Author Topic: life expectancy of rimfire cartriges (Read 2634 times)

JBlk · « **on:** October 11, 2008, 04:05:43 AM »

My buddy does allot of coon hunting and complains that after a couple of years the cartridges that he uses either misfire or act like they have a reduced powder charge.He has tried several different brands, and says they all do the same thing.I don't seem to have any trouble with my rounds, and I don't make any special storage methods.Does anyone else have this problem?

CannonKrazy · « **Reply #1 on:** October 11, 2008, 04:40:01 AM »

I have put bricks of ammo away for years and didn't see any change in the way they shoot. Once I left a box of Remington Yellow Jackets on top of a fence post by accident. The box of ammo stayed there for over a month before I seen them while riding my four wheeler. I tried the ammo and they shot just like they had been kept indoors. I have noticed a difference in ammo that has been in my truck tool box for a few months. I think that all the bouncing around they do might loosen the priming charge inside the cartridge. Don't know for sure but that's my guess.

Graybeard · « **Reply #2 on:** October 11, 2008, 01:37:04 PM »

Properly stored they will last almost forever.

Double D · « **Reply #3 on:** October 11, 2008, 02:34:43 PM »

I have some out in the shop that were old when I got them 25 years ago. Used some of them this year and they worked just fine.

Victor3 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 12, 2008, 11:54:27 PM »

My Dad bought several cases of CCI Blazer when it went on sale ~40 years ago. Some boxes were moldy and falling apart from sitting in the back of his garage on a slab floor for decades, and some of the cases have brown spots here and there. I still have some, and it shoots fine. I've shot 60+ year old stuff and couldn't tell it from new.

When I was a kid I'd pick up 22 shells from under water in streams, and others that were dark brown with crusty white bullets that had sat for many seasons under snow. They mostly all fired.

22's are sealed pretty well, considering there is no primer pocket and the bullet is crimped in tight. The lube on some types no doubt helps to preserve it.

WILDCATT · « **Reply #5 on:** October 13, 2008, 01:40:04 AM »

I have some les smoke cartridges made back in the late 30s I shoot one every now and then.very smoky

ironglow · « **Reply #6 on:** October 14, 2008, 03:43:17 PM »

I don't store cartridges in a small, closed draw or cabinet..I have been told that fumes can slowly creep through the seal and into the powder .
That being said, I have found old .22 cartridges laying around in a cabinet, draw or closet that have been there ..I don't know how many years, and noticed no difference. I bought a brick of yellowjackets about 20 years ago and didn't like their performance, so I gave some away and just finished off the last of them a couple months ago. The last ones performed like the first ones..

toysoldier · « **Reply #7 on:** October 18, 2008, 02:09:28 PM »

I was shooting up some old ammo, and had problems with some CCI Stingers that were 15-20 years old. All 25 failed to fire. These had been stored in my basement, and weren't corroded. Older stuff worked. More recently, I was firing some very old .22's that I picked up at a yard sale years ago. Had to clean the white fuzz off the bullets. Shooting them through my H&R 999, about a third of them split, many through the base. Just a hadfull of duds, though. I've read that heat is the real killer of smokeless propellant. Summer in a tool box will seriously affect performance.

bilmac · « **Reply #8 on:** October 18, 2008, 03:01:24 PM »

I have noticed some 22s have lots of misfires and some have reduced reports. These were a from brick of Win Wildcats that I had had for maybe 8 or 10 years. I suppose that I had let them get hot at some time in that period.

ironglow · « **Reply #9 on:** October 19, 2008, 06:17:50 AM »

The fumes I spoke about were fumes from such things as bore cleaner etc...without that contamination they should last many years..

Dand · « **Reply #10 on:** October 20, 2008, 08:57:14 PM »

As my boys have become old enough to shoot, we are working through my stash of .22 bricks. Rather quickly some days. Some I bought back in the early 1980's I think. All the ammo I bought and stored is working fine. When my dad passed away I found a 100 pack of Wards stuff that he had left in his gun rack. I think it was 1980's stuff too but about half wouldn't fire. For some it was the gun - my son's Chipmunk didn't hit it hard enough to fire it but my Marlin 39A would fire it fine. A remaining 1/4 wouldn't fire at all. Dad's gun rack was hung where the afternoon sun could shine on it and I'm guessing that years of cooking in the sun was the problem.

Waldo Pepper · « **Reply #11 on:** October 28, 2008, 08:41:06 AM »

Shot the last of my dads WWII ammo he got in 1943 this past spring, not the first FF in the bunch.

teddy12b · « **Reply #12 on:** November 11, 2008, 11:00:59 AM »

I was just about to start asking questions about this topic when I saw it had already been started. We have (2) 22lr rifles in the family and they are both picky about what ammo they'll shoot. One is a tube fed Marlin, and the other is my brother in laws 10/22. I buy the bulk 500 round pack for 22's and every once in a while I just start going through dud, after dud. I thought that 22LR ammo just went bad after a while, but maybe it's the guns. Should I replace firing pins or something?

