Does Ammunition Expire?
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- We address the question that many lifelong shooters, hunters, and gun enthusiasts ask: "Does Ammo Expire?"
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There are two enemies of ammo - weather and politicians
Also acid. This is especially true for shotgun loads stored in paper boxes and left where animal urine or other chemicals can get to them. I had to clean up somebody else's mess where a cat had peed on a box of shells and after years turned the contents into sludge.
That’s the truth. My brother has been sealing them in quart jars. Don’t know how they hold up . But he changes out frequently and he keeps 5,000 rd in his suv that he works and patrols with.
The biggest enemy has been other gun owners. The become paranoid over politics and clear the shelves.
Behind Enemy lines Ain’t that the truth! I trust the weather before the politicians
This needs more upvotes.
Had an old timer give me a box of .45 semi wadcutter since he sold his .45, didn't need it anymore. The box appeared to be from the 1960s. All 50 went bang.
Three weeks ago I fired 200 rounds of 9mm that have been stored for 30 years in magazines and had no misfires.I have also fired hundreds of 45ACP WW2 surplus without any issues.
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I have some 1918 .45 acp milsurp that has fired flawlessly over the years...
I had some 45 acp from ww2 in the 70's that was totally unreliable, Had 30.06 armor piercing same war fired from the 70's and no duds, go figure.
Ive fired 4570 from the 1890s, along with 3006 from 1917. All fired fine. But...all were stored properly.
James: I have 1 1/2 boxes of WW1 .45 ACP that my grandfather brought back from WW1. I also have his colt 45 from 1918. Both shoot fine. Only caveat is the ammo is corrosive. I’m 78 so it’s some
Old shit.
@@alanbud5181 I had some 03 3006 mil surp ammo dated 1915 (FA 15) (M1906 cartridges) that I shot a few years ago. It shot fine. I had (2) 5 rnd strippers that I fired with no issues. The fired cases smelled a bit odd.. a mercuric corrosive primer and what Im assuming was the predecessor to 4895 powder. No issues noted.
I still have some sealed and climate controlled ammo that I bought or hand loaded in the eighties. I haven't had a misfire yet. Only thing that has deterred me from shooting it lately is the cost of replacing it.
This guy is spot on and a very good spokesman.
Here in Belgium I literally dug up 9.72 Mauser clips from the 40's that after some cleaning still fired perfectly well. That after being in the ground for 70+ years. You do want the copper lacquered ones... The late war steel caings will have rusted up..
I feel like the mausers action is so bullet proof that even if the case ruptured nothing would happen, unlike many of those AR15 videos you see where the receiver/upper flies apart
Here in the states I recovered some nasty .30-06 from the 40s that was buried in a plastic bag. Everything fired like new after a quick wet tumbling session
Interested in selling some by any chance? I can’t really find it here in the States and I’m looking for some for my Spanish Mauser.
9.72 mauser ??? Do you mean 7.92x57 (8mm mauser).
@@joshdupree4442 tumbling live ammo is a dangerous practice it can cause the powder to break down into even finner powder and that can cause serious over pressure issues
Iv shot .22 LR from the late 50's, and it all shot fine.. Was even stored in my grandfather's shed for years, absolutely not optimal storage conditions.. 100 F in summer, down to 0 F in winter.
Drying out used silica dry packs by oven or microwave is pretty cool tip.
4:23 It's been awhile since the shelves looked like that.
They are coming back but I sure don't like the prices.
I don’t know about it expiring but it sure can disappear.
I store my boxed ammo in $18 Igloo coolers that are designed hold 78 cans of soda
That is using your head. Insulated, airtight, great use of the cooler.
@@Sportsmans_Warehouse @
When I used to buy ammo I would always write the date on the box. Hopefully I will continue soon.
Now that's a good idea! Never thought of it and I have been shooting nearly 60 years.
My dad stored his surplus by capping one end of a 16 inch thick walled PVC pipe, then turning it open side up and after filling it and adding dessicant would leave a hose from a nitrogen welding tank in the bottom, on, for a few days with a slightly loose cap. Then pull the hose and glue the cap. Good till the end of time.
That’s cool, excessive, but cool. I know for a fact that ammo stored in a metal ammo can with a good gasket and a bit of desiccant will store indefinitely. If I want to get really fancy I use the ZCORR VCI anti corrosion bags inside the metal can.
My dad had some .357 from the 60’s stored out in its factory cardboard box in the shed. I shot it up and it all worked, just a bit smoky.
@@Nattleby love your story about the 357 ammo !
