Ammo Question

[cardawg]

Whats the shelf live of ammo ? The guy who has been doing my handloads is moving out ot town,and I was thinking of stocking up before he left,thanks in advance

[mklong40]

I dont know the "right" answer but I have had reloads for 3 years plus. I have taken them out and they are still shooting just as accurate as the day I loaded them. I am sure the shelf life has to do with how you actually store them......out of any constant heat, no moisture, obvious things like that.

[BowNut]

I have been told if keeped in a cool dry place it will last a life time plus. I have used cans powder from my grandfather with $3.00 price tags on them with no problems.

[superdave]

I dont know the "right" answer but I have had reloads for 3 years plus. I have taken them out and they are still shooting just as accurate as the day I loaded them. I am sure the shelf life has to do with how you actually store them......out of any constant heat, no moisture, obvious things like that.

Storage is the key to your question, High heat and high moisture are the enemy of your ammo. I harvested earlier this year with some 300 ultramag I loaded back in 2001, and when I shot it before the hunt it was still less than a minute. Under the bed in a dry box is better than under the seat of the pickup. Properly stored, I would not be afraid to go 20 years. Today's components are very stable compared to those of 30 years ago. Good hunting,

 

-SD

[JLB]

I would agree with the above comments on long term stability of rounds built and kept cool and dry. I killed my buck this year with ammo I built over ten years ago. The bullets grouped just as well when I sighted in this year before the hunt (less than 1/2 inch 3 shot group).

[Mocha1545]

Storage is the key. Cool and dry. Shot some ammo for my Dad's 351 winchester that was over 40 years old and it shot fine. He kept it in his closet. Tried to shoot some 308 ammo I had reloaded a5 years ago and it didn't work wo well. It was stored in his shop with no climate control.