Ammo Shelf Life - Longevity of Some Rounds More Than Others?

thegazelle

thegazelle

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Last weekend I went to shoot what I considered were my "oldest" rounds of .223 from 2007. They shot perfectly without issues.

I have been buying up some ammo on sale just for future storage, and I mentioned the age of some of my ammo to my LGS. The manager said his oldest ammo is 6-7 years old. Manufacturers seem to give ammo a 10 year lifespan. I have heard members on here who have shot ammo that is 30+ years old.

I recently bought some ammo used (well, not used, but was pre-owned). It looked in very good shape, just like what I buy at the the store, with the exception of a couple of rounds that had some browning/looked kind of dirty at the bullet level. I looked up the date and it said 2002. I fired some of them and there were no issues. I am thinking of trying the rounds like look dirtier at the bullet, but not sure if I should.

Is there an industry or community consensus for the following?

1. Can ammo last for many decades? Obviously this assumes storing in a temperate, dry condition with no extreme temperature fluctuations, out of sunlight, etc. I have heard something along the lines of 10 degrees celsius to 26 degrees celsius max, and not extreme change in temperature.
3. I heard that shotgun shells are more likely to degrade with possible humidity getting in, instead of a regular brass FMJ round. True? False?
4. Are there ammo types that tend to last longer than others?

Also can anyone educate me on what to look for in a round that is either "going bad" or probably shouldn't use aside from obvious physical signs like powder leaking out, etc? I do inspect all rounds before I load them (I recently found as part of my Winchester .223 rounds one in which the bullet was extremely recessed into the casing (like 50% of the bullet was hidden - it didn't seem to have much play/movement, so not sure if that was a manufacturing defect.

I store my ammo in a retrofitted rifle cabinet converted to ammo storage with shelving. It is out of sunlight and more or less at room temperature. I know some people say to get those ammo tins with the rubber gasket lid, but I don't have the room to store those, just my trusty little cabinet.

I do write the date of purchase on all boxes of ammo I own, so I can use the oldest ones first.

Thanks for your input.
 
I have shot tons of old surplus ammo from WWII, the 70’s and more recently 5.56 ammo from the 90’s.

As long as it’s stored in the proper conditions, I have not experienced any issues.
 
OK, an honest question and probably a question for many people.
1. Yes, new ammo can last many decades if stored properly. The military do it all the time, even ammo that you buy over the counter may be very old stock, especially in little used calibers. Storage conditions are the key and while temperature is part of the story, moisture and humidity are the things that will damage ammo the quickest and the most. Eventually the powder will start to decompose and the brass may get brittle but you will probably die of old age before this happens.
2. For over 100 years shotgun shells were made with stiff paper cartridge bodies. These were somewhat fragile and vulnerable to moisture damage, mostly swelling. Over time the better quality ammo was made with a varnish or other protective coating but rough or excessive handling could compromise this. Modern plastic shotgun shells are usually sealed with a heat sealed crimp, they are incredibly tough and just as waterproof as rifle or pistol ammunition.
3. To be conclusive about how long specific ammo will last you must wait- a very long time. If you keep it 20 years and it all performs normally you don't yet know what it will work like when 40 years old. Or 75 years old. And you won't know for sure until that time has passed. Military ammo is spec'ed to last a specific minimum time and it's a very very long time. If properly stored, military ammo from WW2 frequently performs as specified. That's 75 years, how long do you plan to live? The kicker is always unknown storage conditions, the longer the time interval the less we know about this.
 
Thank you very much for the information. I think I am safe then, and what I have left over will either go to my kids or estate, or I can sell it before they wheel me into the nursing home.

That is reassuring that WWI ammo works. And that is without the benefit of air conditioning and climate control.

Guess my 2007 ammo is not that old after all...;)
 
That is a good question that needs to be asked once in a while. I agree with storage issue,but I often wonder about some of the surplus ammo we have been buying. I have a bunch of grungy old Yugoslav 8x57 from the early 1950’s that I get duds with, but I have some real ice, clean stuff, same era, only the odd dud. I’ve fired off ammo a lot older than that with no troubles.
 
Back to my earlier comment - you usually have no control, no idea of what the storage conditions for your old surplus ammo has been. As such you win some, lose some. Also all military ammunition is not equal, various countries at differing times have had varying production standards. If you are concerned about long term storage for your own surplus military it would seem prudent to test it before storage by firing 100 rounds or so to get an idea of what you're starting with.
 