Obviously an old video-ammo shelves are full. Very informative!
My experience has been that expiration occurs at the instant the primer is struck in most cases no pun intended.
I have 8mm Mauser from the 50s, no duds yet.
Have some surplus ww2 3006 ammo goes bang every time
I can tell you from personal experience that those plastic ammo cans are useless. Having survived a major flood we lost every bit of ammo stored in those plastic cans. Every bit stored in GI ammo cans survived 6 days submerged.
I go one step further with ammo sealed in vacuum bags for long term storage.
I suspected those plastic cases were trash and have all steel cans myself. This just further confirms what I was already thinking.
Those ammo cans are only good to transport to the range.
Sorry for your loss, but i have more of a humidity problem, so at least i know it will keep the moisture out. But yea I would not Consider these waterproof as in completely submerge able.
Steel cans with a q tip swipe of silicone lube around the seal = a decade of protection. Don't buy plastic cans for anything other than range trip ammo
expire? maybe....sometimes. I have used lots of old ww2 surplus ammo with zero problems but I have some older 30cal US (30-40) that have lots of split necks so I guess it has "expired"
I bought some Remington shotgun ammo from a gun store going out of business in the mid-70's. It was dirt cheap, but oddball stuff like "BB" shot or #6 shot, which I don't use much. Sat around on open shelf for decades in garage, later shop, etc, still is.....and still fires.
#6 is a really good middle ground shot size. For hunting. My dad use to use it for all his upland game bird and rabit. It was big enough to kill rabit and turkey effectively and small enough to shoot grouse without mangling them or pepering the crap out of them like with 8 shot.
Cheap plastic copies of ammo boxes will let it oxidize. REAL military ammo cans are hermetically sealed and worth the extra bucks. Besides dessicant bags, there are one-use oxygen absorber packets. Toss them in the storage can, throw them out after one use. They'll prevent any oxidation.
Back in the 1970s I bought an 8mm mouser... and old military ammo... I fired several rounds and most of them hang fired 2 to 5 seconds... as you can imagine I stopped shooting it... went home from vacation and never shot the weapon again...it was stolen a couple months later...
I shot some blackpowder 32 rounds in a s&w model 2 revolver. Gun was at least 125 years old. Lead was oxidized. No clue on age of bullets but at least 50+ years old. 3 of the 5 went bang.
Had a box of 380 that was over 50 years old and every one went bang. All stored in a shoebox in a closet for decades
I have been shooting 8mm surplus ammo with 1938 stamped on it. It shoots fine
I have viewed some unusual presentations about cap 'n ball percussion cartridges about 150 years old being found and fired in vintage arms. Also during the 18th Century the combatants were using gunpowder accumulated for about 40 to 50 years prior to hostilities. If they could properly store the black powder for that long as it was being stockpiled 200 or 300 years ago, surely we have learned some improvements by the 21st Century.
Turk 8mm w/1943 headstamp stored under unknown conditions. Hot AF and surefire. Lot of split necks on ejection. If I wasn't shooting it through a German Mauser I would not continue to shoot this stuff. Not much left from a 1400 rd case I bought at a gun show in 2004 for $85.00. I know...
Man I have some of that stuff. It kicks like a 7mag or something.
@@jeffdude6088 woo hoo! Bandoliers extre bonus.
I would do some historical homework if it were my ammo. I would not shoot it. The Turks manufactured that stuff extremely hot. It is not the storage, it is the ammo itself. This stuff has a history of destroying KAR-98's.
Lol...wrong cal. In the box. I had that happen, bought 2 boxes of federal 45 acp and there was 40 cal in the box...turned out the whole case was that way. They did exchange it.
I buy mil surplus every chance I can. Anything else gets stored in a safe with a dehumidifier. So many variables, quality of ammo etc etc. I found an old box of Remington 12 ga from the 60s in my Dads cellar from when we used to duck hunt together. So far half the box has fired just fine
Best info about the subject I've ever heard.
just a note: keep the non-essential music out, so I can better hear what you are saying.
I have shot ammo from as far back as the Spanish-American War! There were some failure to fire, but for the most part it worked fine. I've shot ammo from every era since then,99%of it has worked fine! Even the stuff that was tarnished! If you do get a round that doesn't fire,be sure to check the bore before you attempt to fire the next round!!!!!
I fired a box of FA 98 30/40 Krag ammo around 1980. There were some long hangfires but it all fired . Velocity was low. The longest hangfire was almost a second; by far the slowest hangfire I've ever had. You could hear them sizzle before they fired.
