Can ammo go bad?

[boredin818]

Is something like that possible?

[romeomikelima]

*****

[boredin818]

Sure. Everything goes bad given enough time.

Lets say... 5-6 years, kept in a cool, dry, dark place.

[I Like Guns]

Lets say... 5-6 years, kept in a cool, dry, dark place.

Just put 'em in a ammo can with dessicant. Or buy battle packs.

[odysseus]

Lets say... 5-6 years, kept in a cool, dry, dark place.

Kept dry, ammo is going to last quite a bit longer than that.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

Lets say... 5-6 years, kept in a cool, dry, dark place.

It might go bad after 5 years if you stored it at the bottom of your swimming pool. I think the "freshest" ammo I shoot now is from 2002, but I mostly shoot stuff from the 1930's - 1980's. The bulk pack .22LR from 1979 is much more reliable and accurate than new stuff.

[johnthomas]

The rule of thumb for ammo storage is to keep it in the same heat and humidity conditions where you are comfortable. This rules out garages, storage sheds, etc. Cold has no adverse effects on ammunition. Another help is to get moisture absorbing desiccant packs and put them in the container with the ammo. Keep the container off of concrete floors. Moisture seeps through them. A high shelf is to where heat rises. Keep the container between the floor and ceiling. Desiccant packs are available from Midway. Their order line is 1-800-243-3220. They sell three sizes of desiccant packs, depending on the number of cubic feet you need to dehumidify. Properly stored
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[Greg-Dawg]

If there's green stuff or rust, then I won't shoot them.

[flatovercrest]

It might go bad after 5 years if you stored it at the bottom of your swimming pool. I think the "freshest" ammo I shoot now is from 2002, but I mostly shoot stuff from the 1930's - 1980's. The bulk pack .22LR from 1979 is much more reliable and accurate than new stuff.

what he said.

[PEZHEAD265]

what he said.

+++1 On that I shot up paper shot gun shells from the fifties and sixties.

[Air]

I had a box of 38 Specials that I shot last year that was OLD. The box looked like it had been dug up from an archaeological dig. All went bang except one.

[SCMA-1]

Heat and moisture are ammunition's two primary enemies. However, most milsurp ammo are sealed at the case and primer so even though there may be evidence of exposure to moisture on the outside (corrosion, discoloration, etc.) the cartridges may be just fine and safe to shoot. Through the 80's-90's I bought tens of thousands old milsurp rounds in all sorts of calibers and aside from a few hard primers, most fired properly and none were unsafe to shoot, even ones looking like this and worse:


Several thousand rounds of this Radway Green 1969 308 all shot perfectly and was very accurate.

[Echidin]

Good to know the 11 year-old brick pack of .22lr I recently found may still be good. Now if only I still had my old Ruger 10/22.
May be an excuse to get a new one

[SCMA-1]

Good to know the 11 year-old brick pack of .22lr I recently found may still be good. Now if only I still had my old Ruger 10/22.
May be an excuse to get a new one

11 years? Heck that's practically new in my book!

[j1133s]

Is something like that possible?

Yes, they can go bad. sometimes you can see e.g. corrode case, sometimes you can't see contaminated primer, powder. Try freezing them, they keep longer, like a good wendy's burger.