How old is TOO old for ammunition?

[antiqueguy]

I've shot Mk II and Mk IV 303 with nary a problem - that stuff dates from the 1890's

I've also shot British 303 from the 1950's and had most of them hangfire.

It all depends on storage conditions.

British primers suck I hear they even had issues with British made ammo in ww2 when it was new. Canadian made .303 works well easy enough to tell by the size of the primer.

 

[antiqueguy]

I routinely use old ammunition I pick up at gun shows for plinking. Basically if it looks like it hasn't been kept in damp conditions I'll burn it up! I'm at the range to have fun so I don't need perfect accuracy on every shot. I've fired .303 rounds from as early as WW1 without even a single hangfire. I've fired lots of old imperial shotgun shells with no issues whatsoever as well.

For something more high-stakes such as hunting or (heaven forbid) defending myself, I would choose newly manufactured ammo more for the peice of mind than any bad experience I've had with old stuff.

My favorite ammo to shoot is probably Canadian MKVI .303 or Greek HXP - that stuff is just as good or better than any newly manufactured ammo I've bought!

if it has a factory sealed crimp I have no problem using old CIL/IVI imperial shot shells for hunting.