How old is too old?

BigBlue 94 · Nov 27, 2021

I had cardboard powder cans back in 2015 that still smelled and looked good.

I have a bunch of Turkish surplus 8mm Mauser stamped 1941. Its consistent, and notoriously hot. But it only gets shot out of a Turkish M48 so I figure its built for it lol.

entropy · Nov 27, 2021

I've fired .45 ACP marked FA 18, and it was fine.
I have a partial box of my .30-06 reloads from 1977, I'd fire them without any qualms-if I had a 30.-06.

Palladan44 · Nov 27, 2021

These are just a few empty boxes (just the tip of the iceberg) of older ammo ive fired in the last 5-7 years that all fired, with no problems. Some exposed lead with a little oxidation, but thats it.
The M1-.30 carbine rounds are stamped LC 56 (steel cases) and the .30-06 stripper clips are LC 35 and I recall shooting those about 15-20 years ago.
No split mouths; which was surprising.

Now, is it possible that ammo made today can last even longer than ammo of 50-75 years ago for some reason or another?? I guess my grandkids will find out.

exbrit49 · Nov 27, 2021

With Powder being so scarce I finally ran out of Alliant Red Dot. A friend said he had some but it was very very old. He brought me a pound to try. It looked and smelled OK . Soooooo I loaded 20 pieces and took then down to the range. I took the Chrono along and the first round showed almost 100 FPS slower than my normal Red Dot loads! Rather than waste it I went back to the loading bench and leaded up 5 rounds with each lot increasing the powder rate, Just like test loading a new powder. Finally got to the speed I wanted with no signs of pressure. So, either the powder had deteriorated to some extent or it was prior to a minor formulation change. . At least I have some powder to use, I have also worked up new lioads using Unique and Bullseye/ Now I have enough powder to get by for another year~

EMC45 · Nov 27, 2021

I find WW2 .45 ACP brass at my range often and I reload it.

Palladan44 · Nov 27, 2021

exbrit49 said:
With Powder being so scarce I finally ran out of Alliant Red Dot. A friend said he had some but it was very very old. He brought me a pound to try. It looked and smelled OK . Soooooo I loaded 20 pieces and took then down to the range. I took the Chrono along and the first round showed almost 100 FPS slower than my normal Red Dot loads! Rather than waste it I went back to the loading bench and leaded up 5 rounds with each lot increasing the powder rate, Just like test loading a new powder. Finally got to the speed I wanted with no signs of pressure. So, either the powder had deteriorated to some extent or it was prior to a minor formulation change. . At least I have some powder to use, I have also worked up new lioads using Unique and Bullseye/ Now I have enough powder to get by for another year~

Lot-to-lot differences of the same powder alone will give these results, and doesnt necessarily have anything to do with age or degradation. Just slight differences In chemistry between lots.
Some newer powders claim better "lot-to-lot" consistency....but never would I not work up from starting charge first.

Loaded grain for grain between 2 different batches of 2400 once.....similar velocities, but one had sticky extractions and flatter primers.... huh, go figure.

01KLR650 · Nov 27, 2021

Back in the early '90s, I bought a few string-tied paper packs of 1942-dated British .303 armor-piercing ammo. Every third or fourth round would hang-fire. The recoil was pretty stout on all of them. After one trip to the range, I threw the rest out.

When we cleaned-out my grandfather's house in the mid-'80s, there was a circa-1950 box of nickel-plated Remington 38 special 158gr LRN. Every one worked fine with pretty good accuracy. I still have (and use) the cases.

I'm currently using up some of the primers and powder I bought when I started to reload in the mid-1990s. Everything has been fine.

How old is too old?

BigBlue 94

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entropy

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Palladan44

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exbrit49

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EMC45

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Palladan44

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01KLR650

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