Found couple of boxes of steel cased ammo in a barn...about 50 rounds and had rust. Sanded the rust off...bang bang no fails.
No one ever talks about vacuum sealing ammo. For a hundred bucks you can get a foodsaver vacuum sealer that will keep your ammo FOREVER...Its what I've been doing since the 90s while storing my ammo in a shed.
no silica gel packets?
For 8 bucks I can buy a bag of 100 silica gel packets. I just toss a few in every ammo can and in all my gun cases. Vacuum sealing seems like too much work for my lazy ass.
Metal ammo cans are much better than plastic, yes they are heavier but they are much more heavy duty and will not crack when they get really cold and if they get dropped they will not shatter, and they are much more likely to keep water out if the basement floods are they getting dropped in a deep puddle.
Thank you for the fotos as well as comments I inherited my grandmother's F&W revolver and about 20 rounds of ammo. The gun is about 130 years old. The ammo is 50 to 60 years old. She lived alone on the farm and my dad was worried if someone with a flat tire or something came to the door she would shoot him. So every year dad took the firing pin out. She did not drive and the neighboring small town grocery delivered, but every year she had a new firing pin in the gun. This went on for 10 years or more until she died. The gun and ammo was in a shoe box which I inherited but never found the extra firing pins. My dad did shoot a few racoons, & squirrels wit it but that was 35-40 years ago. His long guns all went to the boys. With the way things are as an old lady who lives alone I'm thinking of taking a refresher safety course and getting a handgun. My old gun safety card says 1963 on it. The boys each have 3 to 8 riffles and shotguns but rarely hunt. They would be happy to let my have my pick except the twenty two, and the elk hunting gun with fancy scope which is quite valuable. Trouble is I am right handed and left eyed so the only one of dad 's guns i can use safely is the 22, the brother who has it will lone it to me if I have a varment by my chicken coop area, the coop is safe but I worry about my dogs. I enjoy your channel since it is about products and how to use them and not how great you are with a gus.
How did she get a new firing pin each year?
Thanks for sharing your family's story. It was very enjoyable.
@@PyroXXman She'd answer but since she hasn't fired a firearm since 1963 her aim was off and she was killed by a man with a flat tire. The man said it was a good thing she died because it was difficult to keep hitting her in the head with the flat tire especially when she was making the pistol go pew, pew, pew the whole time.
Great video. Very informative!
Great video. Only 5 minutes, and thorough.
The 50 cal ammo on the lady b good B24 found in the libyan desert was inspected by Olin and was found to be in Spec. It went through about 18 years of freezing nights and super hot days.
Some of my ammo is in ammo cans in the garage. The garage has an AC/Heater unit in it. I will be testing some of my 40+ year old ammo this summer.
I put a light coating of rubber weather strip conditioner around the gasket before I close them up. Stored in basement at around 70 deg and 40% humidity.
I vacuum seal mine with a commercial sealer. Works good.
Even though I have several large Ammo Crates, they are made from plastic and plastic is porous which means moisture can get in eventually.
I keep mine in a sealed ammo box in controlled environment... I have 41 big ammo cans that are full so I keep them in the house
That's good you have a good stockpile. I just would be very cautious. Who I tell about my. Stockpile considering ammo prices in the ammo shortage. Little gremlins. Jerk-off guys they want to steal your precious ammo and sell it. Also if the political things don't change or get worse is I believe they will. Little gremlins called the ATF.😈. They want to come look at your stockpile. So be cautious my friend. Let's defend our second amendment rights. While we still have them.🇺🇸
The amount of things I learned in a 5 minute video is astounding
I use some 50 mm ammo boxes that I bought from a Army Surplus store. It will keep your ammo air and waterproof.
I reload and I always have the information of my reload a piece of paper. When it was reloaded, what powder and how much was used, what brand of primer I used and what brand and weight of the bullet I used. And also, I will have a little comment on what I think of this load.
I will expire before my ammo so tis a moot point to me.
The silica packs is great advice. I have them laying around in all my gear and storage. Tuck them in pockets. Drop in bottom of ammo can. Nothin to it
I purchased some Russian 7.62x54r from the early 30’s that was still in the sealed spam cans when I opened it looked Brand new and fired perfectly
Steal wool works great to clean brass.
I’ve shot 30-06 and German steel cased 9mm all from 1942. All kept in ammo boxes.
Hey, when are you guys going to reopen a store in western PA? I really miss the one that closed here years ago.
We have a sportsman's warehouse in Washington pa.
