Is my ammo still good?

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Im really curious of how degradation of modern ammo compares to old (lets say WW2 or older) ammo. Theyre compositions are NOT the same. Mostly the priming compounds. My guess is probably new ammo will age better.

Old ammo has been known to get "hotter" over time, depending on what it is. Ive shot old 30-30 Ammo, probably about 50 years old, that had split case necks upon ejecting them out of my fairly new model 336. Maybe that still would have happened when they were new back in the day, or maybe not. The world may never know. Some say brass has been known to get harder with time, harder means more brittle, which means less flexibility, and thus the split cases. IDK
 
floritucky said:
long story short. bad divorce 3 years ago and i had to put stuff in storage. thought it would be a couple months.... i just pulled it out after 3 years. it was climate controlled (though i dont know what temps) the bulk of my ammo was in that unit. mostly in ammo cans (though not all of it) but nothing was placed in the ammo cans to control humidity (i am in Florida, fyi). i have no idea what the shelf life for ammo is.

secondly, i had 2 ammo cans that were actually in my parents garage (not climate controlled) that i didnt even know were there (I thought it was all in storage). so my question also pertains to 2 ammo cans that were not climate controlled for 3 years.

we are talking rifle ammo, pistol ammo, shotgun, and .22

safe to shoot? safe to trust to go bang? i really hope i didnt ruin it. a good penny worth and we all know the current ammo situation.

I had to sell most (but not all) of my firearms at the time do to the situation and am trying to really get back into the hobby i enjoy.
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If ammo isn’t corroded, and shotshells aren’t swelled up, fire in the hole..........
 
Riomouse911 said:
Many of us have gone down that same rocky divorce road as well, it’s never fun and often very painful. I wish you the best and truly hope you’re able to put it all in the past and look forward to the future.

When my ex moved out in 1996 I slowly replaced the space her car took up in my garage with tools and reloading stuff. Over the years it filled in quite nicely. :)

My wife and I have been married for the past 17 years and we have three kids. Somehow she tolerates my shooting/gun habit and the kids’ motorcycle habits. I spent several years after the divorce sampling, but I’ve found out that she is the best person I’ve ever met ;).

You’ll be fine to go out and shoot the ammo you stored... use the time at the range as another step to even greater tomorrow’s. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
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Thanks for the words. i was more upset over having to sell so much of my collection and other hobby related items then i was about loosing the Ex. that holds even more true today. lol. but im finally at a place that i can slowly start building it back up now that finances are stable and the divorce (that took 3 years!) is finally over. it can be costly and nasty when the other party tries to make every second of it a living hell. thank god for good lawyers.

caribou said:
I wish I could keep enough ammo to have some 'old ammo'....LOL!!
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before my divorce i had a decent expendable budget and i had a rule, how much ammo i shot at the range, i had to buy more then that number back. even if by only 1 box. this kept me shooting while still building up a good stock... and then came the reloading hobby that i dipped my toes in just before life happened.

Howland937 said:
I don't know when Federal stopped making their Lightning .22's, but I know it's been at least 15 years. I stocked up for a couple of rifles that love them, and still have a couple thousand. They're just as consistent and accurate as they ever were.

I've got shotgun ammo that I know is 30 years old that still works fine.
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federal stopped making there lightning .22? well, that ages some of the .22 ammo i have then.

Palladan44 said:
Ive done a lot of research on the topic, because ive wondered the same myself. Also have personal experience. Ammo when stored in ammo cans lasts a long long time. If it is also in the original packaging, and has been un handled, that is a big bonus. HEAT and MOISTURE are the 2 biggest enemies. In sealed ammo can, unless there was a flood i doubt moisture got to it. As long as it didnt get over 130 degrees farenheit for a consistent period.......youre fine. (Maybe on the dash of a hot black car parked in Tucson in summer could do it in theory)
Heat like such can degrade primer compound and certain powders.

Its important to leave Ammo untouched in the original packaging if youre not going to use it, or you risk tainting it with your salty fingerprints. (This is nipping at the bud here) (People who have seen green fingerprints on their ammo know what im talking about)
Ammo that has been tainted by weather or handling can corrode to the point of not being able to be chambered in as little as a few years. Its important to keep "weathered" or "handled" ammo in the lineup so its fired next, because if it gets backlogged in your stockpile for many years it will corrode faster than Ammo that has not been touched, guaranteed. (Again, nipping at the bud)

I use silica Gel dessicant in my ammo cans which helps absorb moisture in the can once you seal it.
Buying silica gel packets is a little pricey if you have a big stock of ammo, so if you purchase the odorless cat litter, and put a tablespoon of this in a coffee filter, or small sock, and zip tie shut it serves the same function. Highly recommended to protect your ammo investment. Remember to do ammo can inspections (if youre going to peek in a long term storage) to do so during dry periods with low humidity (for me here in WI its in winter time) and change out the silica Gel packet if you want to maintain "optimal" storage conditions.
Dont worry, your ammo is probably fine and will be for decades upon decades.
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Thanks for the Info! its all still in origanal boxes. 1 ammo can was dedicated to boxes that were started but not finished so that it would be used first on the next range trip. so i do have that one ammo can with stuff in it but it looks good so it seems i am safe. central florida here so no such thing as a dry period. lol.

