Ammo Storage

[CCWlady]

OK I need your expertise. How long can ammo be stored in a dry place such as a house. My in-law claims 22 bullets go bad after 3 years?

 

[Dennis1209]

Well, not many years ago I shot some LR .22's I bought at Western Auto for 25 cents a box back in the early 1960's and did not have a failure to fire. I also shot some 12 ga. paper shot shells purchased about the same era with no problems. They were old and I was tired of storing them and thought I'd see if any of them were any good. To my surprise, all functioned perfectly. So, to answer your question, if you keep ammo cool and dry, it should have an indefinite shelf life.

 

[Warbirds]

Cool and Dry..... ammo will store a long time if you keep it cool and dry.

And there is a reason they call them In-Laws, it's to differentiate them from other people that you may actually trust and want to spend time with.

 

[Purple]

3 to 5 years is considered to be the recommended maximum storage time as long as humidity and temperature is controlled. However; there are some instance where ammo was successfully stored longer and still functioned. Humidity is the greatest single damaging influence. If you can dehumidify new ammo and keep it in an air tight container, you can probably get 5+ years out of it - but periodically check it for corrosion.

 

[nraynes]

Effective storage times very based on the ammo its self.
1. Hows the sealing
2. Primers sealed.
3. Reliably of conditions.

So. If you have good quality ammo. In a military ammo can with the amount of desiccant needed (and swapped/ reset every 4-6 months) and in same temperature constant. it can last 7 to 8 years reliable for hunting.
I have some ammo from the 60s my grandfather bought for the 44-40 that was kept right and still works fine. That being said I would not shoot it at anything living. You never know of it will go "bang", "click", or "pop".
PS. The humidity is the number one enemy of ammo. But if the temperature changes to much then they can also be ruined.

 

[S&W645]

Rimfire ammo like .22LR is supposed to last a shorter period than centerfire due to direct contact of the primer to the charge.That said, I've been using up some 1959/1960/1961/1962 .22LR ammo without problems. And have shot centerfire that was up to 70 years old. Gov't spam can ammo lasts a long time.

 

[Bighouse Doc]

South American 8mm mauser ammo from the early 1950's shot just fine with NO misfires!

-Doc

 

[MilShooter]

OK I need your expertise. How long can ammo be stored in a dry place such as a house. My in-law claims 22 bullets go bad after 3 years?

I don't know where your expert got his/her information, but I recently shot .22 caliber Winchester ammo that I bought in the 1960's without a single failure. As to center fire ammo, I occasionally take-out my Dad's old service pistol (1911A1) and shoot-up some ammo he squirreled away from his days in Korea. The dates on the ammo are of the 1940-1942 vintage. Again, there was not a single malfunction. I should point-out that my Dad took no special means to store this ammo - it was in the original wooden crate it arrived in. (He was in the Quartermaster and stole damned near everything that wasn't nailed down...)

What does this mean to you? Experience suggests that ammo, even .22 caliber, lasts quite a bit longer than 3 years. My .22 caliber ammo lasted more than 50 years and the .45 caliber military ball ammunition lasted over 70 years. Both without any special storage.

Would I use it in a self-defense scenario? No. I prefer modern ammo with more modern bullets (like Hornady Critical Defense). Don't get rid of your old ammo - take it to the range and have some fun with it.

 

[ironmike86]

Do all kinds of reading = proper storage ammo can last indefinite. I 've had ammo over a decade no problems. But i like to keep my SD ammo newer just incase. Rest turns to range ammo

 

[Warbirds]

Do you know why they call them In-Laws? Because Out-Laws are actually wanted.

Thanks Folks, I'll be here all night.........

 

[stingray2100]

ok ammunitions will lat a long time. Just keep it dry and cool...

if you want you can get a sealer and apply it to the base where the primer is and around the throat of the brass, steel or aluminum case where the bullet seats and you will have ammo that last even longer.

you can get ammo cans that are water resistant and then get the ammo in vacum sealed bags and remove the oxigen and drop a moisture bag inside it... do this and you will make it last even longer...!


then you can look for a Pelican box and store the ammo can that has the sealed bag that has the humidity and oxigen eliminating tablets with the sealed bullets and but it inside a dark and climate control room in your house..


what I'm trying to say is...you can go nutts trying to keep ammo from going bad...hope it helps.

 

[Glock Fan]

I've fired WWII surplus ammo without any problems. The oldest box of .22 ammo I've fired was from the 1930s'. Out of 1,000 rounds, only 1 dud. OTOH, I've had ammo manufactured last year that didn't work right.

Purchase ammo manufactured by a reputable manufacturer and store as directed to get the maximum life out of your ammo. I have never seen ammo of any caliber simply "go bad" after 3 years.

 

[CCWlady]

Thanks for all the replies. My husband suggested vacuum sealing them, but I wasn't sure if that would work.

 

[Warbirds]

Thanks for all the replies. My husband suggested vacuum sealing them, but I wasn't sure if that would work.

That is a lot of work, an ammo can with a package of desiccant would probably do you just fine.

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[glennbartley]

Different type of ammo have differing reliable shelf lives. Currently manufactured commercial centerfire ammo can be stored for up to at least 20 years. Military spec ammo is expected to be reliable after storage of 20 to 25 years. As for any modern ammo, you probably if you store it well, you likely can still have it shooting reliably after 50 years but that is my guess at best. I have some handgun ammo that is at least 30 years old and it still fires reliably. The thing is though, modern priming material does break down as opposed to older corrosive priming material which would last much longer and that could be a problem after very long term storage.

As to rimfire ammunition, I have had some in storage that is from at least the late 1970's (maybe even the mid or early 70's) and it fires as good as it would have when new. Something to be careful of with older .22 rimfire ammo is that the lead bullets they used then were often covered with an oily substance. Once the oil is gone, so is the lubrication it provided. Another thing about lead bullets is that lead does eventually break down. If an old lead bullet looks whitish, those bullets may not be safe to fire and may actually be stuck in the shell casing due to this degradation/corrosion.

Shotgun shells of current manufacture can last a good long time too. I recently shot up my last batch from about 20 years ago. Not one misfire or mishap. Note though that these were plastic and brass shotshells and not older paper and brass shotshells. I would imagine that paper shotgun shells would degrade much faster than those made of plastic.

As far as storage goes, keep it dry and keep it relatively cool (temps in the low to mid seventies). That is what I do, and I have no problems with ammo that I have had in long term storage. Yet, I do not like to go overboard in taking chances with stored ammunition, so every now and again I rotate my stock. I buy some freshly manufactured ammo and shoot up the old stuff. This serves a few purposes: I am sure to have fresher ammo on hand for a longer time, I get in needed training and practice while shooting up the older stuff, and I help keep ammo companies and ammo dealers in business. I recommend dating boxes of ammunition with the acquisition date and manufacture date (if known). Then rotating it on a fairly frequent basis with newer ammo. This way you will not have to worry about whether or not older stored ammo has retained its integrity.

All the best,
Glenn B