Ammunition and the Elements

S

Sobski

Inactive
Good day all.

I was hoping that a few people would shed some light on whether I needed to be concerned about the reliability of the ammunition in my EDC after it has been exposed to the elements. By "the elements" I am referring to the heat inside of a vehicle during the summer if I leave my EDC in the vehicle, the cold during the winter, rain, etc. (I realize that this is one of the handgun forums but I thought I'd ask if the answer would be similar for shotgun shells).

On a similar note, what would you do in terms of maintenance to your carry firearm if you got caught in the rain?

Thanks for any insight.
 
Your ammunition will be fine in any environment on this planet that you or your car can survive. Ammunition is not harmed by the heat inside a glovebox. Freezing won't hurt it either. If my gun gets soaking wet it gets detail stripped, dried with compressed air and relubed ASAP. Brush a thin coat of Breakfree CLP all over it and you shouldn't have any problems.
 
Leaving your gun in a glovebox in the heat and cold won't harm the ammo.

If your gun gets wet, dry it, clean it, lube it. That pretty much has you covered.
 
i once took a hand loaded 9mm round, put it in a cup of water for 3 days then shot it no problem.

i found out the open console on my boat is the perfect way to ruin ammo. or is it? i had 9mm and 12 ga ammo in the open console for a year or so. exposed to rain, cold, blistering sunlight, high humidity. the 9mm ammo was pretty corroded with copper green corrosion. they all worked but one.

shotgun shells where rusted so bad i had to smooth out the "brass" with sand paper to fit the chamber. they all fired fine.
 
The wife washd and dryed a Speed Strip of 125 +P 38's the other day. I did not 100% trust them at that point, so I fired all 6 rounds. Nothing out of the ordinary could be observed. They fired like new from the box.

I was in law enforcement for several years. I never had a round of carry ammo fail to fire under any condition.

Bob
 
I think vibration will be your biggest enemy of your powder. Regardless I try to shoot off my carry ammo once or twice a year and replace it with fresh stuff. It's also good practice to shoot what you carry once in a while.
 
Extreme heat will degrade the powder over time. How much time? I don't know. Ammo stored in the radical variations found in the desert might require replacement within a few months to several years. I would not leave ammo sitting exposed to direct sun or in the hottest area of the vehicle. It is simply imprudent to not rotate defense ammo every 6 months or so although I've never had an ammo failure from simply carrying in my everyday weapon.
My Son bought a use ATV and found about 200 +/- rounds of 22lr in the toolbox that had been there for 2-3 years(he called the previous owner). The ammo fires 99% but the soft lead bullets are so beatup that most won[t chamber(I warned him not to shoot any more of them since the ground in grit was not good for the bore). Plain old 22lr exposed to Iowa weather, in and out side, moisture, dirt, and vibration remained almost 100% ignition. Good quality centerfire defense ammo should not cause any problems with any sort of logical storage/care.
 
Unless it is immersed in water or solvent it should be good to go. Like others here I shoot my carry ammo up once or twice a year.
 
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