavor which are virtually bullet-proof (yeah, pun intended) just to be on the safe side.

 

[tgwillard]

I recently shot some of my .45 acp reloads that are 40 years old. The ones I fired were fine, but as others are saying you never know what you are getting with someone else's reloads. However if they are labeled, they probably are fine assuming stoage conditions were adequate. The suggestion to fire them in a heavy frame weapon is a good idea.

 

[L-Frame]

thanks for the help

 

[jframefreak]

??

Ft. Riley is in Kansas west of Manhattan and just north of Junk Town (Junction City if you are looking). The Army does not duplicate post names.

LFrame. As everyone has said age isn't the issue. Not knowing the provenence of the ammunition is. No matter how careful the man who loaded these is there is no way to know if some other ammunition from another source got mixed in during a few decades. Go ahead and shoot them, but were it I it would be in an N-Frame gun or a Ruger single-action of some flavor which are virtually bullet-proof (yeah, pun intended) just to be on the safe side.

Sorry about that, It was Ft. Greeley Alaska. Asked the family historian and she confirmed this.

 

[John R]

If it were me, I'd go ahead and shoot them up, the guy that reloaded them is no different than you or I, he loaded them to use, do you think he made bombs?

Any ammo you shoot can potentially blow up, even factory.