Shooting oxidized .22LR OK?

[Rock Out w/ Ur Glock Out]

Hey guys,

So my uncle stopped by today and randomly gave me some 10-22 mags and some .22 LR ammo. I wasnt one to say no and now see this as incentive to get a 10-22 lol The ammo is about 10 years old and some of the copper plating has a minor green/black tinge to it due to oxidation. I dont see why this would affect the shootability of the ammo but just want to make sure all is well with shooting this stuff off.

Cheers,

Rock Out

 

[Sadbutrue]

depends only if it got wet i think.

 

[dryfire]

There should be no problem in shooting the ammo. Initially try it shot at a time and make sure bullet exits the muzzle. After several shots and you're satisfied of the function - use the stuff freely. If you get misfires discard the ammo.

 

[crosman177]

^sound advice^ ive shot old imperial 22s that were a bit green, still let off fine...

 

[Rock Out w/ Ur Glock Out]

Thanks,

The ammo is in the original box and i see no signs of water damage so im not too worried about them having been wet.

 

[zuke]

If your concerned about it send it all to me for proper disposal and such

 

[Call_to_Arms]

i dont know about old 22lr any more. 2 weeks ago I went shooting with a friend who told me the same story of a ghost box of 22s, he was shooting a cooey 60 with my bulk winchesters without a problem. He switched over to his antique stuff and the sound of the shot was a different volume with every round, he also had smoke coming from the muzzle and from where the mag tube exited the forestock. At first we thought it was pretty entertaining and then about 20 rounds in he had one round make a "POP" sound and smoke came from the bolt area. Finally i picked up one of his spent brass and found the head one third seperated! I checked the remainder and probuble 70% of them were the same! This rifle hasent been messed with as far as we know and it has fired other ammo fine both before and after without any issues, no more playing with really old 22s for me!

 

[sk8r]

Never tried it with .22's, but last weekend I was gonna use up an old box of 12 ga. low-brass shells which I had had around for some years. The bases were a little bit discolored and had a little surface roughness, but I tried 'em anyhow. They fired fine in my Mossberg pump, but several of them stuck after firing and didn't eject. I had to REALLY grip the slide HARD to get it to move back & eject those rounds. So I quit after a few of those, and threw 'em out.

 

[.22LRGUY]

First, I was going to say "how much ammo is there?"...and base my reply on that. But, as frugal a shooter as I am, I NEVER put suspect ammo through any of my guns. Might it work? Gamble with your own guns and barrels, I personally wouldn't use it. As an aside, it almost sounds as though there is only one box of it so I DEFINITELY wouldn't use it myself. I see you're in Newmarket~did you know there is now a gun shop in Aurora? Rouge River Arms on Industrial Parkway. I've been ordering my CCI there.

 

[kamlooky]

I found it quite entertaining to shoot these iffy rounds.
Method........out at the Looky's range (bush) I found a stump
bullet riddled.
I stapled a target to it, or use a sheet of white paper.
Push the suspect ammo into the stump and try and shoot the
butt end of them.
If you listen carefully, you can hear them phuffff.
I do pretty well with my CZ452 at thirty yards or so
and a good steady rest.

 

[Rod B]

You might encounter some split cases as the brass tends to become brittle with age. A friend who was shooting some really old Imperial .22 rf experienced this & disposed of all of it in the dumpster at our club.