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Centerfire Rifles - Semiautomatic or Gas Operated Centerfire rifles, carbines and other gas operated rifles.

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  #1  
Old 05-10-2016, 9:45 AM
mi4 mi4 is offline
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Default How to inspect the condition of ammo from private seller?

Going to buy some ~30 yr old 556 ammo from a private seller. What should I look to make sure they are in good condition and safe to shoot?
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  #2  
Old 05-10-2016, 9:47 AM
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In before the check for annealing crowd.
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Old 05-10-2016, 9:59 AM
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tell them you want to shoot a couple hundred rounds before you agree to buy some. Thats the only safe way to know for sure! dont want to buy a bunch of bunk ammo...
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Old 05-10-2016, 10:11 AM
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I would not buy a large quantity of 30 year old ammo at all.
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  #5  
Old 05-10-2016, 10:13 AM
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Check for corrosion discoloration etc.
But like some to her said without firing it there's no sure way to tell.
But if it's been stored properly there really shouldn't be any problems.
There's ammo out there still being shot from ww2 and prior
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Old 05-10-2016, 10:28 AM
Sheldon Sheldon is offline
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The condition of the packaging may be an indicator. Heat and moisture are the enemy of ammunition.

I have a spam can of Greek 30-06 ammo I got from the CMP that had rust bad enough to go through the can. This ammo is headstamped 70......from 1970. I figured the ammo would be in iffy condition. When I opened the can this past weekend, the ammo was in 20 round boxes and it all showed moisture damage. All ammo had light corrosion on it.......not enough to be structurally compromised, but the outside of the cases were not smooth and jammed in the enbloc clips of my Garand....also had some dead primers too. I fired off about 20 rounds and then stopped due to jamming. I took the rest of the ammo home and threw them in my tumbler for an hour or so and they are smooth now and will probably cycle fine if they have a live primer.
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Old 05-10-2016, 10:35 AM
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Tough one to answer online. Beyond what's been said, in SEA we used to test ammo to see if they balanced on a match stick lengthwise. If they did, the powder has caked and the ammo is bad.
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Old 05-10-2016, 10:39 AM
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Or you can bring a bullet puller and do some random sampling.
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Old 05-10-2016, 11:10 AM
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The seller agreed to meet in a range and let me test fire some rounds.

One silly question ---- What would be a sign if I see, don't test fire them at all or say it is not safe at all to load?
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Old 05-10-2016, 11:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheldon View Post
The condition of the packaging may be an indicator. Heat and moisture are the enemy of ammunition.

I have a spam can of Greek 30-06 ammo I got from the CMP that had rust bad enough to go through the can. This ammo is headstamped 70......from 1970. I figured the ammo would be in iffy condition. When I opened the can this past weekend, the ammo was in 20 round boxes and it all showed moisture damage. All ammo had light corrosion on it.......not enough to be structurally compromised, but the outside of the cases were not smooth and jammed in the enbloc clips of my Garand....also had some dead primers too. I fired off about 20 rounds and then stopped due to jamming. I took the rest of the ammo home and threw them in my tumbler for an hour or so and they are smooth now and will probably cycle fine if they have a live primer.
I understand what moisture does to ammo but what does heat do?
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Old 05-10-2016, 4:56 PM
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Heat accelerates the aging of the powder.
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Old 05-10-2016, 6:36 PM
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30 years isn't all that long for ammo and appearance isn't going to tell you much: most current production Federal XM193 looks like it was made before the dawn of time (and is about as accurate as if it was…).
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  #13  
Old 05-10-2016, 6:45 PM
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I have a bunch of "White" Box Winchester 5.56 I bought at B&B sales back in the 80's. No special storage and it all shoots great. As long as its clean and not oily or corroded it should be fine. I shot some 30-06 my dad brought back with him from WWll and it shot fine.
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Old 05-10-2016, 6:56 PM
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For the guys that think 30 year old ammo is old you guys must not have any milsurp guns. For milsurp ammo 30 years old is pretty new. I have stuff that is 75 years old that I shoot. There is lots of WWII ammo still out there.
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  #15  
Old 05-10-2016, 7:41 PM
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I bought two wooden cases of pre WWII ammo for my 1891 Argentine Mauser. I've shot probably 600 rounds without a single misfire.
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Old 05-10-2016, 7:50 PM
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so I was doing some internet searching, and from what I read, heat isn't a big deal.. if the cartridge is still intact, and hasn't busted itself open, or popped itself off, it is pretty much fine

water on the otehr hand is no bueno
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  #17  
Old 05-11-2016, 2:00 PM
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The headstamps of these ammo are WCC88, TZ##82, 5.56 MAL 4-82, and HB 5.56. Anybody knows history of these ammo?
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  #18  
Old 05-11-2016, 2:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CWDraco View Post
I would not buy a large quantity of 30 year old ammo at all.
why? ive bought thousands of 40-60 year old ammo that works just fine.
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  #19  
Old 05-11-2016, 2:18 PM
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OP just make sure the packaging does not have water damage, look for blue/green on the cases, ask to open one or two random rounds and check to see if the powder is clumped together, or is there is any green/blue inside the case
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Old 05-11-2016, 2:19 PM
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I would visually inspect a few random rounds from a few random boxes..

