Does ammunition go 'stale'?

[jm1972]

I was just wondering if/how often you should use the ammunition you carry every day in your gun. I have had the same 5 rounds in my revolver for about 2 months. I take it out (Hydra-Shoks) and use FMJ at the range, then put them back in when I am finished. Can't see using expensive ammo for target practice.

[XD45]

IMO you should always fire atleast 200rds of the ammo you plan to carry to make sure it likes the ammo, and you know how it goes off.. and every month or two shoot the ones you've been carrying and put in new ones... for a revolver i'm sure you could get away with shooting only 50-100rds of your carry stuff since you dont need to worry about FTE or FTFeed, but i'd still shoot a fairly good amount so you know what its gonna do...

[jm1972]

I already put through about 120 rounds of the ammo I carry for that reason. Guess it's about time to shoot some more and load with fresh.

Thanks.

[XD45]

thats just how I do it, I've seen ammo from over 100yrs ago(or close to it) shot from an older rifle before also, so I dont know that it goes stale.. but carrying it around all day it can get moisture, or some grime around the primer or something that could cause a possible malfunction..

[Emptymag]

Back during the Johnstown flood, our basement filled w/water and a lot of my dad's stuff was submerged. A few years later, I can remember taking a paper bag filled with previously submerged, .22 rimfires to the backyard for plinking... about 3 duds in a bag of about 500.

Would I try that with "primered" ammo that my life may depend on? No.

Also, consider all of the surplus ammo that folks use/stockpile for their old battle rifles and such. I'm not an expert, but time has less to do with reliability than humidity.

Myself, I shoot my carry ammo every 6 months or so. I couldn't tell you if that's good or bad. The ammo I put back in the mag afterward is from the same box(usually)as what was in the gun, so it's not any "newer", just hasn't been in the gun, exposed to oils or whatnot.

[knight0334]

No problems with the following of mine:

1900-1920's .303 British
1940-1950's .30-06
1910-1960's 7.62x54R
God know how old some of the other ammo I've shot off over the years. I'm sure some of the blackpowder 45-70 ammo out at the farm for the Trapdoor rifle is into the 1880's - which shoots fine.

I've shot cordite loads(303 Brit and some Nitro Express rifles) well over a hundred years old, not a miss or hang fire out of any of them. Raw cordite powder can sit in a ship's hull at the bottom of the sea since the late 1800's, and once brought to the surface it can be lit with a match.

I wouldn't say it goes stale, but certain things can cause it to become inert. Water will cause ammo to go inert, but if allowed to dry-it can/may fire again. Oils generally screw powder and primers for good.

For the most part though, you'll be long dead of old age before ammo goes bad from sitting on a shelf.

What can cause issues is the constant vibration and shaking of the cartridge-which breaks the powder flakes/balls/rod into smaller fragments, which in turn causes higher pressures at ignition due to finer grain powders burn faster.

[Xringshooter]

I've shot factory and reloaded ammo that was stored for three years in a hot attic (heat can affect powder as well as humidity) with no problems. Look at the ages of surplus ammo that can be bought. If the cartridges haven't been submerged in oil or other penetrating type liquid they should be good for years. In fact I lately have been shooting some 44 mag ammo I loaded about 12 years ago (I traded the gun shortly after loading the ammo and didn't get another until this year) with no problems.

[mrwildroot]

<SNIP>
What can cause issues is the constant vibration and shaking of the cartridge-which breaks the powder flakes/balls/rod into smaller fragments, which in turn causes higher pressures at ignition due to finer grain powders burn faster.

knight0334,
Now that is one I have not heard of before...
Learn something new every day! Thanks!
mrwildroot

[LorDiego01]

What can cause issues is the constant vibration and shaking of the cartridge-which breaks the powder flakes/balls/rod into smaller fragments, which in turn causes higher pressures at ignition due to finer grain powders burn faster.

huh... is that so??

I guess they'd look at you funny if you bring a box of ammo to the paint department..

"Yeah buddy, just throw this one into the paint mixer..."

[knight0334]

huh... is that so??

I guess they'd look at you funny if you bring a box of ammo to the paint department..

"Yeah buddy, just throw this one into the paint mixer..."

lol yeah.. I'm sure someone would get a weird look for that.


However it is true. Prime example is black powder, the finer the grain the faster it burns. Works the same too for smokeless, it has to do with surface area.

Another thing to keep in mind is powder placement in a cartridge: settled powder to the back towards the primer will have higher pressures and velocities. Powder settled to the bullet has just the opposite effect. ...Was proven in a Guns & Ammo or Shooting Times mag a few months ago.