Keith L · « **Reply #13 on:** November 11, 2008, 12:37:28 PM »

I also have trouble with some of the bulk pack ammo. Remington bulk ammo tends to have a few in each pack. CCI and Federal tend to be more reliable. ymmv

STUMPJMPR · « **Reply #14 on:** November 12, 2008, 08:18:33 AM »

I've had problems with all cheap rimfire ammo... accuracy and inconsistent fire.... If you want consistency buy some ELY...

hillbill · « **Reply #15 on:** November 13, 2008, 01:55:23 AM »

i think some of the boys here have hit on the fact that laying on the dash of your truck or in the tool box in the hot summer sun seems to be whats killing most of the ammo.Ive had it happen.and i dont doubt that now and then some plant manager tried to cut costs using cheaper materials that degraded quicker over time in certain lots of ammo.

teddy12b · « **Reply #16 on:** November 13, 2008, 02:21:36 AM »

All the rimfire ammo I've had experience with has been stored inside in a dry basement on a shelf or something similar. I've had the best luck with federal copper plated hollow points. They just seem to work better. I know it seems weird but do you think putting the rimfire ammo in a ziplock keep it fresher over the years?

ironglow · « **Reply #17 on:** November 13, 2008, 04:39:02 AM »

Teddy;
I'm no ammo expert, but I would expect that the inside of a zip-lock wouild tend to draw vapors while hot and sweat when it cools.
Perhaps if some dessicant were put in the bag with it. For me, what I have learned with some really old stuff..I'll just keep it dry and away from invasive chemicals.

Bigeasy · « **Reply #18 on:** November 13, 2008, 07:35:28 AM »

I have a box of "Sears" brand 22 lr that I got from my father that I would estimate are from the early 1950's. I tried a few thru my Kimber rifle last year. I did not chrono them, but they sounded right, and grouped about the same as modern wildcats and thunderbolts. They were stored in an attic.

Larry

Dand · « **Reply #19 on:** November 13, 2008, 10:47:24 PM »

Teddy above asked about replacing firing pins. That is one possible solution but I'd recommend a very thorough cleaning first. A lot of gunk builds up when shooting 22s and it gets everywhere, especially on autoloaders. If you can't fully disassemble the firing mechanism, get some of that spray in brake cleaner or stuff specifically designed for guns {gun scrubber?}. clean out the mechanism that houses the firing pin. Also look for peening on the impact end of the pin. I have seen guys have trouble at the range and when asked how much ammo was shot since last cleaning and heard 300 rounds. Some guns can go much more than that without cleaning but some not. Clean out around the chamber and breach too.

Good luck.

toysoldier · « **Reply #20 on:** November 18, 2008, 04:12:52 PM »

Dand, +1 on the cleaning. Any time a .22 is cleaned, there shoud be a supply of toothpicks available. Probe every corner. What looks like a nicely radiused cut is a sharp corner filled with gunk. Solvent and meticulous digging will eventually clean any .22. I once "repaired" a .22 revolver that wasn't firing (light hits) by removing a grass stem from between the hammer and frame.

OLDHandgunner · « **Reply #21 on:** November 19, 2008, 03:15:04 AM »

I guess it depends on how they were stored. A few years ago a friend of our family asked me if I would be interested in some old ammo that her father had in his 50's ( Civil Defense Fall Out Shelter ) that he had built in his basement. She was cleaning out things to move and found this ammo. Of coarse I didn't pass up something for free, especially gun stuff. These were all unopened and like new.
1 brick (500) Remington Hi-Speed Kleanbore 22 Short HP's ( black lead tips ) & ( red & green box )
1 brick (500) Winchester SuperX 22 LR Shot Cartridges ( white & blue box )
8 boxes Winchester SuperX 218 Bee HP ( yellow & blue box )
6 boxes JC Higgens 12ga # 4 Shot paper shells ( blue & red boxes )
Of coarse I asked where the guns were. She said she didn't know. DAMN!!! I can only imagine what he had for guns. Oh well, I couldn't be that lucky.

Anyway's I have shot some of the 22's and they shot just fine. The 22 Short HP's are a blast to use on small game. They sound like Sub-Sonic's, very quiet.

hillbill · « **Reply #22 on:** November 26, 2008, 01:55:06 PM »

wow those were a good find! if yuu want to use the 22 shot shells try this. i use them sitting on the back porch shooting wood boreing bees that come to chew into the porch rafters.whatta hoot. kinda like mini skeet.

Mike Britton · « **Reply #23 on:** November 27, 2008, 11:54:27 AM »

I have a friend that buys and sells antique ammo.
We've shot .22 stuff from as early as the late 'teens. I think it depends on how well it's stored over the years. The stuff I'm plinking with now is from the '60's. I think it's interesting that.25 RF stuff from the same age as our early .22's (say,late '30's early '40's) may be half duds !?!

S.S. · « **Reply #24 on:** December 20, 2008, 05:02:55 PM »

I am going to do an experiment on this tomorrow.
I just sold an old truck that I had sitting by the barn for about the last 8 years.
In the truck was some old cheap winchester wildcat .22 ammo.
The box is faded almost white by the sun. Sweltering heat being sealed up
in the truck has melted the lube off the rounds and I am sure has taken some
toll on the powder. It should be interesting to see how many
are squibs or fail to fire.

Hillbilly Jim · « **Reply #25 on:** December 23, 2008, 03:06:56 PM »

I have and shoot a lot of 22 ammo that is 50 years old. Never any problem so far. it is stored in an ammo cabinet I built about 25 years ago out of oak lumber. Now that causes a problem for lead tipped ammo. Fumes from the oak [tannic acid?] cause the lead bullets to oxidize and they are covered with lead oxide a whiteish substance, which causes chambering problems in tight chambers.
They shoot ok but copper washed or plated bullets or bullets with a heavy wax coating have no problem.
Shoot often and straight.
Hillbilly Jim

trotterlg · « **Reply #26 on:** December 23, 2008, 06:27:29 PM »

Not RF but I have some 1938 45 ACP that shoots just fine, unless it goes back to black powder days it may last forever. Larry