How long does ammo keep for?

[nester2012]

I don't know if this question has been answered elsewhere, but here goes. I have a box of 38calibur rounds that I've had for about 10 years now. Do they go bad? How long can you keep ammo and what is the best way to store it?

Thanks!

[CSACANNONEER]

It's only good for two weeks. After that, you need to send it to me for proper disposal.



Or, if stored properly, ammo is good indefinitely. I've shot ammo from 1914.

[OldShooter32]

Old ammo? Is that like "leftover wine?"

Relax. Keep it (the ammo, not the wine) cool and dry and it will outlive you. I have some sealed tins of '06 that last saw daylight when Hitler was still running Germany. They will shoot...

[RookieShooter]

FWIW, I bought my first gun (Colt Mustang .380 Pistol) 24 years ago along with some ammo and stash the ammo away in a shoe box. I didn't know that I had them and found them recently during spring cleaning. I took couple boxes out to the range last month and have no problem.

[RookieShooter]

Or, if stored properly, ammo is good indefinitely. I've shot ammo from 1914.

Wow!!!! That's almost a century old. What type of ammo was that?

[CAL.BAR]

I still shoot Vietnam era ammo with my BAR. No problems. If stored properly, if will last decades.

[Chief-7700]

I have some .45ACP from 1913.

[drdarrin@sbcglobal.net]

Since everyone else has answered the how long question, I'll try the "best way" question.

Cool, dark place, preferrably in a military style ammo can. The reason for the ammo can is in case of fire. The rubber gasket which forms an air tight seal is designed to melt under high temperatures and allow the gases to vent harmlessly in the event of a fire and the stored rounds "cook off".

[sargenv]

To give you an idea of how long components last, Alliant (Used to be Hercules powder) still has a small supply of smokeless powder created in the 19th century (that's pre 1900) that they keep under water.. they say that every so often, they remove some of it, dry it off (they didn't have preservatives like they do now so they keep it in distilled water), load it and pressure test it to compare to modern powders.. It still has all the vigor of modern propellants..