Which to shoot, which to set aside?

[wpod]

Every week I buy a little more ammo.
I also started reloading and have become a brass who.. collector.
So I have a growing supply of factory and reloaded ammo, mostly 9mm reloaded for plinking, no hot loads.
Which, if either, will have the longer (many decades) shelf life?

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[nedro]

The one store in a better climate.

[200Apples]

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Which, if either, will have the longer (many decades) shelf life?

Depends on when the commercially-loaded stuff was made... but, seriously; unless you used some sort of sealant for your handloaded primers, your reloaded cartridges may not have as long a shelf life as commercially-loaded ammo where you might see a tinted sealant around the primer cup. Otherwise, it's a wash...

fwiw, I am also a new reloader and at this point I'm not sealing my primer cups to the brass. Some folks may, some do not.

[highpower]

I have ammo that has been stored in .30 and .50 cal ammo cans for over forty years. Some of it was handloads I did many years ago as well as a few thousand rounds of factory stuff. A couple of years ago I was going through my stash and decided to shoot up a bunch of .45 auto loads to check the reliability of one of my guns with 180gr lead semi wadcutters.

All of those ancient reloads shot just fine. FYI, I have been rotating some of the older ammo out and shooting it up when I get new ammo to replace it with. All of the factory rounds are 100% reliable too, including some 1942 dated .30-06 in Garand clips.

[wpod]

The only reason I'm reluctant to shoot my reloads is remembering how long it took to make them vs how long it takes to shoot them.
It will probably be worse with .223 when I start shooting /reloading that.

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[stormvet]

The reason I reload is so I can shoot more often, not to save them for later. That said I do have some .38 and .357 ammo that I made 20 years ago. I don't shoot my wheel guns all that often. But every once in a while I still shoot those old reloads. If stored in a dry place they will last decades.

[thegreatcow]

The reason I reload is so I can shoot more often, not to save them for later. That said I do have some .38 and .357 ammo that I made 20 years ago. I don't shoot my wheel guns all that often. But every once in a while I still shoot those old reloads. If stored in a dry place they will last decades.

This.

It's all about moisture. As long as they're stored in a cool dry place those cartridges should be fine.

[ja308]

This.

It's all about moisture. As long as they're stored in a cool dry place those cartridges should be fine.

exactly.keep them in airtight containers and they will last 1

[wpod]

All (factory and reloaded) rounds are in air-tight ammo cans with desiccant packs.
Downside is, they are in the garage. No choice in that.
So i guess I won't worry about it. Everything gets marked with the date it was bought or rolled. Inventory gets rotated so I'll just grab the oldest stuff first be it new or used.
Ammocanmagnets(.com) is a lifesaver for a fluctuating caliberic inventory.
Thanks y'all

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[mosinnagantm9130]

If stored in a dry place they will last decades.

This^^

Oldest I've personally shot was 1946 dated, it all worked fine, not even any hangfires.

[kcheung2]

Commercial ammo can always be sold off if you need to raise some cash. Your reloads can only be sold for component value which is much less.