I will see what i can find for Silica Gel packets. currently only have enough ammo left to fill about 9 50 cal cans so i dont think cost will be crazy.
 
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I've also seen all the science about degradation of accuracy, reliability of ammo with heat then I see reports of zero problems with stuff left in a CONEX for years, or my favorite:

Afghanistan, US troops find and restore a Maxim and put it to work on the perimeter of their base. Works fine. 8mm (7.92 x 57) ammo? In belts? Well, they found some old weapons caches as they do their patrolling (such as where they found the gun), and they told the locals they'd pay cash for this exact ammo, and serviceable belts. They got plenty of these (shock!) and... had very few issues with century old ammo, century old fabric belts, stored in unknown conditions but certainly not all good. They did try to stick to sealed cans but still, time and temperature has it's way and... no problem.
 
"Whatever happens, we have got the Maxim gun, and they have not."

As has been posted above, I too have shot quite a bit of WWII dated ammo (and even some dated earlier) and never had a problem with it.
 
It will be ok for decades to come. I’ve removed green corrosion by tumbling in walnut shells.
 
its fine. ive left ammo in my truck for multiple summers in florida and all fired fine. I've shot lots of ammo left in a garage that wasnt ac conditioned and high humidity from the 1970s and all shot fine even the shotgun shells.

ammo is very tough even when stored improperly I know firsthand.
 
floritucky said:
..i have no idea what the shelf life for ammo is..
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Ammo in a climate controlled environment with low humidity can last for decades. I've shot .22lr that's 30years old and sat in an ammo can in my father-in-law's closet. If it was good quality and in good condition to start with, I'd say you're doing fine after 3 years. Like most things excess heat and humidity are the killers, but if it's in original boxes/cartons and kept dry, you should be fine.
 
38 special ammo run through the drier and washer all went bang, 18 for 18 lol, for what that's worth of course.

Ammo was federal 135 hst iirc.
 
Waveski said:
Can old ammo actually get "hotter"?
If so , someone please explain.

(Honest question ...)
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As it deteriorates, gunpowder can break down into slightly more volatile components, or the stabilizers that control the burn rate can begin to break down.
In severe layman's terms; I'm not a chemist.
For stuff that's been transported a lot, the thought is that bouncing it around enough can break down the grains of powder, and more smaller grains--therefore with more surface area relative to volume--burn faster.

Possible, but it has to be really abused or old. I think corrosion is a bigger concern.
 
I did some research a while back on ammo life and without checking my notes the longest stored is government arsenals with 125 year old ammo. This stuff has been sealed and still fires fine. Obviously exposure to elements will change things, you never know the history of real old ammo. Ive used corroded ammo in the form of 7.62x39 with crustiness around the primer and old highwall 12ga with very rusty looking metal that has beenrolling about in a toolbox for 25 years and that fired too. I live in the 16th paralell, pretty extreme heat and humidity. I dont think its great for powders and primers but I had 18 year old powder still work fine.
 
Deus -

That makes sense , thanks.

Old ammo - A friend gave me some WWII era .38 S&W a while ago , greenish , partial box , box in tatters ... no collector's value so I shot it. Several hangfires and and 2 or 3 total duds. Potential risk if impatient checking out the duds and hangfires.

The OP ammo should be fine after just 3 years.
 
I doubt you'll have a problem, but as others have noted, do a visual inspection and watch for any abnormal performance.
 
The only poor ammo was some POF 303 BRIT from the 50's that had hangfires. I have had ammo from the 19 teens that shot well for 100+ year old ammo so if it looks good I will try some and shoot it if things go as expected in my sample. If you tumble your ammo with something like NewFinish and corn cob the fingerprints and tarnish are a non issue. Just takes 15 minutes. No hollow points though.;)
 
Most likely it will be fine. The worst that can happen with 'old' ammo is either the primer or the powder goes 'flat' and won't work. It won't blow up your gun. Old powder doesn't turn psychopathic.
But most likely (unless it's been submerged in water or oil) it will work like normal.

If it doesn't work, break it down and reload it. If that's not an option, replace it. I doubt you will have to do either.
 
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