Shelf Life of Shotgun Ammunition???

[3" 870 Shell Shucker]

"I read somewhere on the internet" (disclaimer) where a person claimed to have found a statement somewhere on the Federal Ammunition website, which said that ammunition has a reliable life expectancy of 10 years.

This flies in the face of numerous reports of functional WWII surplus centerfire ammunition, and old paper-hull shotshells from the 1960's and earlier.

I have had bad experiences with 10 year old .22LR Rimfire ammunition, but never with centerfire ammo or shotshells?

Let's discuss this subject a little, in light of the "collections" possessed by some of the membership here.

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

I don't think I have ever seen ammo go bad due to age if it was in fact stored correctly.  I have shot some old 22 shells and shot shells that I know had to be around 15yrs old.  I'm pretty certain all went bang that I remember.

[spaightlabs]

Functional and performing to spec aren't the same.

I've got a bunch of oooooooold ammo around.  It still goes bang as it hasn't been exposed to wild temperature swings, humidity or water.  Haven't chrono'd any of it.

Recommendation of a friend in law enforcement is that if your life might depend on it - ammo in your home defense or carry weapon - rotate it out every 6 months to be sure.  Gives you the opportunity to practice with what you will be shooting in a critical situation and provides for a margin of certainty re ammo going boom.

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

Well I understand the need for wanting fresh reliable ammo especially if I worked for law enforcement.  But 6 mo of rotating ammo would in my opinion be rediculous.  I would have no problem whatsoever even using ammo that was 2, 3, 4, or even 5yrs old if it was stored right.  Trust me if the gov't is buying 1 and 1/2 billion hollow point bullets that stuff is gonna be around for along time.  And I would bet all will shoot just like those that came off the assembly line more than likely. 

[stinkpickle]

I keep all my ammo stored indoors, and it only gets handled when I go hunting or shooting.  I would hunt with some of my 20+ year old rounds without hesitation.

[captin_hook]

Keep it dry and store it in a dry location and it'll last a loooooong time!

[tomstopper]

I keep all my ammo stored indoors, and it only gets handled when I go hunting or shooting.  I would hunt with some of my 20+ year old rounds without hesitation.

Keep it dry and it will last forever......

[Bob Giese]

Just shot some some Remington 2x6 Duplex that have been in an unheated building since the 80s.
no malfunctions at all.

[DirtNap647]

i have even shot the old paper shells and they seem fine

[CASH]

I've got a partial case of Winny dove shells that's 13 years old that does just as good as the day I bought them.

[surehuntsalot]

I've got shells that are over 30 years old that still go bang every time I pull the trigger

[cuppednlocked]

I regularly shoot HP competitions with Greek milsurp ammunition that is 50+ years old.  I doubt it was stored "correctly".

As a test I recovered some .30-06 ammunition from a shipwreck off NC.  The headstamps are pre 1918.  The brass was solid but weakened by the submersion in salt water.  You could clearly hear the powder shake so I pulled 2 bullets and dumped the powder.  It did not appear to have suffered from time or saltwater.  I took a match to it and it burned as you would expect.

[Usahuntingear]

I still have 12 guage shells that I reloaded 20 years ago, they shoot fine.