ammunition

[sabbyz]

Being fairly new to the world of firearms, I have, what most of you will find to be a silly question or questions.
1. How long can ammunition (shotgun and handgun) be kept and under what conditions.
2. What is the possibility of it becomming unstable.
3. Would it be safe to use ammunition which has been setting in a closed wooden box in a garage for probably the last 25 to 30 years West Texas area.

 

[mmike87]

1. How long can ammunition (shotgun and handgun) be kept and under what conditions.
2. What is the possibility of it becomming unstable.
3. Would it be safe to use ammunition which has been setting in a closed wooden box in a garage for probably the last 25 to 30 years West Texas area.

As long as ammunition is kept dry and free of physical damage, it will last for many decades. People shoot suplus ammo from the 50's all the time and for the most part it goes "bang" just like it should.

 

[SDC]

As long as it's kept dry and reasonably cool, ammo basically has an unlimited shelf life; if something DOES go wrong with it, it'll either not fire at all, or there'll be visible changes to tip you off that it's not good anymore (sometimes I'll run across old surplus ammo that's extruding green foam from the primer or neck). As long as this stuff LOOKS OK, there wouldn't be any harm in trying it; if it won't fire, it's been through too many temperature cycles, but if it's military stuff, it could easily be corrosive.

 

[mauser7]

Actually I would be a bit careful about anything that was sitting in a West Texas garage for that long. I use to take customer service calls for a catalog company and we sold surplus ammo fairly often. Back when there was more surplus ammo that is.
Next to Glocks shooting lead bullets, don't do it-it's no good for you, the most common kaboom we would field is surplus that had been stored for long periods of time in very hot conditions. Remember that powder is a mix of chemicals, and like all chemicals subject to breakdown and change over time. Especially when subjected to long periods of high temps.
Actually it doesn't even take that long to make significant changes in pressure. Many times I read articles and threads on this or back on rec.guns bulliten boards about the dangers of working up hunting loads in cool to cold North American weather and then going to Africa to hunt and and having the temp difference create an over pressure load.
If you have some ammo you suspect might be that old and subject to 100 degree plus temp for long periods, I would advise not to shoot it in any semiauto or pre 1970 firearm.
Yes I have fired very old ammo with no problems and I have also fired ammo that kicked like a mule and showed many signs of being overpressure. I recall a 16 gauge shell that really surprised me one time, only to find out it had been stored in the basement, next to the main furnace duct for 20 plus years.

 

[GW]

What he said.

Just look it over, if there's corrosion (not tarnish) don't shoot it
Just ain't worth the risk

 

[Lupinus]

look at the ammo

Does it look nasty and corroded?

No? Ok to shoot.

If it looks good it is good, if it looks crappy get rid of it.

 

[Dr. Dickie]

I just used up some Korean war .30-'06 ammo that was stored in spam cans (on Garand clips). Course that is special storage.
I did keep a loaded Sig Sauer in my bedstand for 25 years, at least 15 years of which I never shot it. When I did, the ammo worked just fine (looked fine as well).
So there is no reason for the ammo to be bad, unless you know of something (it got wet, acid spilled on it, you can visably see deterioration, etc.).
Like everyone said, if it look good, it likely is.