@@pens8766 thanks for the info. I used to go to the one on Camp Horn road plaza where Sam's Club is.
I had some 30-06 dug up from a flower bed. Two layers were duds and cook offs. After that. It was sweet.
@Witch of salem this was a mix of WW2 and factory soft nose. We had 3 cans. There were originally about 15 cans. He kept finding them while gardening. He’d take them to the police dept. Finally PD told him to get a rifle and start shooting it. That they’d just dispose of it. So he gave the last three to us.
In 2013, a specific shooting school in the Army was using 5.56 with a lot number dating back to the Vietnam War era.... Several hundred thousand rounds, so not just a few...
In the early 2000 a military property realized they had a large quantity of ammo.
It took a month to move it all. Vietnam era stuff.
I have the 40 gram silica gel desiccant packed in the small aluminum canisters in my ammo cans. Got them from eBay.
I have some german WWII 8mm mauser ammo that still shoots just fine
Recently I shot 40 year old Federal 22LR that I kept in my hot humid attic for over 25 yrs and It was okay without any issues!
Is it likely for a bullet to explode ?!
If I drop it ?
Or if it exposed to low heat ? Like oven or campfire ?!
I have one , an old friend gave it to me before 15 years .
And I always thinking to wear it as a necklace.
The stock photos of ammo on shelves is humorous like that is a real thing anymore.
I've had 30-06 given to me, 2nd ww issue almost 1 century old brought them to the range and still spelled B-A-N-G.... luv WW2 ammos.
Yep... Ammo last forever if you just keep it dry and away from drastic temp differences.
In 1989 or 90, I bought 55k rounds of surplus .45 ball. Been shooting it since I bought it, and still have about 3k round of it left.
In all that ammo, I've probably had less than 8 issues... Which I would bet has more to do with it's percentage of failure rate, than it's age.
In the mid 70s I shot a lot of 1942 and 1943 Nazi marked 9mm ammo and never had a failure. I wish I had kept some.
Before this starts (for me), i just received some 30 carbine rounds my father had that he got from his father in a zip lock bag with 1 desiccant packet in them maybe 70 or so, not bad condition a little green on them... my guess 60 or more years old... all fired, all worked the action all dented my AR500 targets at 50 yards... was not thinking about that :(
Some primer and powder chemistries are more stable in storage than others. All with usual trade offs though, the more storage-reliable chemistry may be more corrosive to your gun or more prone to other problems.
Very informative! Thanks!
Great presentation! Thanks
I heard if the ammunition is non corrosive, made in the 1960s or later, and stored in a cool dry place that it will likely last up to 100 years. This ammo may even last longer than that, but I will not be around to test it.
what about rimfire? I stocked up on dozens of boxes of high quality cci after the parkland shooting
I have CCI 22 standard velocity and mini-mags I bought in the early 1980's still in my stock pile. Always stored in the house and I shot some last summer with every one firing without any issues. I have powder and primers that are thirty years old and I loaded up 100 rounds using those primers and powder to see how it would fire. All 100 rounds shot just like brand new ammo. Just keep it in your house at room temperature with normal to low humidity and you will be dead before your ammo is.
I have a Golden Rod in my firearm and ammo storage cabinets, no issues with rimfire that’s been stored for 10 years.
I have cases of .22 CCI mag that have no computer bars on any of the individual plastic boxes. They shoot every time.
@@opencarry3860 old is better than what they making now
This is a low key ad for Double Tap ammo.
What if ammo was in a can with silica packets but spent like a week in an attic where it got to around 120-130 fahrenheit during the day? The rest of the time it stayed in a room temperature environment.
Great information!!
I have British 303 headstamped 42 still fires fine.
back in the 70's I shot up tons of WWII US German Italian and Japanese ammunition. It was cheap and fun.
Tactical Jon Cryer is spot on with this information
Can you store ammo with cosmoline?
If it is stored properly and it was in good condition it does not, within reason, expire.
I have reloaded some once fired shotgun hauls and some of them started rusting around the primer.
the part that obviously started rusting was steel that was covered in chrome but if it were new I'm sure there would not have been an issue with any of them.
If you take the proper precautions and you're reloading brass ammunition there's no reason why it couldn't last a century stored properly.
With new factory ammo if it is stored properly could last few hundred years easily.
If you're intending to reload ammo or store factory ammo and intend on handing it down to your ancestors through the generations, I would load it or pack it in the middle of the winter when the air is crisp and dry, I would add a packet of oxygen absorber I would add some moisture absorber both in a perforated medicine bottle so that the ingredients do not come close to touching the actual ammo, I would then flood the soon to be sealed metal container with nitrogen gas and then I would seal it spam can't style.
