Old shotgun ammo

[allin]

Hi
Just curious if anyone knows how long shotgun ammo will stay "good"? I have some that I have had stored in a temperature controlled area for about 15 years. Any ideas as to whether it is still good? Just curious. I know that the obvious answer is to dispose of it and buy more but it just came to mind that I still have it stored.
Thanks

 

[xm21]

The obvious thing to me would be to shoot it,if it goes bang it is good.It will be good,i betcha.Shoot it do not be skeered

 

[Kingcreek]

best way to find out is to shoot some of it. I wouldn't rely on it for life and death home defense but it will probably all go bang. I've shot old paper shells 40 years old and get a pfff instead of a bang on 2 or 3 out of a box of 25.

 

[Kristensdaddy]

15 years? Some of my new stuff is older than that. It's fine, use it like normal.

My stockpile of shotgun primers is dated on the box - 1973. Still work just fine.

 

[GCBurner]

It's easier to tell if paper cased shells are going bad, if they've picked up any moisture, the paper will swell, or discolor. I've got some plastic cased 12 gauge buckshot ammo I've had since college 30 years ago, and it still works fine after years of storage in an air-conditioned closet.

 

[Messenger Guard]

I've got several boxes with the 1 cent ammo stamp from TN. It shoots fine if stored in a cool dry environment. I have shot rifle ammo that dates nearly one hundred years ago.

 

[lambertiana]

I recently inherited a bunch of 12 and 20 ga from my grandfather that included a fair amount of paper shells. All of it went bang as expected. Even the plastic shells were old, the boxes pointed out in bold lettering that the shells had noncorrosive primers.

The only thing I didn't like was that the magnum loads with paper wads leaded up the bore.