Ammunition Shelf Life

[Jeff Thomas]

It is clearly cheaper to buy ammunition by the case instead of by the box. I seem to save 8 - 10% versus by-the-box pricing. If ammo is stored in a cool, dry and dark place, how long should it remain usable? For that matter, are those the best conditions for storage?

I shot some the other day that I had packed away for probably 10 years, and it seemed to group / work as well as the day I bought it. Thanks.

 

[Floyd2U]

I've read that ammunition doesn't have an expiration date as long as it is stored in a cool, dry place. I've fired surplus ammo from the 1950's with no problem and I've read of people using ammo from the turn of the century with no problems. I believe it's the primers that fail if the ammunition is not stored properly.

 

[longhair]

i don't know how long it will last, but i'll tell you what i do w/ the ammo i plan on havin' stored for awhile. i vacum seal it w/ one of thoses food vacum sealers, and store it ammo boxes. why?? why not!

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fiat justitia

 

[Contender]

Remember reading about Hercules Powder Co. having some circa 1898 smokeless powder stored in water and every so often, "drying" some out to test. Supposedly it burned with it's original Gusto.

As far as ammo storage, you guys hit it, moisture and heat are the degraders of ammo.

Take Care

 

[dundee]

when I was in the Navy one of the guys I hung out with was the local rangemaster. One of his jobs was to go to the base ammo bunkers every day to check on conditions. The ammo was stored in the waterproof shipping containers ( no brass corrosion) and they had a recording thermometer that he wrote down the high and low for every day. As he said "the higher the temperature the faster the powder changes chemically and the greater the temperature swings the faster the powder deterioates". In the early 70's they still had ww2 surplus that was just fine.

 

[Kodiac]

I fired about 500 rounds of WWII .45 Hard Ball... It was about 3 years ago...
Fired it up out of my Grandfather M-21.
It had only a single misfire.
Not Bad.
But then again Pappa is a stickler for his storage methods.

I just have to make certain when HE finaly goes south, I get the Thompson!

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Kodiac
Kenetic Defense Institute
"Sir Heckler"

 

[GLV]

In about 1992, I bought about 300 lbs of various ammo that had been stored in one of those storage places for about 7 years. Some of the ammo was bought in or before 1974. The temp in these units exceeds 115f in the summer.

I knew where the ammo had been stored and for how long, so I gave very little for it. Included in this lot was about 20,000 rounds of .22. All brands, with a lot of promo ammo. I really thought the .22 would be very bad, and was suprised when it was all sure fire -- even tho much had globs of lube that had to be pealed off the bullets. The rimfire did have excessive spread and sd.

The centerfire, 9MM, .45ACP, 30 Carbine, .44 Special, and rifle ammo was all fine. One factor that could have made a difference -- it was all stored in GI ammo cans. GLV

 

[Jim V]

I have sone .45ACP with 1917 and earlier head stamps that always goes bang when I try it in my 1911's. I also have 2,000 rounds of never fire .45ACP that I will pull down for the bullets and powder. The primers went bad and are Berdan. I ran across some 1875 manufactured .45 Colt rounds that we tested and they all fired, even though they were black powder loads. How long will ammo last in storage? Some forever and others not long at all. Use GI ammo cans, that is what they were designed for, watch the heat and humidity.

 

[Sierra]

About a year ago a friend of mine gave me a WWII .45 magazine (with the lanyard ring on the bottom), it was full of head stamped 1942 fmg. Said it was on his fathers work bench since 1948. It functioned just fine.

 

[Byron Quick]

What about storing primers and powder? If I can reliably store them I am considering buying a lifetime supply just in case the ammo banners eventually succeed.