Packed in that fashion the ammo should last until the outer can rusts away centuries later.
If that were the case I would include an all metal gun like a 1911 in that caliber of that ammo.
I would partially disassemble the gun so that any spring would not be compressed and instructions on how to reassemble the gun. Then I would take all the parts without appropriate number of potential spare parts the gun may need in the future, and put them in a vacuum sealed bag liberally coated with gun oil on every surface.
Apparently the U.S militaries way of storing ammo and firearms should not be a good point of reference as some of it is appearing on the streets in the hands of criminals. That's not a cool dry place.
Thank you for your expertise good man.
I was always told not to store ammo in ammo cans still in the cardboard boxes because they draw moisture. Any truth to that?
If the can is airtight, there is little risk that some latent moisture already absorbed by the box can get sealed in. That is why I like to use the desiccant packs. - DK
Take it OUT THE CARDBOARD BOXES, it also retains moisture
I just bought that big ammo crate today.
Man! Some of that ammo? I would NEVER shoot!
friend gifted me ammo his dad had, all original boxed 30 cal carbine ammo dated late 1940's....I have 250 rounds left of the 500, also gave me some loose GI 30.6 ammo for my garand....not only were they cherries outta the box.... I dropped a couple dozen wild hogs using that both the 30 carbine and the 30.6ammo...So far the only threat to old ammo is politicians
I have some 12 gauge black powder shotgun shells and over time the primers hardened and half of them won't go off.
Black Powder is an entirely different animal. It oxidizes much more rapidly than modern smokeless powder. - DK
This should be a 3 second video with the sole word of "NO".
Thanks for information
Heat biggest enemy to ammunition.
Awesome video ✌️
The paper boxes that ammo comes in WILL draw moisture like a sponge to ruin ammo. Better off to store it loose in military cans or vacuum sealed.
Fired countless rounds of WWII dated ammo. Never had a failure to fire so I know it lasts at least 80 years.
Great informative video
Haven’t seen a shelf that full in a while
Thank you
Will vacuum sealing help mitigate all those issues?
I would still throw in a desiccant. With rigid stuff like ammo, you will still have some pockets of trapped air and that may have moisture in it, depending on how humid your environment is. - DK
Good thing I Open Carry so that way I don't have to worry about my carry ammo.😁
Differences in atmospheric temperature will still create issues. Police officers who open carry also rotate their ammo. - DK
@@Sportsmans_Warehouse I was joking. I leave extra boxes of ammo in my vehicles that I switch out every two years and then shoot it up at the range. Never have any issues with the ammo. I thought I would go another year and see if stays good for three years stored in the rig.
thanks for the video
No it doesn't. I have reloaded .38 Special with now 136 year-old Bullseye smokeless powder and 127 year-old Peters Brand corrosive primers. Guess what? They chronograph with-in 3 FPS average of modern loads and are slightly MORE accurate fired from a Contender Super 14 single shot .357 Magnum Bull Barrel at 50 feet indoors from a Lee/Ransom pistol rest in either modern cases or 1880's balloon head cases a test very close to a factory test barrel set-up. I've had a canister of DuPont Number 17 1/2 Smokeless Rifle Powder (intended for loading the .30 Cal Gov't or .30-40 Krag-Jorgenson) go bad due to the pressed paper container. It turned orange and smelled acrid like nitric acid it was giving off, but it was nearly 120 years-old and unknown storage before I got it!
I noticed in the video an issue I've been having where the projectile drops into the case during the seating process does anyone now how to correct that issue?
Great job
Great video, would anyone happen to know if the cobalt and/or calcium chloride in the indicating color silica gel desiccants could interact or oxidize ammunition? I believe these chemicals are mainly present in the blue to pink and not so much in the orange to dark green variety.
No idea but a great question. I will do some experimenting and let you know. - DK
@@Sportsmans_Warehouse Was wondering because i saw some desiccants marked as milspec and have been wondering what type of desiccant would be the best for long term storage.
I love all these people with their cheap plastic ammo cans when the standard military metal ones are a dime a dozen, have thicker seals with more tension and are actually 99% recyclable. If ur going to buy plastic use proper polymer Pelican cases and pelican case ripoffs like Apachi from harbor freight. They have thick seals, thick walls and even double as gun/optic cases. These things ur selling are not made to last and wont seal your ammo for 10 years