AMMO how old is to old?

[drifter197]

I have some older boxes of 38sp and 12ga ammo about 10 years old. Is that to old and if so what should i do with them?

 

[Phase2]

Ship it over to my place and I'll dispose of it properly.

A decade is nothing if the ammo is stored properly- kept dry and away from major temperature variations. People can and do shoot ammo from WW2 that has been stored in sealed cans on a regular basis. Just make sure there is no corrosion and go ahead and shoot it.

 

[ZachJ03]

Ship it over to my place and I'll dispose of it properly.

A decade is nothing if the ammo is stored properly- kept dry and away from major temperature variations. People can and do shoot ammo from WW2 that has been stored in sealed cans on a regular basis. Just make sure there is no corrosion and go ahead and shoot it.

^This. I have some old Norinco 7.62x39 that has 1960's dates on it, still good to go.

 

[JohnP82]

As long as it still goes bang it's good!
I have ammo that is older tham me and it still runs fine.
As already posted though, as long as stored properly and no corrosion, load it up and shoot it!

 

[NIFT]

As long as it was made after the Civil War and has been stored in reasonable conditiions, ammunition has a very long shelf life.

If the stuff is really old--WWI era--the problem will be the old, corrosive primvers made with fulminate of mercury and potassium chlorate. Anything in the last 50-60 years--no problem, with the possible exception of some funky foreign-made ammo.

 

[indykid]

Been shooting 9mm Spanish ammo dated 1952 with no problems.

Kept properly ammo will last an amazing length of time.

 

[TheDude]

8mm from the 1940s did just fine for me.

 

[.452browning]

7.62x54R 1950-1960's shoots well. The can still had that new communist smell. Unless you can see a visual defect and it was stored properly your good to go.

 

[eldirector]

I finished off some .38 Special reloads from the early 1980's last fall. No issues.

 

[indy1919a4]

World war 1 30-06 experiment

(1st I know this was collectible but I did it anyways for the sake of knowledge)


Picked up 7 rounds of 30-06 ammo that was dated to WW I (1917 - 1920)

These were found in a mans garage, these were stored in an open tin can in a garage with no sense of protection. From the papers around the can I feel confident the can had not been moved since the 1970s

3 of the rounds were so discolored and corroded I did not feel good testing them. The other 4 rounds were dirty with some light discoloration, But they cleaned up fairly well with a rag and some 10w40.

Of the 4 remaining rounds, 2 worked Perfectly, the other 2 would not go pop at all. I tried twice on the failure to fire rounds.


Its been a bit but one of the ones that worked was the oldest one..



Picked up a fishing tackle box full of 30-06 from 1951- 54. Again these came from a garage. I have yet to find one of these rounds that have not worked.. Have shot about 80 rounds of these.


And of course the WW 1 rounds were shot out of a 1903a3 and the 1950s stuff is being shot out of a Garand..

 

[Sgt7330]

Start shooting, like said above, as long as it isnt corroded badly. I have cleaned up light stuff off ammo and it still shot fine. If you order m2 ball 30-06 from CMP its often marked 1970s production.

 

[Sajer]

I have shot some WW1 .303 that was green with corrosion and it fired fine. Tho some were hang fires!

 

[drifter197]

Thank you everyone. shot about 3000+ rds. a year about 11 years ago but have not shot in about 10 year after leaving job, city and a friend private range behind.