How long are handloads going to last?

[xd4584]

I'm just curious. Whats the longest anyone has kept ammo they loaded in storage and later shot them without fail?

[beagle]

I shot some .45 ACP loaded in 1962 in the early 90s and it all went fine. Loaded with Unique. That's 30 years and was stored in my dad's attic and it got hot up there. 300 rounds of sized and primed .30/30 cases were stored in the same place and same time frame and I had 100% ignition with them in my Contender.

Under cool, dry storage conditions, in ammo boxes....who knows./beagle

[btroj]

I am not in the running buti bet it will be over 2 decades, may be over 3.

Yeah, that last a darn long time if stored properly.

[357maximum]

Properly stored ammo will outlast all of us. I shot a bunch of old 30/30 and 35Rem awhile back and they all went bang....some of the necks split...but they all went bang. Them rounds were all packaged in the "inner belted" peters high velocity yellow/blue/red boxes.

[williamwaco]

one experience

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=152007

[xd4584]

Wow. Well I don't think it will sit for 40 years... I was thinking of letting my loads go for a year or two and shooting them off and just reloading the brass. Thanks guys!

[btroj]

A yearor two? That doesn't even give it ime to,get ripe!

I am busy trying to shoot off some heavy 300 gr loads in my 45 Blackhawk that have been around for almost 10 years. I don't enjoy shooting them so I is 10 or so per range trip.

I don't consider ammo old until it is AR least 15 to 20 years old.

[xd4584]

Well the loads I am actually talking about are hornady xtp 230 grain 45acp loads. I won't shoot them unless I need them for defense. Which hopefully I never do. Maybe what I will do it buy a bullet puller and pull them every couple years.

Do any of you guys use sealant on primers or where the case mouth meets the bullet?

[Ickisrulz]

Well the loads I am actually talking about are hornady xtp 230 grain 45acp loads. I won't shoot them unless I need them for defense. Which hopefully I never do. Maybe what I will do it buy a bullet puller and pull them every couple years.

Do any of you guys use sealant on primers or where the case mouth meets the bullet?

If you are chambering them and then taking them out without firing (and re-chambering a few times) they will need to be rotated out as the bullets can get marred or pushed back into the case.

[Chamfered]

I just shot some 45 230fmj's that I loaded at least 15 years ago, found them in the bottom of an ammo box still in the full moons I put them in back then, that's how I'm pretty sure of the age. 48 rounds and all went bang.

I don't think that I would mess with a sealer, seriously, unless you thought there would be apotential that it could be submerged or something.

One other thing to consider is just using a good factory load for the carry or self defense stuff. When I did cop work in the past the department was very liberal on what we could carry for a gun and ammo, but it had to be factory. So I would practice with reloads that approximated the carry stuff for performance and change out my duty load supply on a yearly basis, at the yearly qualification. Never had a failure with it even with it spending 12 months in the belt or squad car.

[geargnasher]

If you are chambering them and then taking them out without firing (and re-chambering a few times) they will need to be rotated out as the bullets can get marred or pushed back into the case.

Yup, the neck tension can go away from repeated chambering/ejecting.

As far as storing goes, I fired two cartriges in my .32 rimfire rolling block that were made of copper and filled with black powder. Even the old mercury priming compound worked flawlessly. There's no telling what those rounds had seen in more than a hundred years.

Gear

[xd4584]

One other thing to consider is just using a good factory load for the carry or self defense stuff. When I did cop work in the past the department was very liberal on what we could carry for a gun and ammo, but it had to be factory. So I would practice with reloads that approximated the carry stuff for performance and change out my duty load supply on a yearly basis, at the yearly qualification. Never had a failure with it even with it spending 12 months in the belt or squad car.

I do have cor-bon +p 230 grains for carry. But I loaded up a bunch of the hollow points for when the Zombies come... J/K

I just have them in the gun cabinet as reassurance. I did load some of them into +p brass with 7.2 grains of Unique. There are a couple of them in my second clip.

[mongo]

Found a few boxes of .41mag I had loaded in 1986. Not that long ago, They all shot real good.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Handloaded ammo can last a long, long time. Can't really put a number on it. I found a few boxes of 06 (casts...311284, 311334, 311291) that I loaded in the mid sixties. They were in a GI ammo can that had always been in a cool dry place. They shot as well as when they were made. So 50 years didn't make any difference. LLS

[ku4hx]

48 years. 1964 vintage 158 grain Remington 357 Magnum soft point. I shot a cylinder full earlier this year and every one went bang as have others over the past few years.

I expect one of my children to inherit the remaining rounds.

As far as longevity is concerned, good hand loaded ammunition will have the same shelf life as factory if not better. If the loading was sloppy and the powder or primers became contaminated with oils, lube or whatever, shelf life will be reduced.

[Bigbore4me]

I loaded a bunch of ammo up for a prarie dog hunt in the late 70's that never happened and occassionaly still shoot a few rounds. Shoots just fine.

[MBTcustom]

My dad loaded a couple thousand 357 and 38sp in 1970 and I didn't get to it intil 2005. Lead boolits, RCBS green lube, Unique and IMR4227, all of it went bang.

[evan price]

Gunpowder and primers, when stored in cool, dry places out of sunlight, will last for decades.
I've fired 100-year-old surplus that mostly all went bang and WWII era surplus that all did go bang.

[Rockchucker]

3 decades, and was used in a bang stick for protection of sharks at depths of over 100 feet. They still fired after all these years.

