How long does ammo keep?

[strongandfree223]

I found some old shot gun shells and a few boxes of 308's behind a shelving unit that i recently removed from my basement.

I would estimate them to be 20-25 years old. Do you think they're still good?

 

[Barnes_270]

If stored in a dry place, ammo lasts almost indefinitely. Shoot and enjoy.

 

[blasted_saber]

20 years is nothing of theyre stored relatively dry

 

[saskbooknut]

Not long ago we shot some Canuck 12 gauge from the 1960s, the earliest plastic CIL with fibre wads - every one went off, some broke clay pigeons.
I have shot a few earlier paper hull shotshells.
Many, many WWII surplus cartridges are around. You can expect a misfire here and there, but most go off.

 

[yomomma]

I've shot ammo from 1943

 

[3macs1]

Like said above. All depends on how it was stored
I still shoot ammo out of the 60's with no issues
Cheers

 

[ipscgraz]

If the ammo was stored in a basement, with low or moderate temperature swings season to season, 20 years is nothing.

 

[Suther]

Generally speaking it's fine. Most of us have shot 40+ year old surplus, I think the last 7.62x39 I bought was 1973 production.

The one caveat to that is the powder CAN spoil if the conditions suck. But unless your basement is subject to large temperature swings that's unlikely to be the case. You could always pull a bullet or two and check.

 

[MD]

I've got CIL-Dominion 22 shells from the 1960s that are still good.

Didn't hesitate to buy two boxes of old Dominion 270 cartridges either, in the rare factory 160-grain load.

 

[strongandfree223]

Sweet, I will shoot it then. thanks guys

Do you think storing ammo for 1 year in the garage would have ruined it? The garage gets quite warm and humid in the summer and below freezing in the winter months.

 

[37patt]

I shot almost 50 rounds of Mk II and Mk IV .303. This stuff dates from about 1890 to 1905 - all of them went off properly and were reasonably accurate.

Condition was terrible with verdigris on them from poor storage over the years, I took steel wool to them and then used them.

 

[Cameron SS]

Sweet, I will shoot it then. thanks guys

Do you think storing ammo for 1 year in the garage would have ruined it? The garage gets quite warm and humid in the summer and below freezing in the winter months.

Was the ammo in boxes or something else?

Highly doubt one year in those conditions would be a problem.

 

[Duck_Hunter]

Sweet, I will shoot it then. thanks guys

Do you think storing ammo for 1 year in the garage would have ruined it? The garage gets quite warm and humid in the summer and below freezing in the winter months.

Perfectly fine. I’ve shot 9mm from ww2 that was in cardboard boxes in my grandfathers shed. No issues.

 

[MiG25]

I've got ammo dated 1938 and 1943 and it is as nice as anything in a store today.

 

[Garand]

I'm currently using up the last of 7 pounds of Hercules Infallible powder, that was last manufactured in 1948. That is 72 years ago! It was stored in a cool dry place, an I use reloading data from a 1937 reloading manual. So far with over 10,000 rds of Cowboy action ammo down range, I have yet to have a problem.

 

[kjohn]

Well, enough people have assured you that ammo will keep for a long time under decent conditions. I just bought a boat load of early to mid 50's Yugo 8x57. I've had some pretty scruffy stuff of the same vintage, and other than the odd dud, it stills shoots. The stuff I just bought is very nice.

The duds I pull the bullets and keep the powder to use in boxer primed 8x57 hand loads.

 

[fiddler]

I still have a pail or two of 8mm mauser ammo from wartime production in the 40s and it shoots fine. Its got more to do with how its stored, or rather not stored properly that diminishes its lifespan. Old shotshells should be fine if stored cool and dry. Paper shotshells deteriorate faster in most climates.