Need Advice: Shooting Old Ammunition

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TriggerFingers

New member
hey all,
my dad was cleaning out some of my grandfather's stuff and he came across an old Hills Brothers Coffee Can full of .45 ACP rounds (id say 250-300 Rounds) which he gave to me, as .45 is my primary round....

he thinks they are 30-40 years old.....perhaps....i dunno.....the can has been in a dry place and sealed with the original lid so they look fine.....

the brass is a little hazy but there is no rust on any of them.....i think they will be fine for practice (im not going to trust my life to them in Home defense situation, but for plinking? why not?)

bullets dont usually go bad do they? im just thinking......whats the worst that can happen? if it misfires? oh well throw it away... or if it jams? the H&K USPc .45 is excellent when it comes to feeding different types of ammo....

should i be worried about anything? or should i just go to the range and fire them off?

like i said.....i think they will be fine......and my dad thinks they would be great for target practice.......but what do you think?

thanks,
TF
 
S

Seattle10

New member
Depends on where it was stored. As a general rule, temp cycling is bad for ammo. I wouldn't use it for carry or hunting, but i can't think of a reason why it would hurt for target.
 
M

Mal H

Staff
TF - what is the headstamp on them? What type of bullet is in them?

If you can determine that they are reloads (signs of resizing, mixed headstamps, etc.), I wouldn't fire them for the same reason I wouldn't fire anyone elses modern reloads.

If they are commercial or military rounds then about the worst that can happen is they turn out to be squib loads and you have to push a bullet out of your barrel. I don't see how they can get more powerful over time if they stayed in that can all the time and weren't vibrated for years, for example in a car trunk.
 
X

X-RAY

New member
I've Shot Up Some 10-12 Yr Old Ammo With No Real Problems. They Were Stored In A Ammo Box In The Basement. All Were Factory Loads. The Worst I Had Happen Is One Case On A .357 158 Gr Hollow Point Split And I Had To Push The Empty Case Out Of The Cylinder With A Dowell That I Keep In My Pistol Box For Just Such An Occasion ! I Would Follow The Previous Suggestion And Not Use The Ammo If It Looks Like Reloads.
 
W

Webleymkv

New member
Reloads would be my only concern. If you have the equipment for it you could break some of the ammo down and inspect it. But if you're pretty sure its factory or military stuff I wouldn't worry. Worst case scenario will probably be a dud or two.
 
B

brickeyee

New member
Reloads or mil ammo old enough to be corrosive would be the only concerns.
Commercial ammo lasts a long long time.
 
F

foghornl

New member
I have blasted some WWII vintage .45ACP stuff through my Springfield 1911-A1's without problems.

Cleaned the guns THOROUGHLY afterwards, because those rounds were most likely corrosive primed. But every single round went BANG!
 
T

TriggerFingers

New member
MAL H,
ok the headstamps vary(so they could be reloads? but i would guess they are just oddballs collected over the years) my dad found the ammo with all of his old reloading supplies, but he said he never reloaded pistol ammo....just shotgun.....

these are the ones i have found....there could be others but here is a good cross section.....

-W.R.A. CO .45 A.C.
-E C S 43
-E C 43
-E C 42
-F A 28
-F A 41
-WCC 41
-REM UMC 18 (this one looks the oldest of them all, lead tipped not copper)


on a side note......
my dad also found a mint (it looks brand new) box of very old .45 Ammo.....no corrosion.....it looks like it could be museum quality....the brown box is perfect.....the ammo is flawless...

it says:
50 Cartridges
PISTOL BALL
Caliber .45 M1911
Lot W.C.C. C580
Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation

the stamp on them is W.C.C. 62

so how old are these guys?
thanks,
TF
 
M

Mike Irwin

Staff
The headstamps on most of those rounds are military manufacture.

WRA Co. is a commercial headstamp, and could have been done at anytime over the last 50 or more years. It is, however, virtually assured to be non corrosive.

The next several on your list are all US military manufacture, all during WW II. The two numbers are the year of manufacture.

I'd bet heavy money that all of these are corrosive primed.


Finally, the box...

WCC is Western Cartridge Company. Manufacture date is 1962.
 
T

TriggerFingers

New member
thanks Mike,

so what does "corrosive primed" mean? im not very knowledgable when it comes to cartridges.......would you care to enlighten me? id really appreciate it.....
thanks,
TF
 
B

brickeyee

New member
Corrosive primers contain potassium chlorate as part of the priming compound. When fired chloride salts are left in the barrel. These salts are hygroscopic and wil absorb moisture from the air. The resuting salt and water solution is very corrosive to anything containing iron, including the steel of the barrel.
Older weapons fired with corrosove primers and not promptly cleaned with a water containing solution to wash the salts out often show heavy pitting and corrosion of the barrel.
 
M

Mike Irwin

Staff
Brick is spot on with his information about corrosive primers.

Generally, military ammo (other than .30 Carbine) was all corrosive from WW II and back. Carbine ammo was never corrosive.

Commercial ammo (with some exceptions) was generally non-corrosive by the mid to late 1920s.

To remove corrosive salts, you MUST use either water, or a cleaner with a large percentage of water. Oil-based cleaners, such as Hoppes No. 9, simply won't remove the salts.

If you ever get a look at a C-96 Mauser, you'll find that the barrels on many of them are pitted badly, or so badly that they don't have lands and grooves anymore. This is a legacy of corrosive ammo.
 
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