Hello,
Still very new to this great Forum, looking for a little advice.
I have a 7 or 8 hundred rounds of old 9mm JHPs, 7-10 years old, and was wondering what people's opinions are on the reliability of it.
Should I use it for target practice, keep in on hand for Sh*t hit the fan, or just not worry about it?
It's been stored in reasonable conditions, but I'm not sure if I trust it enough to use for EDC.
Thanks,
Terry
If you don't trust it for every day reliability, shoot it at paper.
As look as it has not experienced temperature or humidity extremes, it should be fine. You can always carefully visually inspect the rounds, as well as test fire some...
Facts matter...Feelings Can Lie
I've never seen properly stored, name brand ammo go bad. As an example, I have a stash of both Federal and Remington's version of .357 magnum 125gr SJHP that is literally *decades* old. As revolvers come, and revolvers go in my life, on occasion a new .357 comes in, and I'll dig up a box to try "some full power .357" in the new gun. It's always worked (and muzzle flashed) just like I remember it from the late 80s/early 90s.
If you have a gun your interested in EDCing with your stash, shoot a couple hundred rounds through it and see for yourself.
The only caveat being: there may be better ammo available now, but 7-8 years isn't very old. It's not like it's 90s era silvertip or the original 147gr JHP loading, yes?
ETA: I see that the doc posted just before I did. I'd be more concerned with your ammo being on his vetted list than being old.
Last edited by Totem Polar; 01-29-2017 at 02:47 PM.
Timely thread.
I have a quantity of 9mm stored in new .50 cal and .30 cal ammo cans. I've left it for over a year with a few of those desiccant packs. Good to know it should be gtg.
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We have done a fair amount of historical testing on ammo from the early 20th century. All of the ammo, including original .30-06 ball from 1912, went bang without problems...
Facts matter...Feelings Can Lie
I found a case of .45acp military ball from 1964 in an old barn a few years ago. The box it was in was covered in mold, and it had been subjected to many summers, winters, and high humidity. The brass was pretty tarnished, but none of that blue/green corrosion that you get when it has started the galvanic corrosion process. I shot it all up over a period of about a year. It wasn't as accurate as most factory brass cased loads, and I had around a dozen failures to fire. Not a bad track record though considering what it had been through.
The past few years I started shooting up some of my reserve ammo I loaded in the early or mid 80s. Its all been fine, including some that has lived in vehicles for several years, 365 days/year, hot and cold. Its all been fine, though I don't use some of it for carry as a first choice. I mainly worry about lead bullet pistol ammo, if the lube may have melted and run into the powder. If stored bullet end down, as in boxes, its probably OK. Some may have been in plastic bags, speed loaders, and cartridge belts, so no telling how it was oriented. So far never had any problems with 30-some year old handloads though.
About 2 decades ago a friend found 2 and 2/3 boxes of 1918 produced cupro nickle jacket 45 ACP from Frankford Arsenal....WWI GI ammo. He decided on the partial box that he had to satisfy his curiosity. We fired 12 rounds, all perfect, shot over my chrono at the time about 725-750 fps in a 5" government model. No idea how it has been stored. Something stored properly for 25 years would be of no concern at all to me.
Thanks everyone for the good advice..., sounds like at minimum it's at least still good to keep on hand for sh$t hit the fan, maybe take a box or two and try them out.
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