Would you buy/shoot 65 year old .50bmg ammo?

I've shot WWI-era .45 ACP in my pistol with no problems at all. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot any GI or NATO ammo made from 1900 on unless there were obvious issues like deep corrosion.
 
I'm still shooting up a case of M2 ammo dated 1951, no problems except it is corrosive so I have to make sure I clean my gun right away instead of waiting a day or two.
 
WWII ammo and brass is probably better then the stuff you're buying right now. If it was stored correctly then buy as much as you can and shoot it up, save the brass and reload it.

If it's pre '52 consider it corrosive and clean accordingly as it's corrosive.
 
In 2008 my unit was issued '43 vintage API-T from (if I remember right) Des Moines Ammunition Plant (ammo issued for training since Mk 211 is a dud producing round, which makes going down range to move unknown-distance steel targets tricky . . .). After firing a small number of rounds we had multiple rounds fail catastrophically and apparently come apart in midair within about 100 meters of the muzzle.

This was not a comforting development. And to be fair, it may have been just related to the tracer element, not the complete bullet, but the spotters manning those guns didn't see splash anywhere in their field of view on the targets -- so if the bullets were making it downrange they were triple or quadruple digit MOA kind of accuracy. The ammo in question had passed all the military QC checks for long term storage, etc., but we flagged the whole lot as bad and it got pulled from use. (Probably eventually reapproved for training only, but our training event was over and finished before that decision got made one way or another.)
 
My ammo arrived today, the inner spam cans look as perfect as the one in the midway picture.

Opened a can, strong chemical odor emitted. Big deal?
 
Stored and packed in original spam can, cans stored in climate controlled environment.
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I don't believe for one minute that any 1945 vintage ammo has been stored in a "climate controlled" environment since it was manufacturered. Unless climate controlled simply means "under a roof".

Opened a can, strong chemical odor emitted. Big deal?
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Depends on the chemical odor. I'd probably pull a bullet and look at the powder to be sure. Everything that dumps out of the case should look consistent. No mix of dust and stick powder, all the same color, etc. If any red dust comes out of the case I'd dump them all. You may be able to reuse everything except the powder.
 
Most of the older military ammunition is individually sealed (sealer around primer and bullet/case neck. Then they are put into a sealed container. If the container is still sealed, the odds are very high that the round will fire as designed.
 
I don't believe for one minute that any 1945 vintage ammo has been stored in a "climate controlled" environment since it was manufacturered. Unless climate controlled simply means "under a roof".
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I have got to download my bunker pictures. Ammunition storage bunkers seldom, if ever, have air conditioning. They are typically concrete with a layer of dirt over them. The earth layer modulates temperature swings, but that is about it. The bunkers I have been in are not air tight, the doors will allow vermin to get inside.

It costs too much to run airconditioning or heaters for something as cheap as small arms ammunition.

I don't know if even expensive stuff, like cruise missiles are airconditioned. Most canister based rockets are kept in the can, dissicant is checked and changed, but no airconditioning.

As for this ammunition, I would pull the bullets and dump the powder. But if you really want to shoot as is, you should pull a couple of bullets and see if there is green corrosion on the bases and if the ammunition is glumpy or red.

If so, dump the powder and use the components.
 
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