Going through some old stuff and....

A few years ago, I found a box of shotgun shells in the back of my closet from the '70's. They were bought at "Gemco," which is now "Target," from my competition days. The price sticker was still on the box - $.99. Yeah...that's 99 cents.
The brass was a nice brownish corroded color....
 
win231 said:
A few years ago, I found a box of shotgun shells in the back of my closet from the '70's. They were bought at "Gemco," which is now "Target," from my competition days. The price sticker was still on the box - $.99. Yeah...that's 99 cents.
The brass was a nice brownish corroded color....
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I don't know whether I would use those or not.

I have heard that shells are good for up to 50 years, but I am clueless as to whether or not that is true. I have some pretty old 20 and 12 gauge and some 270, 44 mag, and 22 rimfire myself, and I know that I will need to get rid of it as I don't even own a shotgun or a 270 rifle anymore.
 
Pecos said:
I don't know whether I would use those or not.

I have heard that shells are good for up to 50 years, but I am clueless as to whether or not that is true. I have some pretty old 20 and 12 gauge and some 270, 44 mag, and 22 rimfire myself, and I know that I will need to get rid of it as I don't even own a shotgun or a 270 rifle anymore.
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I won't use them. The corrosion may have weakened the brass & it's not worth the risk to me or my gun.
If the brass in your 270 & 44 Magnum is green or corroded, I wouldn't use them. They are much higher pressure than my 12 Ga. skeet & trap loads. I've handloaded 44 Magnum & the brass usually splits after 2-3 loadings.
I also replace the ammo in my house guns every 8-9 years. We don't want to use stale ammo on an intruder....... 😊
 
[QUOTE="Pecos, post: 1496385, member: 7123]I have heard that shells are good for up to 50 years, but I am clueless as to whether or not that is true.[/QUOTE]

I've been told that they last indefinitely but that's bit hard to swallow. Two weeks ago I fired some .38 rounds that were bought in April 1968 and they fired just fine.
 
Damaged Goods said:
[QUOTE="Pecos, post: 1496385, member: 7123]I have heard that shells are good for up to 50 years, but I am clueless as to whether or not that is true.
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I've been told that they last indefinitely but that's bit hard to swallow. Two weeks ago I fired some .38 rounds that were bought in April 1968 and they fired just fine.
[/QUOTE]
The biggest factor is not time; it's how they're stored. If the temperature doesn't fluctuate widely, powder and loaded rounds will last almost forever. I replaced some ammo in my sister's gun that was 35 years old. I took her old ammo to the range. Out of 60 rounds, I had 3 that wouldn't fire. The primers were dead. When I pulled the bullets at home & lit the powder on those three, all the powder burned normally, so I know it was the primers that died. That's probably why military ammo that's going to be treated roughly - tossed around in mud & water has red lacquer sealant around the primer pockets.
 
I found this newspaper in my loft a couple of years ago... completely intact

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I saved my old tax disc which you had to display on your windscreen to show you had paid tax to allow your car to be on the road. It's not that old but I loved the discs. Each year the colour would be different. The tax discs were abolished October 2014, mine is 2015 which is the date that it expired. I had purchased for a year prior to October 2014. :cry:
 

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Treacle said:
I saved my old tax disc which you had to display on your windscreen to show you had paid tax to allow your car to be on the road. It's not that old but I loved the discs. Each year the colour would be different. The tax discs were abolished October 2014, mine is 2015 which is the date that it expired. I had purchased for a year prior to October 2014. :cry:
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I've got loads of my old ones too Treacle... :D
 

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