Stored in original packing in a cool dry basement?
Printable View
Stored in original packing in a cool dry basement?
I put them in a plastic bag and close it up tight. Maybe not necessary, but it can't hurt. I seem to use them up in less than 2 years, so really don't know the shelf life.
I have used old stock that was purchased in the mid eighties.
No problems.
762
I have been using primers from early 60’s for years. No ftf
I use a lot from the 50's. I see no issues. I do not use them in match or hunting loads just on principle; but have never proven them bad.
I would assume they will last longer then your and our lifetimes if stored in a cool and dry area. I’ve had primers that are over 20 years old I stored in outside unheated storage for a couple years here in WI and all went bang. I keep mine in the house inside my reloading cabinet now.
Good to hear. I am about to break into a thousand spp that are around fourty years old.
I have primers made in the 50's that I bought in the 60's and have never had a bad one from the bunch . I have had 1 box of 100 CCI's made in the 80's that were junk by the mid 90's . The rest of the 1000 that that box came from were and still are good . Mine are stored in the detached garage and also my bedroom closet in my house in Tennessee and in the garage at the house in Alabama . No special storage , just setting on a shelf . I would not put them in a ziplock bag for fear that it might sweat and expose them to moisture . I am a hoarder and have been since the mid 60's and have several 100,000 primers stored in two states and the one box is all I have ever lost . Neither garage is insulated or has heating or cooling except a wood heater in the winter when in use only .
I’m loading primers from the 70’s now, no problems at all.
I have primers that have been wet dry them out and maybe one out of 100 did not work right They hade been damp long enough for mold to grow on the box’s they where old alcan primers
A few years ago I used up over 1000 from the 70's and they were fine. No special storage.
It was enough proof to me that I could keep adding to my inventory without risk.
In the late seventies I bought Winchester Staynless Primers, Np. 6 1/2 - 116 in wooden trays, end on boxes stamped SG91L17 from a local hardware store. I was told by an older gentleman that they were used because small pistol primers were not available in WWII for revolver rounds. I used then mostly in pistol rounds and a few in M-1 Carbine rounds. All worked without any misfires. Don't know how old they are but perhaps someone can date them by the above description.
these still work fine
https://i.imgur.com/nwP3lCC.jpg
I happened to pick up a couple of surplus WW2 bricks of small pistol caps at a Tampa gun show in the mid 60s; I'm 80 now so they are about as old as me. If I didn't know their age I'd swear they were made last year and stored in a yellowed plain paper box but me ... well, that's a different story.
https://i.postimg.cc/W33PPJ8k/20150116_125533.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/QtCfMN1w/20150116_125404.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/ZR00sXz6/20150116_125421.jpg
These were from the fifties when the wood trays were still used. I had two cases of these and they work just fine.
I picked up primers that the boxing was showing signs of being wet at one time or another and were old as well had no issues so far and I used over half of them.
I got a box of reloading stuff a friend got when his granddad died. There were two or three 100 count boxes of Herter's primers in there. Worked fine.
swamp
If stored properly they probably have a longer shelf life than we do.
I just got done loading and shooting CCI 350's that I bought in the 70's for my 44 magnum. They went boom just fine. I have always kept them in the basement where it was cool, in a wood cabinet. Only in the past several years have I run a dehumidifier in the Summer. Winter time I usually don't need to run it. I just store the primers separate from my powders.
I'm not sure how old they are but I have primers that were priced at $0.98 or $0.99 a box :shock:
I am glad to hear the life of primers is that long. I tried to keep about 2-5 years worth of primers. But after the dust settles I will increase that amount out farther.
I went through my inventory yesterday and am down to one brick of LMP and 200 LMR so they are on my my list today when I hit the LGS that has both in stock for $39.99. Since it’s a 1 brick limit per day and I will be taking a buddy with to buy for me I’ll probably pick up another box of LMP tomorrow since I have 5 guns and pistols to load for it. I should have enough SR and LR to get me by till the stupidity stops. I’ll probably pick up some SP tomorrow as well so I have a few if I want to start loading for my 32 S&W or 9mm some day.
I don’t recommend putting primers or ammo in sealed plastic bags in location with big temperature swings. Water can condense in bag. Maybe water don’t hurt primers but I like mine dry and clean.
I'm sure that I have used some from the 80's recently.
No difference noticed. Bulk primers are stored in the basement in there original packaging.
My LGS has every size primer in stock at normal prices and no one has been buying them. I’ve been there three times in the last two weeks and there has basically been one guy trying to buy up all the SP primers they have stock piles up on the back room with a 500 a day limit according to the owner who sold my a brick of them yesterday. I bought three bricks on three visits. Two cci 200’s and one CCi 350. I’ll head back this morning for another brick of 350’s if they have one left. There was one and a half bricks on the shelf yesterday afternoon on my last visit. If they are out of 350’s I’ll get a brick of the 250’s along with another 500 of the cci 500’s and call it a day. I think that will hold me over for a few elections accept for SP if I start getting into reloading for it. I’m sure I will sooner then later if the 9mm shortage stays constant for a couple of years. I figured at $39.99 per brick of CCI I’ll keep buying some more till they run out or I feel I will never need any more. Getting tired of looking for components I should have stocked up on. I believe I will have this issue fixed after today’s visits.
1970's I believe, still go bang just fine.
Attachment 269401
I've some of the CCI primers shown by Conditor and tey are fine. I've some yellow box win/westerns that i will get into soon.
The only thing I had go bad were some RWS musket caps. They were in the trunk of the car with some fluctuating temps and humidity. They didn't go bang or event phzzz!
99 of these went bang in .22 Hornet loads a few years back and I'll bet $100 that the last one will too! They are probably older than I am for sure. The rounded face was neat.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...64802056d5.jpg
Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk
That’s a cool vintage box^^^^. You might have to load them with sone primers just for show and tell when the last one goes bang.
I've always kept my primers in the shop along with all of my other reloading gear. A lot of us seem to have had the same experience. Even after years, if not decades, they still work just fine. This has been an interesting thread in the fact that the membership here is now 50,000+. We're spread all across the land in varying climates, from both coasts to the extreme north and south. I honestly have no idea how old some of my primers are. I've been reloading since the late 70's. I have a small box that I tend to toss partially used boxes of 100 in after making up a small batch for testing. I haven't a clue as to how old some of them may be. Like most others from reading this thread, they still work if I need to try just a few.
Murphy
This is certainly heartening. I have come back to reloading after a 15 year hiatus and was looking at my 15YO stored in the garage primers with a gimlet eye. Decided to use them only in target/range applications and use new on heftier loads. I may be overly cautious, given the expereinces recounted here.
Several years ago I got primers from two friends. One lived about 200 yards off of salt water and the other was about 5 miles inland from the first guy. All of them had been stored in unairconditioned garages on the Texas Gulf Coast for about 20 years. None failed to fire.
The current shelf life seems to be 20 minutes after they hit the shelf. They are swooped up 20 minutes after that.
If I'm not mistaken several years ago there was a push to change the priming compound to a new improved environmental friendly compound - that had me concerned . But I suppose we won't know for years if it matters , and primers don't last long in my cabinet anyway .
I have bricks of primers from the 70s and all work fine and some trays that are probably a bit older than that and no problems. Where do you guys store your primers? Separate from your powder?