Firing old ammunition

[KenH]

Way back in the early '70s I did a lot of rifle target shooting. At that time I purchased a Smith & Wesson Model 19-3 and a Walthers PPKs in .32 acp along with some ammunition for each. Shortly after the purchase I stopped shooting and consequently never shot either handgun. Recently I was reintroduced to target shooting didn't realize how much I missed it, and was wondering if it would be safe to fire this old ammo. The ammo in question is Remington brand factory loads, both in .357 and .32acp. Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks

[1861]

Way back in the early '70s I did a lot of rifle target shooting. At that time I purchased a Smith & Wesson Model 19-3 and a Walthers PPKs in .32 acp along with some ammunition for each. Shortly after the purchase I stopped shooting and consequently never shot either handgun. Recently I was reintroduced to target shooting didn't realize how much I missed it, and was wondering if it would be safe to fire this old ammo. The ammo in question is Remington brand factory loads, both in .357 and .32acp. Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks

Should be no problem . I recently fired some old ww11 ammo and had no failures .

[hornady]

Bang away, I have powder from the 70 that I still load some odd rounds with, and I have shot thousands of rounds of WW2 surplus ammo in Rifle and pistol.

[P89]

As long as it was always kept dry there is no problem.
Ammo has the shelf life of uranium.

[KenH]

Thanks guys. That sets my mind at ease. By the way, 2 weeks ago I bought a couple boxes of .38 spl and went to the range. Prior to shooting the model 19, it was in pristine, like new condition. Now, even after a thorough cleaning, it looks like any other used handgun.

KenH.

[Iron Sights]

Shooting is what guns are made for, enjoy the hobby. As far as old ammo, I've been shooting old Russian surplus with no problems. A visual check should be enough, an unusual recoil would be a warning sign.

[KenH]

Just an update. Last weekend I went to the shooting range and shot the 35 year old Remmington ammo (both the .357 magnum and the .32 Automatic) without any problems. No misfires.

Thanks for the advice.

KenH

[Iron Sights]

All made in the USA, right?

[KenH]

Absolutely!

[levib]

A few weeks ago I shot some mid-60's ammo without a single misfire or any other problem out of my SKS. Ammo tends to hold up quite well with age.