Ammo Storage (how long?)

[DB62]

Hi Guys,

First off, sorry if this post is in the wrong place, I couldn't find any specific place to post a ammo question.

My question is about the length of time you can save ammo, and it still being good to shoot.

I store my ammo in 2 different military ammo cans (Grade 1).
I have large dry packs in each, at the bottom of each can.
& both ammo cans are stored in a temperature controlled room closet. Both ammo cans have intact O rings, in great condition, and have been tested for being water tight, by me, and both are.

So under these conditions, I'm wondering how long this ammo with continue to be useable and safe.

Thanks for any input!

 

[fallout mike]

Many many years. Some surplus ammo you buy for certain calibers were made in the 50's and are still good to go.

 

[DB62]

Wow, thats good to know!
Thanks Mike!

 

[CapnMac]

Know some folks who belt their ammo who run 70-80 y/o 8mm without even thinking about it.
When I was younger/more foolish/supply was greater, I fired off my share of WWII M2 ball, none of which had been stored in any super-special way.

I've seen some very sketchy-looking 7.62x39 reliably go "bang."

One of the best deals in .30-06 right now is 50's-60's era Greek manufacture. Ok, so the best of that is still sealed in 'spam cans' but, it's not exactly young, either.

Keep your ammo away from anything that can sneak around the primer or case neck, and it's pretty much good to go as long as it will chamber (saw some Argie-marked 7.62x51 that looking like "bring back" from the Malvinas, all green scabby about the cases reliably fire with only a few FTE's)..

 

[DB62]

Well Ok then, thanks Capn!

My whole reason for asking, is my local store had a huge deal on 9mm & 40cal Speer ammo, so I stored way up on it.
Then the owner of the store told me I needed to use it up within 5 years, he said it wouldn't be dependable after that.

Although I'm sure he had the alternative motive...more sales!

 

[rondog]

Properly stored ammo will far outlive YOU, and your grandkids will be able to shoot it long after you're gone. .50 cal. steel USGI ammo cans, buy all you can get and fill 'em up. Stuff'll last forever.

 

[CapnMac]

Yeah, the .30 and .50 cal cans are much, much harder to find (than in years past) than nicely-priced ammo to fill them.

I now know I should have bought a few more of the side-opening "fat fifties" when I had the chance. I probably need to start looking for more of those, and going through the scrape, chip, prime, and repaint on 'beaters' and save all my 'original paint' cans as historical artifacts.
Or not.

 

[Kingcreek]

I had 14 rounds of 1914 mil issue .45acp that were stored in the 2 mags for 80 years in an Illinois attic.
11 went bang, one went pop, and 2 didn't do anything.
properly stored modern ammo should be good longer than us.

 

[rcmodel]

I'm still shooting 5.56 NATO from the Vietnam war years.
It, like yours, has been stored in GI ammo cans in the basement under near ideal conditions.

I fully expect it to still work fine long after I am dead if I don't shoot it all by then.

rc

 

[westy39]

I am shooting some ammo marked Denver Arsenal 1940's to 1950's vintage. I was given some sage advise regarding the use of this ammo in my eddystone (1918 vintage). Damn it shoots well. I have no idea how the ammo was stored but the paper boxs were dry and the ammo was good . The only thing that detracted the ammo accuracy was operator error. Damn lif is gud. Keep your head down and your powder dry, just my 2 cents worth from the Big Sky Country, Montana..... Be Safe..... Westy39

 

[Ignition Override]

DB62:

I've shot a limited amount of my WW2 .303 ammo manufactured in England in 1943.
It shoots every time on the first squeeze, but the bore and bolt-face must be cleaned with a water-based solvent every day after use, as you probably realize.

The POF (Pakistani) .303 from the 60's shoots almost every time, though sometimes with a short click-bang.

Also, from the store staff's comments, imagine how much both the retail and gun show staff inflated the buying panic after the election in 2008. They hoped that the masses were unaware of the concept of
"limited political capital" after an initial political victory.

We will see their anxious comments again, but Before the next election, because the staff remember how their post-election warnings were proven totally wrong, as predicted (before the '08 election) by my very astute,
level-headed middle-aged friends.
They stood aside and watched the sheep panic, but these friends bought nothing extra, certainly not at scalper prices.