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M&P 40 said:
I have shot tons of old surplus ammo from WWII, the 70’s and more recently 5.56 ammo from the 90’s.

As long as it’s stored in the proper conditions, I have not experienced any issues.
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The Americans had cubic yards of .50cal in ammo cans on pallets on floating warehouse ships that were expended in the GWOT. A lot of that was wartime dated. The door handles on our supply locker in Kandahar were dated 1943. Same as a lot of the 500-pound iron bomb casings. Old and leftover from previous wars, held as true war stocks.
 
Ammo kept in good condition can last a life time. Most of my 8mm is from the 50's. Most of my .303 is from the 80's but I have fired a lot of WW2 and as old as 1919 dated and they all went off. I consider ammo after 1970 as new... so there ya go :D
 
Every time this comes up people trot out the ‘i’m shootin ammo from the 1860s’ foolishness. For all the positives there are negatives, which if you shoot or collect a wide variety of ammo you will come accross. Pre1960s its not just storage that matters, its also the maker, reloader and quality. Steel casings rotting from the inside out, rounds rebuilt for hot machine gun loads, poor ductility brass that has case head failures, powder decomposition (in collecting cartridges in particular i have seen a ton of this), galvanic corrosion between components, and a metric ####load more issues. I went through a god awful batch of sako 223 last year with about a 15% rate of blown priners, on rounds made in 2015. FN post WW2 ammo that was so hot it blew every second primer. More crappy old doninion ammo from the 50s thats brass is so crappy you get head splits, ammo from ww1 that had seen its powder decay and corrode the brass making a green ball of ick in the casings, premium interwar years ammo whos powder had clumped horribly, etc etc. Before shooting anything pre60s/70s it pays to know just not how it was stored etc, but how it is now. I usually pull a round or two apart to check older batchs before using them for that reason.
 
So I guess with the advent of technological advances and the ability to store the ammo in optimal conditions, likely anything that we buy today will likely outlive us. That is good to know, and maybe my kids can inherit whatever I have left but the time they roll me into the nursing home.

It is a good point about checking even contemporary made cartridges for defects. I have found a couple over the years - I guess not all companies will inspect the ammo as it rolls off the assembly line (I know Sellier and Bellot DOES inspect them individually through some sort of scanner/computer tool under which the ammo runs as it leaves the production line).
 
In recently went through a complete box of 32 S&W Long made in the early 1930's. All shot perfectly well. The lead was turning white though.
 
thegazelle said:
So I guess with the advent of technological advances and the ability to store the ammo in optimal conditions, likely anything that we buy today will likely outlive us. That is good to know, and maybe my kids can inherit whatever I have left but the time they roll me into the nursing home.

It is a good point about checking even contemporary made cartridges for defects. I have found a couple over the years - I guess not all companies will inspect the ammo as it rolls off the assembly line (I know Sellier and Bellot DOES inspect them individually through some sort of scanner/computer tool under which the ammo runs as it leaves the production line).
Click to expand...

i do not know about proper storage but i shot 3 wooden crates of 7.62x39 from czechoslovakia if i remember well that were kept outside only protected from the rain or the snow but not from the cold or the heat ... all went good ...
 
As long as you aren't keeping it in a humid basement or hot attic I doubt shelf life is a concern.
 
I have shot some pretty old ammunition, as much as 60 years old. Many many rifle and shotgun and .22 rimfire cartridges that were around 40 years old. All of it shot OK with no surprises with only two exceptions.
- Some really ancient 7mm Mauser Winchester ammo from the 1940's was bad. The powder was deteriorated, turned acidic and corroded the inside surface the cases and the base of the bullets. You could not tell from the outside view. Some cases cracked on firing. I did not use any more and had to scrap the rest of the box, only about a dozen cartridges. Hardly a significant loss.
- a flat of 16 ga. Gevelot paper hull ammo made in the old Saskatoon plant in the early 1970's. Hulls were not waxed or varnished, and moisture must have affected the primers. By 2010 approx half of the shells would have hang fires. a fraction of a second after the firing pin hit, the shell would go off. Disconcerting. I used those shells for "trimming" tree branches on my property that were too high to reach with my chainsaw. Entertaining but not very efficient or neat.
 
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