How long does Ammo last

[Super Scout]

I was helping my girlfriend clean out her garage and we stumbled upon a box of ammo. .357, .38 special, .22 lr, and 12 gauge. Any Idea how long this kinda stuff last. The bullets all appear decent. The .357 and .38 are reloads, the shot gun shells are in decent shape but some have a little rust. Also if they are not any good does anyone know what the hell I can do with them?

[ridgerunner97]

Steve are the shotshells plastic? I've shot older shotshells with slight rust on them, obviously if its like scaly as hell and looks rough I wouldn't shoot it. The rest of that ammo should be okay for a long while i'd imagine, as long as it didn't get subjected to moisture constantly.

[Super Scout]

Yeah they are plastic, some are fine others have some rust on them.

[joshs1ofakindxj]

I'm shooting surplus ammo from the 70's and 60's a lot of the time, but moisture is the enemy of ammunition.

If you want to get rid of the ammo, take pliers and pull out the bullets and open the shells. You can throw away everything in the trash except for the powder, which you can sprinkle on your lawn or in the garden. It's a good fertilizer.

[ridgerunner97]

I'm shooting surplus ammo from the 70's and 60's a lot of the time, but moisture is the enemy of ammunition.

If you want to get rid of the ammo, take pliers and pull out the bullets and open the shells. You can throw away everything in the trash except for the powder, which you can sprinkle on your lawn or in the garden. It's a good fertilizer.

Steve be careful trying that with the 22 lr LOL they are Rimfire :)

[HoodRN]

I bought an ammo can full of .45 auto magazines loaded with ball ammo that were loaded in 1944. Loaded and fired the whole batch through my 70 series Colt. No misfires or failures to feed. Not one. This ammo sat in a barn for 60+ years.

[highlandercj-7]

Depends on how bad the corrosion is. I had some 357 HP's, that got submerged when I sunk my CJ. I polished them up and they shot fine.

[jim91303]

as long as the rust is just surface and not real bad around the primer.... ok
if in doubt ..... take them to a police dept ... they can dispose of it correctly

[justin'sbig7]

ill take it if you dont want it... i can at least use the brass. pliers arent too good of an idea.

[doublejz]

yea plyers suck.. just buy one of these

http://www.cabelas.com/fryprod-0/product--Cabelas-Bullet-Puller--705511.uts.shtml

[sethman15210]

ask around for a vacuum saver, i store all my loaded ammo in them bags. air and water tight.

[JeepSteeler]

I just keep shooting until it's gone, then buy more. :)

[mangotango]

I advise against the pliers idea. If you have any doubt, your local cops likely will take it or contact a shooting club/range -- they usually have a way of getting rid of unwanted ammo...

As for the rust, if it's just a little brown, try a piece of sandpaper. If you get shiny brass with just a little pressure, it's good to go. If, however, you see rusty patches with green spots in the middle, get rid of it, the tensile strength of the metal likely is compromised.

[trailblaze]

i could take some off your hands if you were looking to sell. or....if you didn't have say the .357 or .38 pistol we could go shooting and i'd let you fire them off in my gun.... as long as i could join in.