How old is to old for ammo?

[P345]

Found some old ammo in one of my boxes that I had forgot about. How old is too old to feel safe and what are some of things I should look for to make sure it is safe to throw down the lane?


Thanks

[antiseen]

I was under the impression that as long as it was stored properly it would last a long time.

I've got a couple unopened cans of mosin ammo from the 70's. Lots of people shoot ammo way older, even from wwii.

Unless it's clearly got signs of corrosion or its been sitting in water/oil, I'd imagine you'd be good to go.

But I don't know much about the subject, so this is just a bump til someone more knowledgeable comes along.

[glassparman]

Nitrocellulose is good indefinitely as long as it is not exposed to moisture or extreme temperature ranges. Black powder will corrode the inside of a case after time.

As long as modern (smokeless) is stored properly, no problems should arise. I have shot MilSurp ammo from the 1930s without any problems.

[fguffey]

Found some old ammo in one of my boxes that I had forgot about. How old is too old to feel safe and what are some of things I should look for to make sure it is safe to throw down the lane?

I have 1913 German 8mm57, 1917 US 30/06 military cases, 30 Government 06 etc. I will not shoot this ammo, not because it is old but because it is not common.

If I wanted to know if the case could be loaded I would neck it up as in from 30/06 to 35 Whelen. I have crushed cases to determine if they would fold, split or collapse, a good case will fold like an accordion or bellows.

Cases that split, once fired nickel when necked up to 35 Whelen have a 40% failure rate. I load and or form military cases with head stamp dates starting in 1941. Once fired, I start with cases that still have the crimp primer, that is close to 70 years old.

Add: Loaded ammo? I am never so desperate for something to shoot that I would take the chance. Powder can cake. I will pull down suspect old ammo to determine the condition of the powder. I have pulled down military cases for the powder and cases, the bullets were tracers and armor piercing.

F. Guffey




F. Guffey

[mikeyr]

up until last year I was shooting german surplus 9mm from WWII that I purchased in bulk about 15 years ago, all gone now and all went bang.

[dcmartin]

up until last year I was shooting german surplus 9mm from WWII that I purchased in bulk about 15 years ago, all gone now and all went bang.

Yep, a buddy of mine handed over some WWII surplus 45 acp. It was fairly nasty looking Lol (lots of patina) but my 70 series colt made short work of it. Not a single dud in the bunch.

[Carcassonne]

Found some old ammo in one of my boxes that I had forgot about. How old is too old to feel safe and what are some of things I should look for to make sure it is safe to throw down the lane?


Thanks

I have shot military and commercial ammo from the 1950's: I had no problems. There is still some surplus 30-06 from WW-II available, and it shoots great. I think WW-II would be the cutoff date for old ammo. Anything before that might still be good, but is more valuable to a collector. Some WW-II ammo, especially German, would be more valuable to a collector.



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[pdq_wizzard]

Found some old ammo in one of my boxes that I had forgot about. How old is too old to feel safe and what are some of things I should look for to make sure it is safe to throw down the lane?


Thanks

what caliber ? hell it don't mater just send it to me and I will take care of it.

[thenodnarb]

If you pull the trigger and it goes BANG, then its still good. If not, then nothing will likely happen. It isn't dangerous in any way. The only possible concern is a squib. If the primer went off but the powder didn't burn, its possible the bullet got stuck in the throat of the barrel. Firing another round after that will blow up the gun. So anytime you have a "click" with no "bang" always inspect the round that failed before firing another one. Make sure the bullet is still in the case.

[knucklehead0202]

Yup, if it fires, it's good. I had 1928 7.65 that worked more often than the 1950's stuff. Go figure. If it works, it's fine. Watch for hangfires and don't rush to eject something that didn't go off. In some cases, a second strike will get it to go. If that doesn't work it's probably a dud.

[Twystd1]

Oldest ammo I have shot was in a turn of the century Mauser. The ammo we were using was made in 1915. Thats 99 years old. It went bang 10 times in a row. Although 1 of the rounds had a very slight hang fire.

-T

[RR.44]

You shouldn't have any problems just because its old, however, if it is old and imported it may be corrosive or have a corrosive primer, immediately clean after use to be on the safe side.

[SonofWWIIDI]

Choot it!!

[dominic]

I've fired .22LR from the 1920-30s without any issues, as long as its not outwardly corroded, shoot it.

[The War Wagon]

Is it corroded?

If NOT, than it's GTG. I've shot Korean War vintage .30 carbine ammo. I know folks who have fired WWI vintage .45acp. The shelf life of ammo, is longer than the shelf life of YOU.