In general how long does ammunition keep?

Question

I have lots of old military ammuntion surplus cases laying around and was wondering if buying say 5000 rounds of every caliber I have would be worth it. When does ammuntion become unsafe to fire?

Answer 1

I have fired ammunition as old as 80 years old.

Moisture and the subsequent corrosion are the enemy of ammunition. If stored in a dry place, preferably sealed in airtight containers, it will keep indefinitely.

Get yourself some of those large ammo cans from the gun show or a army surplus place. Use these to store you ammo ina relativey dry place and it will last your lifetime.

Answer 2

Decades, even centuries if properly stored. There is no estimated years before it's "dead". Some idiots will tell you one to ten years but ammo can last much, much longer. Primers are not corrosive to the metals. Surplus is corrosive once fired and can destroy a bore overnight though. If someone can fire a case of ammo in 2008 that was made in 1896 (7.62x54R)which has happened without one failing then I can say ammo can last a century. Caliber doesn't matter. Steel cased may not last as long but again with proper storage could last just as long as copper or brass cased. It has to be stored in a preferabbly cool, dry place, but temp. isn't so much a factor as repeated drastic temperature changes. That's what causes the powder to accumulate moisture. Indoors if possible is the best. And the best way to check if ammo is good is to shoot it.

Answer 3

I'm not sure about this, but just from personal experience, I think ammo typically stays good for many years. I don't get to shoot that much, mostly just during hunting seasons, and so have some ammo that is probably 6 or 7 years old. My dad has a lot of guns and reloads his own ammo. Sometimes he'll load 2 or 3 cases of ammo at a time, and he doesn't get to shoot that much either.

Hope this helps

Answer 4

I recently fired a box of shells in my 45 acp that had been manufactured in 1919, and they all worked just fine. Modern smokeless powder cartridges stored in a dry and cool place seem to keep indefinitely; or at least a hundred years. I could forcast the increase in ammo costs so I bought quite a few cases of 7.62x39 and 8mm Mauser fodder; now the value of same has more than tripled so I moved all three of my doberman puppy dogs into the storage shed so they would have a cool place to sleep when it is hot outside.

Answer 5

I have been shooting for over 30 years, and I still have ammo left over from over 10+ years ago, and they still fire without a hitch. It all depends on how they are stored. In the mid-1980's Shooting Times magazine handgun editior Skeeter Skelton did an enduance test of the .40 autos made by Colt. In these test he used some scaley green WWII ammo, and most of these fired.This ammo went around the world and back.

Answer 6

My father gave me some .22's from 1977 that were in a cabinet in the basement and they worked fine. They were in a damp location but a dry location would be the best. If you vacuum sealed ammo it would last almost forever.

Answer 7

I've got some shotgun shells from the early 80s, I've bought and shotsurplus 30.06 ammo that predates WWII ..

Answer 8

Stored under the right conditions,(airtight and moisture free) modern ammo will last virtually forever.
Happy hunting/shooting!!

Answer 9

Forever.* unless it is submerged in water.*

Answer 10

it will keep forever if stored properly