Is it ok to use this ammo?

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Fremmer

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I'm may go hunting tomorrow morning, first time in years. I found some .308 ammo, it has been stored in a plastic carry case and in a cool closet for about 7 years. On some of the cases there is a light speckling of rust, on a few there's just a faint trace or nothing. It's hard to see without being under a lamp.

Is it ok to load them up and use them tomorrow? The rifle really likes this ammo (federal premium 165 gr. Sierra soft points), but I'm not sure I like the idea of putting slightly rusted shells into that chamber for several hours. perhaps I'm too concerned. What do you think?
 
Shoot them.

Nothing to worry about at all.

BTW: It's not rust. Brass can't rust.
It is just discoloring or tarnish.

rc
 
Is the ammo steel cased? If it is brass then it can't be rust. In either case I would wipe them off with a cloth and use them.
 
It ain't that old...

I'm thinking it is not RUST since the ammo you are referring to by brand is not steel cased ammo. Tarnished brass perhaps?

I would think that ammo is good to hunt with. Clean the cases with a cloth and some Flitz or other mild polish...nothing with ammonia in it and no penetrate like WD-40, CLP, etc.
 
Yup, I should have realized that was tarnish. They are brass.

Thanks, you saved me $35! That federal premium is expensive.

Now if you could please find the friggin camo for me, I'd be much obliged. Looks like I'll be in jeans and a plain black coat tomorrow.
 
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Camo should be on sale at any store that carries it. Our local vendors would be

Walmart
Dicks
Dunhams
 
Thank you all very much, THR is great! I was so jazzed about hunting tomorrow that I didn't even think about brass cases.

It is now snowing hard, I'll probably freeze tomorrow, but maybe they'll be moving...
 
I recently killed a deer with factory ammo over 50 years old (pre-child warning), and it worked fine.
 
I just recently finished off some 8MM dates 1944. Yours should be fine. I toss my old stuff in the tumbler for a quick cleaning.
 
Extreme heat is about the only thing that will degrade smokeless powder.
(I know, there are always exceptions, I'm speaking generally)

Primers are a different story.

I shot some 7X57 milsurp just the other day.
Bought (along with other calibers) from "the nickel box"
at one of my favorite stores. Pick through the box and get as many as
you want of anything in there for a nickel a pop.

These were FMJRN head stamped "1920".
And.. The FMJRN fits the time period, so, along with the head stamp,
I'm as sure as I can be they were made in 1920.

If my math is correct, that's 95 year old ammo!

You won't have any problems shooting what you have.
 
I recently wrote a lot of material on ammunition lifetime in this thread:

Surplus ammo and powder stability?
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=768839

But for ammunition seven years old, you should not have any issues. You could brush off any surface rust, and assuming that the rust is light surface rust and does not go through the case, you have nothing to worry about.
 
In the late 90's,I fired a box of .45acp carrying a head-stamp of 1913 found in a old unheated shed. out of 40 something rounds only 2 didn't go off..............
 
Looks like I'll be in jeans and a plain black coat tomorrow.
Click to expand...
killed many a deer in my day, and not a single one cared about my wardrobe. While I understand its uses for archery, waterfowl, trurkey, etc.... just never saw the need when rifle hunting, and the deer seem to agree...
 
Well, that surprises me. Over here, it is seen as unethical by more than a few (seriously!) to use ammo more than two years old for deer. I guess it must be the climate. I have personally witnessed .270 Winchester ammo (not mine) approximately five years old not go off from a rifle in 1994. My first reflex was to give my hunting partner some of my ammo (always bought at the end of the summer just before hunting season), never even thinking something else might be the problem. I guess I was poorly educated on that subject given the number of answers saying just the opposite. Perhaps it was just a bad round... I had him throw away the rest of his ammo, little more than half a box. Woops!
 
I've fired off rimfire ammo from the 60's without issue, and centerfire rounds that were decades old. When stored properly, ammo certainly doesn't have some sort of set shelf life. Keep it out of temperature extremes and away from moisture, and you can be killing deer 40 years from now with ammo purchased today. I'd laugh at anyone who told me my ammo was "too old" to ethically use while hunting.
 
Nope, the wind chill temp was 10 below; I went out in the morning and then later in the afternoon. Didn't see any deer. They were too smart to be out in that weather. :)

But I did see a really neat hawk, a lotta geese (all flying south), and I got to hear 2 hoot owls having a conversation, so that was neat.

I'm trying again this weekend! :)
 
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