Vintage Ammo-save or shoot?

[robotoid]

I came into possession of what appears to be an old box of Remington .38 SPL LRN ammo in a good condition green/white box with red lettering (full 50 rounds in box). Is there any collector value to the ammo and/or box, or should I just shoot it up at the range? I could post a pic later. I cannot find any date on the box or ammo. A price of $5.25 is written on the box in grease pencil.

 

[aalmcc4]

I like to keep old boxes of ammo on display in my reloading room. It's kinda cool to have a gun from say 1965 and a box of ammo of the same vintage.

I vote...keep it! Now you'll have to find a S&W of the same vintage to go with it! Hows that for an excuse to get another gun?

 

[brucev]

I like to keep old boxes of ammo on display in my reloading room. It's kinda cool to have a gun from say 1965 and a box of ammo of the same vintage.

I vote...keep it! Now you'll have to find a S&W of the same vintage to go with it! Hows that for an excuse to get another gun?

+1!!! Completely agree.

 

[thadheth]

Make that 3 votes for "save it," please.

 

[handejector]

Depends on what you want.
It is neat for display- slightly.
What I have found thru the yrs is that the blander looking boxes of more common stuff is hard to get any premium out of that makes it worth hauling, so I shoot a lot of the more common vintage stuff.

 

[smith17]

I agree with the handejector. The pic below includes a few of the many boxes of older .38 special that I have picked up over the years from flea markets, yard sales, widow women, friends, gun shows and a few auctions. Two of the boxes below are prewar and the rest are 40s-60s and are worth about what contemporary .38 ammo is worth (or less). Yes, it is neat to take a pic of your gun with ammo from that period but it eventually gets in the way and needs to be shot. A lot of folks will try to get you to keep 'neat old stuff' but they aren't the ones having to store it. (No offense intended to previous posters). It's just a fact of life that you can't keep everything and few things will bring what you think they should bring. If you try to sell old ammo at gun shows, the boxes will be touched many more times by passersby than they sell. Funny how people have to touch something on a table that they think is neat.
Ed

 

[JSR III]

I say keep it but I'm a pack rat. Anytime I find something that they ain't making any more of, I say keep it original. It certainly will never go down in value and can be shot anytime if you need to or change your mind about it.

 

[cocojo]

Keep it don't shoot it's value is only going up.

 

[stiab]

Personally, I'd shoot it, because the collector value doesn't exceed the user value for that ammo. And you still have the box when the ammo is used up.

 

[RedBerens]

Here's a simple solution. Find someone who wants to keep it, and trade them for a new box of shells that you can shoot.

 

[elcruisr]

Bang! Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!!!

 

[flop-shank]

Why don't you enjoy a classic combo from a bygone era? Take a service revolver of the appropriate vintage and burn that RNL crap up!

 

[Troystat]

My thoughts are to shoot the ammo and save the box, the trade idea is good. I don't like the idea of anything younger than me being an antique

Troy

 

[Mortech]

SAVE IT ! , there are people like me that will trade you TWO boxes of current ammo for the old stuff. I'm still crying about a guy that in a thread in this section that shot up a box of original Norma 10MM

 

[nicky4968]

Unless it's a classic box (like old Winchester and Peters shotgun ammo), shoot it up and have fun.