I would also ask to shoot a few random rounds from a few boxes, if possible.

Lastly, I would inquire about the original boxes they were stored in. If they were stored in the same box the entire time and the box isn't warped from moisture, etc., then you might be safe, but I'll agree CWDraco, I wouldn't buy 30 year old ammo

its just not worth the safety worries....i mean, if i got 1k rounds for $5 i might consider it
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  #21  
Old 05-11-2016, 2:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by geoint View Post
I understand what moisture does to ammo but what does heat do?
humidity comes to mind.
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  #22  
Old 05-11-2016, 2:44 PM
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OP, how much and what price are you looking at?

If it's a large amount and the CPR is close to current market then balance the risk vs. savings. If we're talking 10k+ at .18 - 20cpr, then take a little time inspecting the entire lot and buy it all!!
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  #23  
Old 05-11-2016, 4:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mi4 View Post
The headstamps of these ammo are WCC88, TZ##82, 5.56 MAL 4-82, and HB 5.56. Anybody knows history of these ammo?
WCC is Western Cartridge Co by Olin/Winchester, MAL is Malaysian military.
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  #24  
Old 05-11-2016, 4:53 PM
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30 years old. That means it was manufactured in ~1986.

Personally, as long as the ammo looked fine, I wouldn't sweat it. I've bought plenty of milsurp ammo that was older than that.

Some milsurp .308 ammo made in the 70's and 80's recently became available and I haven't heard of any issues with those.
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Old 05-11-2016, 5:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by langss View Post
I have a bunch of "White" Box Winchester 5.56 I bought at B&B sales back in the 80's.
I've still got a buch of that too. If I remember it was under $2 per box of 20. During the last shortage I traded 40 boxes for a very nice old model Ruger Bearcat the guy had advertised for $400.

Last edited by M1NM; 06-12-2016 at 9:42 PM..
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  #26  
Old 05-11-2016, 5:13 PM
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smokin good deal for new current ammo....30 cent per round..........roll your own 21 cents average to high.

30 year old milsurp 556 is nothing special or super accurate.........unknown ammo from a unknown person, honestly it would have to be cheaper than I could load it for.

At 20 cents a round it better not be suspect in any way.........

I think it was LAX that just had 556 reloads on sale for 250 per 1000.............


I would need detailed history from the fella for loose rounds in 50 cal can......when did you get them, where have they been stored, have you shot any, did you have any problems.........I would imagine him to be on the up and up, he is selling some one a bunch of ar ammo, not a deal where you want to piss off the buyer...just sayin.
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Old 05-11-2016, 8:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mi4 View Post
Going to buy some ~30 yr old 556 ammo from a private seller. What should I look to make sure they are in good condition and safe to shoot?
Dude, I already told you the ammo is good to go. why you gotta put our business out there like that?






















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  #28  
Old 05-11-2016, 8:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mi4 View Post
Going to buy some ~30 yr old 556 ammo from a private seller. What should I look to make sure they are in good condition and safe to shoot?
Unless the ammunition was baked in an oven it should be just fine. Like others have testified, I have shot pre-WW1 ammo and it all went bang. 30 year old ammo is nothing, age wise.
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Old 05-11-2016, 9:10 PM
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I've got a bunch of the MAL -83 ammo that I shoot with regularity, I think mine is one month newer (5-83 vintage). Given how I usually shoot Wolf or Tula, I consider that stuff my 'good' ammunition.
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Old 05-11-2016, 9:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CWDraco View Post
I would not buy a large quantity of 30 year old ammo at all.
Yea, I don't like buying that newer crap either. But, it's getting harder to find 1960's vintage 5.56 now so, I might have to lower my standards and buy newer ammo.
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  #31  
Old 05-15-2016, 8:00 PM
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Finally met the seller. The ammo all look fine. But two types of them just did not cycle well ---- they could not feed after 1st rd went off.

And after firing 5 rounds of the third type, I found a primer cap (I don't reload so I don't know what it is called.) fell off the spent casing and left in the upper. I shot more of the third type and did have any problem afterwards.

So are the first two types under-powered?

Last edited by mi4; 05-15-2016 at 8:05 PM..
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  #32  
Old 05-15-2016, 8:59 PM
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What's the quantity and price?
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Old 05-16-2016, 5:12 AM
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Test fire a few. You'll know.
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Old 05-16-2016, 5:40 AM
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Shoot all of it and then say you changed your mind.
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  #35  
Old 05-16-2016, 9:10 AM
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I figured that the small things fell off the casing were primer cup and anvil.
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