# Question about old ammo



## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

A couple of buddies and I went shooting the other day in order to sight in a few rifles, including my 270 that I just bought a new scope for. Due to some moderate good fortune in the big game lottery, we have the chance to harvest an antlerless elk when we hunt general deer. Therefore, I sighted in using 150 grain bullets. (which is heavier than I usually use for deer) I purchased a new box, but also had a fairly old box that was about 25 or so years old. We shot both boxes and got the rifle shooting fairly well, but there was a notable difference in accuracy between the old box and new. 

My question is; How fast does ammo "degrade"? Should you expect problems shooting a box of "vintage" ammo? I don't have any more old stuff for the 270, but I inherited a 30-06 from my father with several boxes of old ammo for it that I may need to use or deal with at some point.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Modern ammo really doesn't degrade as long as it is kept in a dry environment. However depending on just how old it is it may be loaded to a higher pressure than a box of ammo that you just purchased yesterday.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Ammo doesn't just "degrade" for a long time if properly stored. If the ammo has been exposed to a moist environment for a while it may become "contaminated" and you can have misfires etc. I suspect the difference in accuracy is simply the result of different loads.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

I have never had a problem shooting old ammo, in fact last year I shot a deer with a "old" 150 gr. Remington Kleanbore bronze point. I used them to sight in, and they shot so good I figured why not try them on the hunt. I used my 1954 Winchester model 70 30.06 and I'm pretty sure the ammo is close to that same year. I have several boxes I just can't get rid of. Here they are.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Probably has more to do with the powder charge and type of projectiles. Some guns prefer one type of projectile over another. My brother has a 7x57 mauser that is very particular. One type of ammo is sub MOA another he is luck with 2 MOA


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

A lot of the older ammo was loaded to higher pressures to get higher velocities. I have some vintage .300 Savage ammo with a 150 grain bullet that is loaded to 2900 fps-the same as a .30-06. You will never find a factory round for it now days loaded that high. The same with the 250-3000 Savage and a lot of other older rounds. When they were first developed they loaded them to screaming velocities but after a few years they backed them off some.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Critter said:


> A lot of the older ammo was loaded to higher pressures to get higher velocities. I have some vintage .300 Savage ammo with a 150 grain bullet that is loaded to 2900 fps-the same as a .30-06. You will never find a factory round for it now days loaded that high. The same with the 250-3000 Savage and a lot of other older rounds. When they were first developed they loaded them to screaming velocities but after a few years they backed them off some.


Yep, liability issues my guess.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I always find the "old ammo" conversations interesting and informative. First question is what is old? 25 years? 40 years? 63 years?() 100 years? I don't know; depends on the condition of the ammo like BP said. Last week the grandkids and I shot up a bunch of new "old" .256 Winchester Mags, probably made 40 years ago. The rounds looked as good as any found over the counter today and I really didn't think about if they were OK or not; my bad I suppose, grandkids and all. The old ammo was as accurate as my reloads (given the gun has iron sights)

Shot some ammo made in the 1910s and 1920s because my curiosity got the best of me, dumb really, that 100-year old stuff is just too valuable to touch off. 

Read a story recently about a guy that shot (and killed) a bison with a vintage Sharps 45-somethin' or other and used real vintage ammo from the 1880s.

Shot a lot of Korean War surplus .30 Carbine and 30-06 with only a few duds.

I have a lot of reloads and factory ammo from the mid-1980s and I shoot it today without any hesitation, but you can never be too safe. I have shot my share of old ammo. There were a few duds, usually on old military stuff. Learn to recognize differences in muzzle noise and recoil. A squib round caught in a barrel can be a bad thing.

Geeze, that's it. I have some 1985 30-06 reloads, H4831 stuff, incredibly accurate out of my old 700. I'm outta here.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

Thanks guys. Good info.

I guess my question was more performance related as opposed to safety. My buddy had his chronometer set up and the old box was putting out at about 2600 fps and the new stuff was graphing at approx. 2900. However, it sounds like it is more the loads themselves making the difference. The ammo has been properly stored over the years.



wyogoob said:


> Shot a lot of Korean War surplus .30 Carbine and 30-06 with only a few duds.


Funny you should mention this. Some of my inherited 30-06 ammo is also Korea war era surplus.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Catherder said:


> Thanks guys. Good info.
> 
> I guess my question was more performance related as opposed to safety. My buddy had his chronometer set up and the old box was putting out at about 2600 fps and the new stuff was graphing at approx. 2900. However, it sounds like it is more the loads themselves making the difference. The ammo has been properly stored over the years.
> 
> ..................


Are you comparing apples to apples, the exact same ammo, just one is older than the other?

Doesn't matter much. You need to sight-in the ammo you want to use for the hunt, whether it's the old ammo or the new ammo. And there's nothing wrong with a 150 grain bullet doing 2600 fps muzzle.

.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

wyogoob said:


> Are you comparing apples to apples, the exact same ammo, just one is older than the other?


No, but it was close.

RE"Doesn't matter much. You need to sight-in the ammo you want to use for the hunt"

Agreed, did that.

RE"And there's nothing wrong with a 150 grain bullet doing 2600 fps muzzle."

Also agreed. I guess I'm mainly wondering if age was part of the performance difference on the group patterns (probably not) and if dads really old stuff will be more affected, if there is an effect at all, if/when I shoot it.


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

Shooting up old ammo can be extremely dangerous, particularly .22LR. In fact, if your ammo is over 90 days old you are running a huge risk of total ammo failure. Due to my supreme and unmatched benevolence however, I am willing to take any out dated ammo anybody has and dispose of it properly. In fact, in some cases, I may even help pay the postage. Don't be caught using up old ammo, send it to me today! :O||:


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