How long until ammo go bad??

[DallasBlaine]

Wondering what's the time limit or whatever until ammo could go bad?

 

[madcow]

not in your lifetime

 

[Midnight Rider]

If kept dry , ammo has a very long life cycle .

 

[shredder]

Keep ammo clean and dry and it will last for a VERY long time, especially military-spec stuff.

Buying crates or tins of mil spec ammo is the best way to ensure it will stay usable for a very long time.

 

[In The Black]

100+ years in a dry stable environment...likely far longer.

ITB

 

[DallasBlaine]

Okay, thanks a lot! Went to one of my local stores here & seen a lot of old unboxed ammo sitting on the shelf.

 

[silverfoxdj]

Okay, thanks a lot! Went to one of my local stores here & seen a lot of old unboxed ammo sitting on the shelf.

If you can use it snap it up if the price is right..

 

[Magellann]

I shot plenty of 60 year old ammo, it worked a good as the new stuff.

 

[roadcarver]

Keep it dry and sealed like those MTM ammo cans with rubber seals, they'll last a long time.

 

[K-Roc]

I shot some .22 ammo that was 50 years old someone gave me. Worked fine. As others have said under dry conditions I think you are looking at easily 100 years. Probably the sealed stuff in tins or even the stuff packaged better in ammo cans would last well beyond 100 years... hard to say but cant see why it wouldn't last 200+ years...

 

[Sh0ckw4v3]

I've seen cartridges from the American Civil War fired successfully, and those were made from paper.

 

[silverfoxdj]

No problem at all.. shot some 50 year old shells ..worked fine

 

[Fox]

WWII ammo, no problems at all.

There is some talk about stability of the priming compound, the older corrosive stuff (same as Russian military) is supposed to last longer.

I have not had anything not fire, WWII 303 Brit sometimes hang fires but that is more a product of the cordite, which is not a gun powder as we know it. I have been told old rimfire priming compound can go bad but I have yet to test rimfire older than 70s era and they all went bang.

 

[fiddler]

I got several piles that are pre WW2 that shoots real well, so over 75 or 80 years old

 

[klaus enuff]

I fired some old black powder .22 rimfire and it all went bang. One round in the batch had the rim explode.

 

[Magellann]

If its not badly corroded or swollen it should be fine, give it a try.