How long does ammunition last?

Question

I have 9mm and 30-30 shells from a few years back. They have been kept dry and cool. I see no corrosion.

Answer 1

As long as the ammo has been kept relatively cool and dry, they should be just fine. The only time I would be concerned is of the ammo was in a place that it could get really hot or really cold, like in the garage. The extreme change of temperature is not good for the consistancy of the ammo. I have ammo in several different cal. that are over 50 years old that were passed down from my grandfather that are just as good today as they were 50 years ago. If you are worried about it though, just get rid of it. Ammo is not that expensive and safety is the most important concern.

Answer 2

If, kept dry and clean, many, many, years. I have .30-.30 shells from 1973 and they still shoot. Some are shiny brass and some where handled and the brass is dull. But, I have never had one miss fire. Actually that was the reason I still have them. I Hunt with New Ammo, but, fire off a few of the oldies to show my friends how long the ammo can be good for.

Answer 3

Although in the military we cycled all our ammo constantly. Ammo if kept dry and corrosion free will last many years. Obviously the government isn't going to take any chances with their personnel so that is the reason they cycle it more often. I have friend that shoots rifle and pistol ammo that has been on a shelf for close to ten or more years without any problems. Shotgun ammo is a little different because it isn't sealed as good as other ammo.

Answer 4

The problem is not if the the ammo will fire, the problem is if the the brass will hold up to being fired. When ammo gets old [read as very old] the brass gets weak and can split when fired. I have shot 50+ year old ammo and not had any problems with it and I have shot other ammo that was not as old and the side split on it. If ammo is stored right it will last a long time.

Answer 5

As long as they are sealed or air/water tight they can potentially last forever. I shoot 7.62x54 ammo from 1917. Ammo that is not sealed should be good for 5-7 years, longer than that may misfire a lot. Yours should be good, just remember that if a round doesn't go off when you shoot, DO NOT eject it right away, wait 30 seconds and try again, if it still doesn't fire wait another ten seconds then unload the round and put in a metal container, most ranges have mis-fire bins.

Answer 6

i've got heard approximately adult males pulling up WWII bombers and warring parties from underwater and nonetheless having to sparkling the weapons for secure practices so i could say a jointly as longer than the two one individuals will final in this Earth. for optimum overall performance, i would not anticipate perfection out something greater effective than 30 years previous. The challenge is what concerns maximum so as long your ammunition is dry and not corroding (endure in ideas the oils on your palms initiate that technique) then it is going to no longer bypass undesirable. There are unopened containers of Russian surplus from the 50s that folk shoot from AKs and SKSs all of the time with none complications.

Answer 7

If kept cool and dry most metallic ammunition will last for decades. I have shot ammo that was purchased in the 1930's with no ill effects.

Answer 8

I shot some ammo from the 60's there was a half second delay. Pretty cool!

Answer 9

I have just shot the last of my 30-06 I got 15 years ago. and they were fine. So there should be no prob. with them.

Answer 10

I would not worry about using them for target pratice, but I personally either reload or buy new ammo each year before hunting.