Henry Rifle Forums

Mags wrote:Don't know if this is accurate or not, but an internet search find indicates that "Ammunition doesn't expire, but the gunpowder looses potency over time." Maybe why the dirty firing. Also found heat and humidity accelerate loss of potency. An example given was leaving ammo in a hot and/or humid car. Another find, expected 'good' shelf life of 10 years.

http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 790#p70785

Regarding the lifespan of ammunition and the potency of gunpowder, I read this one man's opinion a few years ago as I was beginning to reload and saved it for future reference.

gitano wrote: http://thehunterslife.com/forums//showt ... hp?t=15459
…Once a container has been opened, (and even slightly before it's opened), the chemicals used for 'drying' the powder "off-gas". That doesn't, to my knowledge, change the burn characteristics of the powder, but it does change its "bulk density" ... A 50-grain charge of "new" powder will contain less energy than a 50-grain charge of "old" powder because the "old" powder will have a higher bulk density than a "new" cannister of powder does....

This isn't an issue once a cartridge is loaded because the chemical energy is fixed forever - the amount of powder doesn't change, only it's weight. That's why milsurp ammo from the late '30s (and especially the nazi 8x56R stuff), is still good to this day.

I'm not a chemist and I don't play one on TV .. .. what I do know is I have used powder from cans that were first opened 20+ years ago .... couldn't tell any difference in performance

I have some decades old factory .22 and .32acp. Earlier this year I tried to use it up. All the .22 I tried to use fired weakly, made it maybe 15-20 yds. Some of the .32 seemed to fire ok out to some distance. Others just sorta made out the barrel. Decided I didn't want to deal with a stuck slug in a barrel someday so not going to use the remainder of either. On the other hand, I've had old .410 that was fine and I did use it up.

The first ammo I ever fired was half a box of 40 year old CCI .22 shorts. When I first bought my Henry H001, I couldn't find any .22s on the shelves and this batch came from my father-in-law, who also gave me an old bolt action single shot rifle. They all fed and fired and were accurate in my Henry (well, they hit the target, anyway).

That same day, I also fired six rounds of nearly 100 year old .25ACP from a Colt 1908, which was another gift from my father-in-law. It belonged to his father, who bought it -- and the ammo -- in 1916. The six rounds came in a letter sized envelope in a baggie along with the empty magazine. My father-in-law never shot it. I was able to buy a box .25ACP and took it to the range with the little pocket pistol. Just for fun, though, I thought I'd see what the old stuff would do, so I shot it first. They all fired and ejected and didn't seem to be any different than the new cartridges I fired afterwards.

Anecdotes for sure.

Hmm. Perhaps it's the way the older ammo was stored? "Cool, dry" may have merit.

Back of the top shelf of the bedroom closet. Back closet wall is an interior wall.

Rifletom wrote:Hmm. Perhaps it's the way the older ammo was stored? "Cool, dry" may have merit.

Mags wrote:Back of the top shelf of the bedroom closet. Back closet wall is an interior wall.

Rifletom wrote:Hmm. Perhaps it's the way the older ammo was stored? "Cool, dry" may have merit.

That answers that question.

I have powder that is over 30 years old and still is as good as when it was bought. I have shot loaded ammo that was 70 years old without any problems.

umm how so? I'd expect the top shelf of the bedroom closet on an interior wall to be cool and dry.

Rifletom wrote:

Mags wrote:Back of the top shelf of the bedroom closet. Back closet wall is an interior wall.

Rifletom wrote:Hmm. Perhaps it's the way the older ammo was stored? "Cool, dry" may have merit.

That answers that question.

I shot a match a couple of years ago with 1913 manufactured 303 ammo.
Shot well enough for me to win the event, there was a very slight delay between squeezing the trigger and the rifle firing but probably more the slow lock time of the rifle and cordite loads than anything actually wrong with the ammo.
As for how it had been stored I cant say but no doubt for some of the 100+ years it would have been under less than ideal conditions.

Oh and I don't store my ammo any more on the shelf in the bedroom closet. It's either in the gun cabinet or sock drawer. The sock drawer is quicker to get to if I need to reload in a hurry.

Mags wrote:umm how so? I'd expect the top shelf of the bedroom closet on an interior wall to be cool and dry.

Rifletom wrote:

Mags wrote:Back of the top shelf of the bedroom closet. Back closet wall is an interior wall.

That answers that question.

As would I. Ammo, powder and primers all kept in controlled environment, separately of course. That is what I meant.

I took a 30+ year break from reloading. A few years ago I loaded up some .357s using an open can of H110 and some CCI primers from back then. The ammo shoots great and is quite accurate.

When I was a young man my father gave me a bag of WW2 .45 ACP military ammo that had been stored in a backyard tool shed for 20+ years. It got REALLY hot in there during the summers. I took it to the range and it worked perfectly. I wouldn't treat my ammo like that but I think quality ammo and reloading components have very long shelf lives.

Glad I read this thread. I have a lot of old ammo in several different calibers and have often wondered about this very subject. Thanks for posting topic.

yesterday we loaded 100 rounds for our 308 using W748 powder that was bought back in 1996 .... I wouldn't hesitate to hunt with them

I loaded this can of Unique a couple years ago and all shot just fine.