I have Ammo from the 50's on up to fresh this year, I have not had a problem with any except the very odd x39 which will happen with fresh stuff. I do not and have not heard that well stored ammo will go bad or be inaccurate however a friend of a friend has ammo for his 300 wm and it is a couple years old, he is having issues hitting Moose and or not getting a solid kill,,( yea yea, I know) he thinks it is the rifle or ammo and to make things worse the sales guy at the local sporting goods store told him he needs new ammo and wants him to buy an $180. box of ammo. the friend wants to buy a new rifle. I believe his present rifle is a Remington 700 of some sort. New scope last year, doesn't clean his gun often if at all, sights it in like a lot of hunters, a couple shots,, maybe. So, I want to tell him that it is not the old ammo, he tried 3 different brands over the past few years. He also says the Rifle doesn't seem to have the power it used to. Any reasonable comments would be appreciated but most important, am I correct in saying that well stored ammo doesn't go bad after a few years or are there caveats to that statement? thanks in advance, Bob
Aged or old Ammo,,, Still good?
- Thread starter bobdbldr
- Start date
- Location
- SE corner Sk
If ammo is stored in a dry place I'd think it would be good?
Factory ammo should be sealed, reloaded a different story?
Factory ammo should be sealed, reloaded a different story?
If his ammo went bad it should be pretty obvious. Obvious delay in firing after trigger is pulled or no bang at all are most common. If you have a chronograph that would tell you whether it's strayed from whatever the nominal velocity should be. Even poorly stored (within reason) ammunition can be fine after a decade, I know that from a lot of personal experience.
1. His rifle is fine and no it hasn't lost its power.
2. Ammo if stored in a cool dry place will last for decades.
3. Firing more than 2 shots a year would certainly help. Convince him to fire at least a box. He's probably got a bad flinch.
4. The store salesman is running a game on him. It's his job to sell stuff.
5. If your friend absolutely insists on selling his rifle - make him an offer.
2. Ammo if stored in a cool dry place will last for decades.
3. Firing more than 2 shots a year would certainly help. Convince him to fire at least a box. He's probably got a bad flinch.
4. The store salesman is running a game on him. It's his job to sell stuff.
5. If your friend absolutely insists on selling his rifle - make him an offer.
The Outsider
CGN Regular
I've fired old factory ammo that was well over 75 years old without issues.
However, it's a good idea to put old factory cartridges in a press and seat the bullet a few thou deeper to break the bond that can happen between two pieces of metal over time, which can cause pressure and accuracy issues .
However, it's a good idea to put old factory cartridges in a press and seat the bullet a few thou deeper to break the bond that can happen between two pieces of metal over time, which can cause pressure and accuracy issues .
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Corrosive primed cartridges are remarkable as to how stable they are over many, many, many, decades. While corrosive to steel, chemically, it is very stable and simply works. Some of the old .303 br cordite loaded ammo is some of the best imho.
If the ammo isn't chinese, odds are it doesn't have corrosive primers as corrosive ammo stopped being produced in the 1950's/'60's.
New ammo can, I suspect, be subject to skimpflation depending on what type of ammo is purchased. "Cheap" ammo, is of a lesser cost for a reason. slightly less powder, thinner brass, cheaper chemicals...will usually result in slower advertized fps. But that isn't to say that's all that sets the ammo apart from their superior counterparts.
You haven't said what caliber we're talking about, but if a "salesman" is telling your friend the reason his aim sucks is because he's using ammo that's 3 seasons old, so he needs to buy more, newer ammo, the salesman is full of sh1t.
Thanks guys, I figured as much, apparently he did sight it in this year with about 10 shots, so the flinch thing may hold water, It is 300 Winchester Magnum out of a Remington 700. He hit a moose on last trip out, in the chest area, two people saw the puff of fur, the moose went down but when he got up close to it the moose jumped up and ran! they tried tracking it and found tracks but no blood! Sorry for running this on the Ammo section but my original post was about them thinking it was ammo or rifle. Thanks very much for your input!
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
Have fired ammo from ww2 era and possibly earlier with some shotshell over the years. Heck before all the panic buying most ammo in my local Canadian tires was pretty old to be on a shelf in my mind 07/08 I bought some as late as 2020 with those dates 12 years on the shelf. The boxes of .303 they want $85 for are federal blue box probably from around that time aswell.
Your friend is losing his mojo. No surprise he is pointing the finger at his gear. Moose have been killed with calibers that have a fraction of the "oomph" that the 300 Win Mag has. A flinch, or buck fever, are likely culprits.
