Old ammo worth shootin?

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Dameon

New member
My grandpa passed away recently, and being the only family member interested in firearms, I've inherited several hundred rounds of old .22 long rifle ammo. Guessing its ~ 10 years old. It was stored in a shelf in the garage in Houston, TX... notorious for humidity.

Any issues I should be aware of before looking at shooting this stuff?
 
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C.R.Sam

New member
If it's only ten years old, should be no problem. If it looks good, it probably is good.

Have fun with it.

Sam
 
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Mal H

Staff
Like Sam said, 10 years is nothing, shoot away. However, you might want to consider the collector value of it. If it is older (or even if it isn't), there are cartridge collectors that might want it, especially if the box is in good shape. Different 22's are often a favorite collection.
 
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PreserveFreedom

Guest
I have seen old ammo age in storage and get more powerful. If you do shoot it, remember to use quality firearms in good condition. I know it sounds like it is out of a textbook, but if you crack a Jennings in half you will be sorry!
 
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Mal H

Staff
Ok, I'll bite on that one, PR. How did you determine that the ammo got more powerful? Chrono a round or two out of gun X, store the lot and gun for 10 or so years and chrono the ammo again? The power of ammo is a very subjective thing and I think it would be hard to say that ammo is more or less powerful if the comparison is many years apart, too many factors involved.

If you crack a Jennings in half you will be doing yourself a favor, but be sure to use a sledge hammer, not old ammo. :D
 
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WIL TERRY

New member
OLD AMMO, IT'S CRAP! SHIP IT ALL TO ME FOR DISPOSAL..

And I'll be glad to get rid of it for you one trigger pull at a time. A while back I spent a couple weeks back east visiting and one of my pals is a machine gun collector. We spent a good bit of time shooting them, mostly a BREN, an M60, and a VICKERS. The 303 BREN was amazing and we put 10 or 20,000 rounds through it in a couple of days. Never had a singular malfunction of any kind; all the ammo was British issue made in 1904. We shot up case upon case of the stuff. Later I shot up a box of R-P 38SPL 158RNL ammo made right after the war, the second big one. It worked perfectly and I could not tell it from brand new stuff stright off the loading machines. TM
 
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