Old Ammo, is it good?

How was it stored? How hot did it get?

Shouldn't be a problem if it was kept away from extreme temperatures or high humidity.

If stored properly it should be fine, I'd pull a few and check if the powder looks of smells off. Make sure the inside of the case is not corroded.

Worst case is it just won't fire. I would think that rounds like 243 and 30-30 would be pretty easy to find at reasonable prices. I would buy some new ammo to zero and hunt with, and just expend the older stuff in practice.

I’d bet it’s good to go. Fire a few and check, but if the first three group fine , I’d use it

I fired a bit of 30-06 this year that I loaded back in 1991 that was long forgotten in my parent’s basement. I think my biggest group at 100 was still under .35” I had added desiccant packets to the MTM plastic ammo boxes and had those stored in steel ammo cans.

Id second pulling a few to have a look and note any changes in recoil in case of a squib. Always bring a sturdy 1-piece range rod.

30-40 years? You call that old?

I have shot pre-WW2 ammo without problems, and have stuff on my shelf, including my own reloads, that dates back to the 1980's that I would shoot tomorrow without a second thought. The only old ammo I have ever had a problem with was some POF .303 ammo that would hang fire.

If stored properly, ammo will be as reliable as the day it was made.

Ill second the "pull a couple" and check.

I inherited a bunch of 30-06 (and powder and primers) my dad had loaded and kept in a garage that wasnt temp controlled. They lived down at the beach, and summers were hot.

Figured Id burn it up before I loaded anymore, and while shooting it, had a round that wouldnt chamber in my M1 and on inspection, found the neck of the previous round stuck on the bullet of the round that wouldnt chamber. The neck had seperated from the case.

When I looked at the rest of the rounds Id brought along, many of the necks were cracked, vertically and horizontally, and the bullets could be pushed out with your thumb.

When I pulled them down, all the bullets had a blue-green corrosion on the base of them, and the powder smelt a bit weird. Checked the rest (there was a lot), and pretty much the same thing in every box. Ended up pulling down the lot and reusing the bullets, and some of the primers. The brass and powder were trash.

The powder in cans was also trash. That kind of gives you an idea as to the ago of things too, as the powder (IMR 4895) was all in metal cans. Had to throw away about ten pounds too, which really sucked.

The primers dont seem to have been bothered, and Im still burning them up. They are from the late 80's, early 90's, and have all shot fine in the rounds Ive loaded them in.

Slamfire, who is a member here, had a couple of good posts on just this subjest and well worth the read if you feel like looking.

Is this factory or reloads? Didn't catch that....
I've got some 30-06 military ball ammo from 55. Since I've had it it was stored in an ammo can.... Around 90, Shoots fine

Factory or reloads, it really doesnt matter. What matters is how its stored.

I bought a bunch of surplus Maylasian 5.56 dated in the late 70's, early 80's, back in the mid 90's. Just finished shooting the last of it up a little over a year ago. A year or two before that, I started seeing the brass fail as Id described with the 30-06 above. When I pulled a couple of rounds, there was that blue-green corrosion on the base of the bullets I pulled. So I focused on shooting up what was left.

What made a light go on for me with this ammo too was, when that Malaysian airliner (370?) went down, there was speculation that batteries onboard had been improperly stored (heat), and that might have been a cause. I put things together, Malaysia (hot), ammo, heat, and improper storage..... Just a guess, but the ammo, even though it was surplus, wasnt at all "old" or dated. Kind of makes you wonder why they sold it off.

Im thinking I know now.

I personally would shoot the ammo you've described without serious qualms. I would recheck grouping and zero before hunting with it.

Significant decomposition is very unlikely to have occurred after just 30 years under ideal storage conditions. What usually damages ammo over time is heat and humidity.

troy fairweather said:

If stored properly it should be fine, I'd pull a few and check if the powder looks of smells off. Make sure the inside of the case is not corroded.

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If you haven't seen decomposed powder before, you're looking for grains that have clumped into balls and/or become non-uniform in appearance. Decomposed smokeless has a stronger, more acidic smell than good stuff, which you can detect further from your nose. Usually there will also be external indications of oxidation on the cartridges, such as verdigris.

Very mild decomposition -- which can still affect performance -- may be difficult to detect visually, so a chrono test would also be helpful.

When I'm gifted ammo of uncertain vintage and quality, I usually pull the bullets, pour out the powder in small piles that I set alight, fire the primers and reuse the bullets and cases after polishing. I check the cases for Berdan primers before considering reuse -- with old Berdan military ammo I just save the bullets.

The best shooting ammo in my BSA Martini 22 target rifle is nearly 80 year old Winchester Western Expert. Never had one fail to go off. Proper storage is everything.

I've shot Turkish 7.92mm made in 1943 through a Yugo Mauser. It all worked, although I had a couple "click-bang's".

I worked at a small Midwest Department Store from 1989-1996 (through high school and college). Some time in there I purchased a good number of Winchester 209 shotshell primers but subsequently gave up loading for shotgun. Last week my muzzleloaders were capped with some of those primers and they all worked fine.

I've had friends give me boxes and coffee cans full of mixed ammo found when cleaning out Gradpa's garage that were 50 years or older. Some of the brass is discolored but they all seem to work just fine.

I've shot ammo made in 1938 in my Steyr M95 and it shot about 90%. I know that's probably not good enough for hunting where you might only get one shot. But it's plenty good enough for range use. Ammo only 50 years old for hunting? It's most likely OK. Shake a few, pull a few if you want. It's probably 99% reliable. As good as new factory ammo, right?

Only 30 years old? That's not even middle-aged.. My LGS probably has ammo in stock that old or older.

Old is a relative thing.

d2wing said:

... do you think it is still good?

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Ab-so-lute-ly!

Good Grief, Skylerbone! How did you get pics of some of the ammo boxes on my Ready-Shelf?

I have some 3040 Krag that was loaded for TR and the rough riders. It still shoots.

I shot some 303 ammo that was older then me. It was bought in the 50s rifle and ammo. Shot just fine.