OLD ammo tools ot

[Gary Mitchell]

I dug out some old ammo I had stashed away in a cardboard box in an old gym bag on a shelf in the shop. It's 25 years old or older. Most of it looks ok except a few loose 22 shells that were lying in the bottom of the box that had corroded spots on them. I have 3 boxes of shotgun shells, various calibers of center fire stuff like 30-30, and 4 bricks of 22 LF's. My question is, how well and how long will ammo keep stored? I packed it into the house finally, figuring climate-controlled storage preferable to the barn. Thoughts?

 

[Mike Groom]

We're still shooting ammo from WWII, it's usually fine as long as it wasn't under water,a lot of military surplus powder is also used for reloading by me and lots of other folks. I would try a few rounds, it won't damage your gun,it will either fire or not.

 

[old]

Ammo stored where it is dry last decades. I have Russian ammo from WW2 that is still just fine

 

[DMartin9N-2N]

Good morning, Mike Groom and all: I have some 22 ammo that came to me with a family member's seven-shot revolver. The ammo must be about 60 years old, always stored in the house. My concern is regarding the idea that when I try to use the ammo, "some may fire and some may not". Regarding the ones that do not fire, what procedure is safe to get them out of the pistol, and then how to dispose of them. I am not a fire arm hobbyist, so my ignorance is real! My simplest solution may be disposal of the whole box, however that is done. (I really don't know how or where I would fire the pistol, so this is sort of an academic discussion...)

Dennis M. in W. Tenn.

 

[old]

22 ammo that doesn't fire the first time you pull it part way out and spin it a little and try again ans many times it will fire

 

[Goose]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought my wife a 16 gauge shotgun.

I went through ammo drawers in my shop and found a box of 16 gauge shells that look like new. They have to be at least 50 years old. I see no reason why they won't function as new.

 

[dr sportster]

The manufacturers recommend to not shoot ammo after ten years , But it will work just fine .

 

[Eric in IL]

Don't go hunting Grizzly with it unless you can run faster than the bear would be my thought. lol

 

[Janicholson]

In best practice it is probably a good idea to go to a range and fire it up. Easy and fun. They will provide targets or bring your own. I know of no powder that increases its pressure with age. I have 45-70 cartridges from long ago ??? that shoot well.
The only real danger is a bullet or wad stuck part way down the barrel. That is very bad and can cause the next shell to explode the barrel. If the round makes totally different noise, suspect an issue with plugged barrel. Bring a cleaning kit for the weapon and pass the rod through the bore to assure it is open. If a cartridge does not fire, do not immediately open the action. A hang fire can happen (it did to my brother and was very loud ripping the loader ramp out the bottom of the receiver. Waiting 30 seconds is reasonable. Never chamber a cartridge with corroded brass (shotgun or rifle) they can have a case failure and allow gasses to come back into the receiver.
To safely decommission a suspect cartridge, it might be best to take it/them to a gun club to be made inoperable. A 22 rim fire is a hazard because force on the rim can fire the powder. Shotgun shells can be cut in half just above the brass in most cases and the powder removed. Larger rifle shells are placed in a bullet extractor and emptied.
If you are not comfortable with any of the above, seek a gun club or a gunsmith near you, and get help disposing of them, or using them at a range. A worst solution is to be afraid of the task and make a mistake. The next worse is to give them to a person that brags about their gun skills. The third worst is to depend on them and have tham fail. The disposal is a good idea. Not doing it provides risk off into the future.
I have been involved in gun safety within 4-H and experienced from age 5. Jim

 

[Tony in SD]

Cool, dry location is best for ammo storage. But as long as it didn't get wet or you run it through a tumbler to shine up the brass, it is probably ok to fire. Sometimes running unfired round in a tumbler will cause the powder to break up into smaller particles causing higher chamber pressures, which is a bad thing. So just use it as is. I would not use it for self defense or hunting something that could eat me like bears or lions, but it should be good for target practice. Worst case would be a round not firing. Listen to the sounds it makes when firing. If a shot sounds different, check to make sure the barrel is not plugged. As others have said, if it miss fires, wait 10 seconds pointing the gun down range before removing the round. Sometimes the primer/powder are slow to ignite even with new ammo.

 

[K Effective]

Grandpa's older brother was county Sheriff for decades. During the 1950's, the county built a new jail- the old one included living quarters for the Sheriff above the jail, and his wife cooked for the inmates, almost Mayberry-like.

Stuff was stored there as well, and had to be moved during construction, so they stored some things in the attic here at the farm house. These items included a Thompson machine g*n used in the Valentines Day Event as well as the killing of a local officer by "Machine G*n Burke", of the Capone crew. Apparently, the evidence included four or five boxes of .45cal ammo for the Tommy G*n. By the time I came along, the weapon itself had been moved to a county museum at the new courthouse, but the ammo was tucked in the rafters of the unfinished attic.

When we started the remodel, I offered the ammo to the museum guy, but he said they wouldn't keep it together with the weapon, so I called the local police chief. He took it and said they would use it on the range for practice, and then burn any unfired rounds. Apparently, they typically do so with rounds that don't fire, put them in a steel barrel with fuel and let them pop off. Without the chamber, little chance of any issues as the slug stays still and the casing flies off.

Other interesting evidence stored here was six or seven slot machines seized in from an illegal gaming operation down on the state line. They were sold off in the 1970's for about $300 each, probably worth ten times that today...

Sorry for the long reply, but it is a fun story to tell.

 

[K Effective]

I hope that is coherent, the site kept throwing up roadblocks to my post and I made several changes to get it in.

 

[Dingo3]

You just need to be faster than the guy with you.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

It is! gm