[dsol]

I still have a few boxes of 2.7 bullseye wadcutters my dad loaded in the mid '70's that shoot just fine. Also have a couple hundred 22-250 rounds my uncle loaded in 1970 (I was 5 yr old then) that shot fine 10 years ago. Don'thave the rifle anymore but I would bet it is still good to this day.

[Wayne Smith]

Do any of you guys use sealant on primers or where the case mouth meets the bullet?

I have, on two occasions now, had the opportunity (!) to fire 44-40 BP loaded rounds that I had dumped into my vibratory cleaner with ceramic beads and soapy water and vibrated for several hours for one and overnight for the other. Each one fired when given the chance. I no longer think of sealant when loading!

Yes, they were lead boolits (200 gr Big Lube) and crimped with the Lee crimp die.

[Aunegl]

My oldest reloads are over five years old. I haven't seen an expiration date on my ammo, yet.

[keebo52]

I still have and occasionally shoot ammo I loaded in the mid 80s. Shoots just as good as when they were new.

[a.squibload]

Late 70's 44 SWC reloads, defense rounds. I read in a
gun rag about rotating out old rounds so a couple years
ago I shot 'em up. All went bang with a healthy kick.
Gun mags do have pretty pictures though...

[wallenba]

No old hand loads here, but I'm still shooting 22 LR that I bought in 1979.

[MtGun44]

At least 20 yrs probably more if stored well.

Bill

[3006guns]

I found couple of plastic bags with about 200 rounds of .38 special that I reloaded back in 1972, when I first got into the hobby. For a lark I took a handful out to the local range.........

Very good performance (162 gr. Kieth, 2.8 gr. of Bullseye) and then.....click. Uh oh. The remainder fired normally and I pulled the dud apart at home. THE PRIMER HAD FIRED AND THE CASE WAS FULL OF BLACK "SOOT", but the boolit never moved. There were a few grains of powder that looked like normal Bullseye. For the life of me I can't understand how the primer didn't shove that boolit forward as I've had that happen with someone else's reloads. It's possible that oil fouled the powder or primer from years of storage....?? Really weird.

That caused me to institute an new policy: If it's over five years old and you're going to depend on it, shoot it and reload it. In a bad situation, one bad round could really ruin your day.

[GabbyM]

Climate Controlled Powder Storage:

Have ammo I loaded back in the early 1980’s that still gives good numbers. This was always stored inside an air conditioned home. Closets with doors closed. I trust this ammo which I have in a couple of calibers. Like my 270 Winchester rounds with high priced Nosler partition bullets loaded in 1981. I’d take it hunting tomorrow with no qualms.

On the other hand:

Last summer I thought it time to burn up a 50 count box of 44 magnum I’d carried for a couple years in my pickup truck which didn’t have as much as a garage to park in during Illinois summers and winters. Load was lead boolits lubed with Magma hard lube over an 8 grain charge of Unique with WW primers. 49 went bang and one almost squibed but the boolit did clear the barrel. Very noticeable light bang. One of our members here was a ways down the pistol range line in Effingham and he noticed it from that distance.

All things considered I thought 49 of fifty was a very respectable result from ammo that had been subjected to so much summer heat. Inside a car cab out in the sun gets how hot?
Couple of summers worth of that.

On another front:

Back when I did lots of trap shooting in the 1970‘s. Squibs on the line were common place. Almost invariably the shooters with squibs lived in a situation where they did there loading and ammo storage in a farm or backyard shed. No heat or air conditioning. You get the humidity and the heat. On your loaded ammo and the stored powder and primers. Can’t say what’s worst but the squibs were common on any given night. Very few people now days do anything in summer without air conditioning. Storage of powder or loaded rounds is not something I’d recommend. The garage is a very poor place to store powder but some wives seam to insist upon kicking the husbands powder outside. Guys my advise is to kick her to the side and get a real woman, lol. As for loading ammo I can’t say . Have known shooters adding humidity to powder to increase power. Smokeless powder is stored submersed in water to preserve it. Not being a chemist I’ve really no clue. Heat will for sure destroy powder and loaded rounds. I’ve personally had powder stored under dubious conditions over a twenty year period exhibit that strong ammonia smell upon opening the lid. Red rust was also present. No question it was bad. Made a great pyrotechnic flash over fifteen feet high.

I would never trust anyone else’s long term stored ammo. People either lie or actually do not know.

Powder and primers stored inside an air conditioned home. Inside a closet with it’s door closed. Or similar containment which prevents rapid temperature changes. There is really no reason for the powder to deteriorate. Car cabs out in the sun will obviously ruin powder over a short time. Simple solution is to use the carry ammo for your first box of practice ammo.

[1Shirt]

I have shot mil 06, and 30-40 Krag that was pushing if not over 50 years old. Occaisionally a miss fire, and a couple of those went on the second go arouond. I think ( for whatever that is worth) that properly hand loaded and properly stored ammo in something approaching proper temps, should last as long as factory.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[tim josey]

I had some 45 acp that I last loaded in 1984. Don't even remember what powder I used. I just found them and they shot very well. Good grouping at 25 yards considering my eyes are 28 years older too!

[Char-Gar]

I loaded up A BUNCH of 45 ACPS about 12 years ago. I still have about 200 to fire. They all work just fine.

[csmopar]

I've been shooting some 45 ACP and 8mm reloads that are at least 20 years old, with no problems

[BAGTIC]

I have some .222 Remington that I loaded in 1960. They still work fine. In fact they work better than I do after all those years.

[mpmarty]

I've still got some GI 1943 vintage 45acp that is as good as ever. The tan cardboard boxes of 20 rounds are falling apart though.

[Blammer]

I found a box dated 1995 I loaded, all shot fine.