What to do with vintage ammo?

[chhodge69]

I have several boxes of old (1960's) pistol and rifle ammo in .35 rem, .22LR and .32 long taking up space in my closet. It's all in good shape, no corrosion or other damage, it's just old. What is the best way to dispose of old ammo like this?
Should I shoot it? toss it? sell it? keep it?

 

[Vonderek]

Shoot it!

 

[grant1265]

As long as you see nothing wrong with it, sure shoot it.

 

[KCFirepower]

stocking stuffers

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Shoot it or sell it to a collector.

 

[AlexanderA]

1960's ammo isn't that old. Use it up or store for a few years longer.

I once obtained some .30-40 Krag ammo dating to the 1890's. The case necks had cracked due to age, the bullets were loose, and the cases were starting to get green corrosion. Not knowing how to dispose of this stuff, I dumped all the powder out and made a line of it down the sidewalk. (The propellent looked like amber-colored chopped spaghetti.) Then I set the end of the line on fire. Big mistake! This propellent was still potent, and really flared up. I was lucky I didn't set the neighborhood on fire.

 

[Murphy4570]

You'd be surprised how long the "shelf life" of well-stored ammunition can be.

 

[stonecoldy]

If you don't have those guns anymore, consider selling to a collector. I'd be interested in the .35 Remington and .22 LR myself, but if the boxes are in great shape you'd do well to ask around for collectors. Not sure of the market right now but look at some of these sites for examples:

http://oldammo.com

www.ammo-one.com

Good luck!
Ron

 

[Screendmon]

Give it away to fellow high road forum users.

 

[goon]

If you can shoot it yourself, use it.
If you can't, try selling it.
But ammo from the '60's should still be entirely useable.

 

[Smokey in PHX]

Two years ago my son was 34 years old and I gave him a couple boxes of 30-06 ammo to sight his rifle and use hunting couses deer. I always date my ammo when purchased and he stated it was the newest ammo I had ever given him as it was dated the month he was born. I have never had a problem shooting the older ammo. I buy when it is on sale and since I have a lot of different calibers I end up with older ammo.

 

[Heretic]

I got a few hundred rounds of WWII era .45acp given to me. Shot it all. No misfires,no problems. Stored in a basement(but dry).

 

[SleazyRider]

It's possible that the boxes may be worth more than the ammo. I'd shoot the ammo and put the boxes on Ebay (before they ban the selling of empty boxes, that is!).

 

[ol' scratch]

Shoot it or sell it if it is collectable. I sold some 32 rimfire in the box that really surprised me. Just make sure you don't mail it USPS.

I routinely shoot milsurp ammo that is from WWII. Make sure it doesn't have any corrosion around the neck. As long as it is stored properly, it doesn't 'go bad.' What do you think it is? Milk?

 

[gunsablazin]

I have a box of .45ACP dated 1943, I'm saving the full unopened box for my collection. I had a partial box of the same ammo, and shot it up. This ammo has not been properly stored, and it all went bang! Ammo that old has corrosive primers, so I had to give my pistol a thorough cleaning, but it was fun to shoot ammo made during WWII.

 

[chhodge69]

So far I'm getting that it's likely safe to use but wiser to try and sell it.

Thanks for all the responses

 

[Owen Sparks]

Take it to a gun show and sell it. You probably will not get half the price of a new box though because most people are under the delusion that old ammo goes bad. This myth is like a lot of other myths in that it is based on something that used to be true. The old black powder ammo did go bad after a while. This is no longer true.

 

[Sav .250]

There is a market for "old" ammo. Folks at Gun Shows buy it.

 

[tyeo098]

I bought some .30-06 Canadian Surplus from WWII.
Date marked 1942!
Shot great!

 

[ForumSurfer]

That stuff is an accident waiting to happen. If you value your life, shoot me a PM and I will supply you with my address so I can dispose of it properly. I'll even pay for shipping because I care about your safety.



Seriously...shoot it. I have shot some that was older and in worse shape that sat in my dad's closet/garage dating from the 50's (because some of it had sat at grandpa's house for who knows how long before it ended up in dad's closet) and before. I just ran through 10,000 rounds of .22, along with some 9mm and 30-30 that belonged to my long deceased uncle. All of it was from the 60, 70's and early 80's. I felt confident enough that my kids helped me dispose of it, as well.