New Ammo Shelf life
- Thread starter KevinR
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Speedo66
Member
Not if you're wearing your aluminum foil hat when you buy it.
Are they making it with gasohol?
Are they making it with gasohol?
jr_roosa
Member
Just because something has a shelf life date on the box, it doesn't mean that it won't work the day after. It basically gives the manufacturer a date after which it isn't responsible for changes in performance, which is actually a very reasonable concept.
The internet myth of primers/ammo that won't work after a certain date? All you have to do is wrap your tinfoil underwear around them and it will block the self destruct signal from the government satellite.
Not real.
-J.
The internet myth of primers/ammo that won't work after a certain date? All you have to do is wrap your tinfoil underwear around them and it will block the self destruct signal from the government satellite.
Not real.
-J.
herrwalther
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- 8,132
I have not heard anything like that. Ammo shelf life is entirely dependent on the environment it is stored in. Much like the firearms themselves, they do better in cool dry places. One could make the argument that older surplus ammo had a longer shelf life than modern loads but it would probably be a back and forth with little headway.
Hahaha...yes indeedy...
Here in Southern California, BEFORE the Internet, 1989 ish....a Big Rumor was spreading about Primers. That they would soon have a limited Shelf Lift.....seriously.....I bought 40K of them. (Go ahead and ask the first wife...)True story.
We had just been saddled with the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Ban and several so called Assault weapons had been banned from import..(SP-89..etc..)
Anything was considered possible.
On a side note, it's nice to have plenty of primers....
I've shot plenty of ammo made in the early 1950s without problems.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
I have heard it.
But it is a totally baseless rumor, and in fact cannot be done using current powder & primer technology.
What is going to happen is this:
They are not going to make any more ammo after the first of the year.
They have already started winding down production, and that's why Wal-Mart is out of ammo already.
What is true though is:
All the ammo manufactures are going to stop making ammo, and start making automotive air bag charges for wheel-chairs and baby buggy's beginning Jan. 1, 2014.
By direct order of the Product Safety Commission, under presidential decree.
rc
Gaucho Gringo
Member
I have a tin of 7.62x54R ammo that I bought mainly for the stripper clips which is dated 1948. The ammo shoots fine and the clips are worth 4 times what I payed for the ammo with the clips.
RetiredUSNChief
Member
You know, I really hate you for posting that, rc.
Not because of what you said, per se, but because it's so darned difficult to clean Dr. Pepper off my laptop...
Deer_Freak
Member.
If you keep your ammo stored in a climate controlled environment it will last a long time. If you store your ammo in the trunk of your car it won't last very long. The ideal temperature for ammo storage is 65 degrees. You can use drywall for dunage and a desiccant. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Put the drywall in the oven for 20 minutes. Put a piece of drywall in the bottom of your storage container to prevent sweating. Then put a piece of drywall in between every couple rows of ammo.
Armies all around the world store ammo in the same fashion. They build an underground concrete bunker. They place the bunker deep enough that the ground keeps the storage area at a constant 65 degrees. There are usually several small bunkers on each base. That way if one bunker is compromised they still have a good deal of ammo on hand.
Armies all around the world store ammo in the same fashion. They build an underground concrete bunker. They place the bunker deep enough that the ground keeps the storage area at a constant 65 degrees. There are usually several small bunkers on each base. That way if one bunker is compromised they still have a good deal of ammo on hand.
lilguy
Member
I have 455 Webley ammo from WW2 that still lights off after 70 years.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Bad advice, IMO:
Dry wall is made of gypsum, which is mildly alkaline.
They have recalled a lot of china drywall because it was corroding the electrical wiring in houses and causing fumes and electrical fires.
Copper wire is close enough to cartridge brass, that I sure as heck don't want any of it in my ammo cans.
The U.S military has never condoned such a thing, and certainly doesn't even use desiccant packs in ammo cans.
So why should we??
As for 65 degree's?
I'd be happy with 70-80 & low humidity, same as in my house, or in the ammo bunkers at the Sunflower Army Ammo Plant in Desoto KS.
rc
Dry wall is made of gypsum, which is mildly alkaline.
They have recalled a lot of china drywall because it was corroding the electrical wiring in houses and causing fumes and electrical fires.
Copper wire is close enough to cartridge brass, that I sure as heck don't want any of it in my ammo cans.
The U.S military has never condoned such a thing, and certainly doesn't even use desiccant packs in ammo cans.
So why should we??
As for 65 degree's?
I'd be happy with 70-80 & low humidity, same as in my house, or in the ammo bunkers at the Sunflower Army Ammo Plant in Desoto KS.
rc
Honest John
Member
I have heard about that conspiracy, but I'm not concerned because the previous and ongoing conspiracy to divert ammunition from retail stores makes it irrelevant.
TRX
Member
Some of the new lead-free primers introduced 10-15 years ago had a definite shelf life. I'm not sure about the new ones.
A non-corrosive primer is a delicate and non-trivial device. Making it lead-free too, and reliable across the same time and temperature ranges as old chlorate or styphnate primers is a difficult and expensive task.
A non-corrosive primer is a delicate and non-trivial device. Making it lead-free too, and reliable across the same time and temperature ranges as old chlorate or styphnate primers is a difficult and expensive task.
243winxb
Member
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I have a two boxes of 20 g bird shot that are in the range of 50 years old. I know this because they came from my grandfather's collection and I know when he died. They are the paper shells(or whatever they made them from before plastic became commonplace) but I just leave them in the boxes and look at them and never plan to use them. They sit next to the Mossberg bolt 20g that I got from him. I do shoot the gun on occasion.
I also have some old (Peter's maybe?) .22 LR that is pretty old and I have shot a couple of boxes with no problems at all.
I also have some old (Peter's maybe?) .22 LR that is pretty old and I have shot a couple of boxes with no problems at all.
MagnumWill
Member
If it's any indicator, all the 7.62x54R that I had two years back had 100% ignition, and it was made in Bulgaria in 1954.
JVaughn
Member
If you get a contaminant (oil, acid, etc.) on the cartridges, particularly the primer, they can fail. In normal air, normal temperature, I think you are fine. I have ammo that was reloaded in the 70's that still works fine.
Al Thompson
Moderator Emeritus
I think this one is in the 'asked and answered" file.
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