How long to store ammo before it starts degrading?

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Pistoler0

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Now that ammo scarcity is in everybody's mind, and thinking about preserving the small stash, does anybody have an idea how long one can store ammo until it starts degrading?

I suppose it depends on conditions such as humidity, temperature etc, but is there a ballpark? A year, 5 years, 10?

Maybe some LE, military or professional armorers could chime in...
 
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I have Herter's .22's from the 1950's that were my Grandfather's... stored in the gun cabinet all these years... they still kill squirrels even if the lead is oxidized.
I have kept my ammo in ammo cans, cool and dry, for over 3 decades.... still good. I just cycle the stock... although some is 3 decades old.
 
Pistoler0 said:
Now that ammo scarcity is in everybody's mind, and thinking about preserving the small stash, does anybody have an idea how long one can store ammo until it starts degrading?

I suppose it depends on conditions such as humidity, temperature etc, but is there a ballpark? A year, 5 years, 10?
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Under normal storage conditions, I'd guess 50 years as a ballpark -- maybe more under ideal conditions.
 
I bought a thousand rounds of Lake City .308 Match ammo that was made in the early 60’s and it all shot just fine.
 
A Lot longer than 5 or 10 years. I have .30-06 M2 AP black tip rounds from WW2 that still fires. I've shot plenty of surplus 7.5 Swiss ammo that's 40 years old and it's still in prime condition. I've picked up a variety of boxes of 22 LR, .32 ACP and 45 ACP that are older than me and they all still worked just fine.

I'm only in my late 30's and any ammo I'm buying today will probably outlive me assuming it's stored correctly.
 
I have a couple of boxes left of Remington .38 Special +P that I bought in 1984. Every time I load my Chief's Special at the range, they faithfully go "Bang!" That's 38 + years.

Just my experience.
 
I recently shot some of Dad's .38 Special reloaded in the late 50's. No problem.

The only thing that keeps me from shooting some of the .45-70 my grandfather reloaded is cleaning up after "semi-smokeless" powder he use. Not quite a bad as black powder but still a bit tedious in long barrel for the number of rounds to be involved. If "semi smokeless" isn't a clue to age, enjoy the time searching.
 
I've shot some 22lr which had oxidized w/o issues. It had survived several moves from the mid 80's up to just recent times, stored indoors the majority of the time but it could have been stored in a storage unit for a year or less, just can't remember. LOL
 
There are two main factors determining the storage life of ammunition today. The first is how well it was made to begin with, and the second is the conditions under which it has been stored.

Modern Smokeless powder is a chemical compound, and WILL degrade over time. How much time varies, even with perfect storage conditions.

Some of it has lasted a century, some, made with less than the most stringent controls (like during a war, particularly from a nation on the losing side) was only made "good enough" with the expectation it would be used soon.

In the 70s, I shot a bunch of 06 and .45acp ammo from 1918. cases were dark brown, but it all functioned flawlessly. WWII and 1950s ammo was not considered "old" in those days...

I've got reloads i made in the 80s that are still absolutely fine today.

On the other hand, I've had foriegn "surplus" ammo made in the 90s that had 11% failure to fire and 17% case cracking on those that did fire. Most likely due to improper storage at some point in its history.

Black powder cartridges (and the powder itself) can last well over a century. Black powder is a chemical MIXTURE and (with proper storage) does not degrade over time. There have been examples of guns loaded during the Civil War and sitting ever since firing properly when shot.

Lead bullets turning white (oxidizing) MAY be indicative of something gone bad with the ammo, but also may just be lead exposed to the air for a long time and the cartridge itself can still fire normally.
 
Surplus fans are still shooting ammo from WW 2 and Korea. I've still got lots of German 8mm that was produced in the 40's. Garand shooters are shooting Korean and Greek made ammo from the 1950's. I'm still shooting hand loaded ammunition that I made in 1990. For loading your own you might consider a sealer around the case mouth and primer.
 
most ammo is good for 25 years or more if stored indoors at room temperature

Ive had a some ammo with dud primers after 30 years

thats why I would not recommend stocking up on old surplus ammo, it's already old , storing it for another 20 - 30 years isnt good, then it will be 50 - 60 plus years old by the time you use it

for long term storage, always buy current production or fresh ammo
 
i have many thousand rounds of GI .30 caliber ammunition manufactured in 1945-1960. Can't remember the last misfire.

Yesterday i fired ten rounds of 1953 AP into a just under 2.5" group at 125 yards. The rifle is an accurized Remington 700. The first three rounds went a 1.25" group.
 
for long term storage, always buy current production or fresh ammo
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This sounds, and is, sensible but it's dependent on two things, first that the current production/fresh ammo isn't crap, and second that you CAN GET current production/fresh ammo.

The latter seems to be difficult these days...:rolleyes:
 
I still have a stash of ammo from Sportsmart and even Sports Authority. Some of which is from the late 80's. I keep it around for grins and still shoot a few rounds from the pile every now and then. Never a failure to fire. Recoil feels about right. The only thing that I have noticed is that it is slightly more smoky thank brand new ammo.
 
Pistoler0 said:
Now that ammo scarcity is in everybody's mind, and thinking about preserving the small stash, does anybody have an idea how long one can store ammo until it starts degrading?

I suppose it depends on conditions such as humidity, temperature etc, but is there a ballpark? A year, 5 years, 10?

Maybe some LE, military or professional armorers could chime in...
Click to expand...
Anything you buy now will outlast you.
 
Till your children and grand children are old and grey:rolleyes:
Ammunition kept in reasonably stable conditions can last just about indefinitely. Yes, it can oxidize if not well lubed and the failure rate may creep up slightly with age but most ammunition built in 1915 and stored in stable conditions would be about as lethal today as it was then. I bought some surplus rifle ammo from the 80s and I'm not worried about it being good another 20 or 30 years. I've got some paper shotgun shells from the 50s and they can still go bang.
 
FWIW, I shot 8" artillery shells and propellant that were packed in 1944 ...... in 1988. Srill want bang and Boom!
 
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