The local gun store had something I've never seen before recently. It was a big old cardboard box full of old boxes of shells, some half empty, some loose. It said "for collection only, do not fire." Probably just to cover themselves since these things appear to have come out of an old attic. I scoured it and found the three best looking boxes of shells and paid $1/each for them. I took them home and analyzed the packaging, then carefully went through an archive of Remington ammunition catalogs from the beginning of time. I determined without a doubt that the boxes I chose were at least 43 years old, and at most 52 years old.
The shells looked fine, really nice actually, even though the box looked warped like it was exposed to humidity and temperature changes for decades. The shells were #6 bird shot and all high brass. They look very high quality compared to low aluminum that fills the shelves today. Anyway, I shot all 75 rounds today and they functioned flawlessly. Not only did they go bang, but I tied a personal record on my sporting clays course, so they functioned properly as well. I was impressed. So, don't worry about your aging SHTF stash of shotgun shells!
The shells looked fine, really nice actually, even though the box looked warped like it was exposed to humidity and temperature changes for decades. The shells were #6 bird shot and all high brass. They look very high quality compared to low aluminum that fills the shelves today. Anyway, I shot all 75 rounds today and they functioned flawlessly. Not only did they go bang, but I tied a personal record on my sporting clays course, so they functioned properly as well. I was impressed. So, don't worry about your aging SHTF stash of shotgun shells!