old ammo still fireable?

[smoke and fire]

i found an estimated 100-200 rounds of 30-06 ammo, it belonged to my dad, most of it is in its unopened cartons, is it still safe to fire?, i think its at least 15 years old

[bogey1]

im shooting 8mm from 1936 ot 38

[Xringshooter]

15 years old, that's just getting into its prime Heck, I've shot ammo that was up to 100 years old with no problems. .30-06 ammo (milsurp) for the M1 Garand can be 50-60+ years old and still shoot good.

[donm]

i found an estimated 100-200 rounds of 30-06 ammo, it belonged to my dad, most of it is in its unopened cartons, is it still safe to fire?, i think its at least 15 years old

It mostly depends on how it was stored. I shoot 40-year-old 30-06 military surplus through my M1 all the time and have never had a problem. Also have shot .38 special ammo my father-in-law gave me that has to be at least 30 years ago. Again, no problem. Assuming it appears to be in good condition, my only caution is to be extra cautious about any round that doesn't seem to fire/recoil properly. A squib load - actually the following shot - is a very, very bad thing .

[ErSwnn]

It mostly depends on how it was stored. I shoot 40-year-old 30-06 military surplus through my M1 all the time and have never had a problem. Also have shot .38 special ammo my father-in-law gave me that has to be at least 30 years ago. Again, no problem. Assuming it appears to be in good condition, my only caution is to be extra cautious about any round that doesn't seem to fire/recoil properly. A squib load - actually the following shot - is a very, very bad thing .

Good advice there. So you know, a squib is a round that fires poorly and the bullet/projectile fails to exit the barrel. The next shot hits it and things go bad from there. They are rare. Another to be aware of is a hangfire. Gun goes click but doesn't fire. If this occurs keep the gun pointed downrange for a good 10 seconds then safely eject the round. Again, very rare. If your ammo has been stored correctly all is well, if not watch for these types of failures.

[smoke and fire]

ok thanks for the knowledge, i have a .22 ruger single six, agian i have old ammo but the ammo is only about 7 years old, but when i fire it and the eject the shell i have a hard time from the shells ballooning up, a couple of times when i get he shells out there has even been some that have ruptured, what causes this?

[The_War_Wagon]

I fired a few thousand rounds of Korean War-era .30 Carbine in the late '90's when I was living in KY. I'm still here, and have all my own teeth!

[Xringshooter]

ok thanks for the knowledge, i have a .22 ruger single six, agian i have old ammo but the ammo is only about 7 years old, but when i fire it and the eject the shell i have a hard time from the shells ballooning up, a couple of times when i get he shells out there has even been some that have ruptured, what causes this?

If your Ruger is the interchangeable cylinder model, check to insure that the .22LR cylinder is installed, not the .22 Mag. Also, is it all the cylinders or just certain ones? Shoot a cylinder full and when you eject the cases, note which cylinders are the ones that are sticking/ruptured. Then shoot another cylinder full. Are the same cylinders acting up? If so those cylinders may have been bored a bit too big. You could then call Ruger to see what they will do for you. Again, 7 year old ammo is not old at all so you shouldn't have any problems.

[smoke and fire]

it is, which i have another question about it, how doi know which cylinder is which? and ok thanks

[Willie D]

To the OP: if the 30-06 is surplus stuff it could be corrosive. Again, it should work fine but make sure you clean properly afterwards.