I have not reloaded on a regular basis in over 20 years. I still have powder and primers left from back then.
The primers are still in their original box,trays and the powder is still in it's original container. The powder has been opened but the lid has been on it tight.
Other than loading 50 test rounds is there any way to tell if any of it has gone bad.
If still good I probably have enough supply's to reload 1000 round of ammo.

Thanks

Not in my experience, limited as it may be. Dad's been dead since 1980, I'm still using some of his stuff. It wasn't new in 1980, either. I guess it depends on what you want to use if for. If it may be called upon to save your life, 50 rounds is between minor and nothing. Only you can value your own life.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:
Not in my experience, limited as it may be. Dad's been dead since 1980, I'm still using some of his stuff. It wasn't new in 1980, either. I guess it depends on what you want to use if for. If it may be called upon to save your life, 50 rounds is between minor and nothing. Only you can value your own life.

Thanks for the reply.
I may just load 50 rounds an test them.
These would only be for range practice. All of my self defense ammo is factory.

I’ve gotten old, mostly powder, from relatives or friends. Some of the vintage seems 70’s. I look the powder over, once satisfied it’s the correct powder in the can I load it.

For the most part this is for prairie dogging or range loads. This has also come from sources I trust.

I had one or two not in the original container, I disposed of it. I haven’t been ‘burnt’ yet.

A friend died a couple of months ago and his brother dropped off some of his reloading supplies. I think the primers are close to 40 years old. I plan to load a few rounds and test them. However, I am sure they will be just fine.

I would have to say the manor in which they were stowed.
Early fifty[plus years back I got in the habit of stashing my supplies in ammo cans in my garage cabinets.
Back then powder came in cardboard containers unless you bought a keg.
Took me a couple to use up a keg of IMR4350.
Back then two hundred yards was Flint river swamp.
Sadly that ended when some crooked developer bribed the county commission and built homes in flood plane.That folly ended after a couple 100 year rains with lots of working folk loosing .

Heat is what damages powders and primers. In the military we were required to keep track of how many HOURS any item was over 100° f. After “x” hours the ammo was reclassified and used for training or destroyed.
The hours were reduced in ten degree steps..so once an item went over 110° it was re classified at “y” hours...and so on.

In 1989 I shot ammo from 1940
In 1992 I shot 20mm ammo from 1936.
In big gun calibers, we always tried to shoot the oldest stuff first, but I only saw 30 year old 76mm ammo...

Smell the powder, and if it does not have an acrid(acid) smell, then it is most likely good to go. The only way to know about primers is to test fire a few and see how they do. I would bet that all is just fine.

If they are stored in dryish, not-too-hot conditions, they should last for decades. Any indoor storage should be fine. Even garage storage ought to be fine, barring any unusually hot and humid places.

The shooter next to me at the rifle range today was fire-forming brass. He said the primers used for that were underwater for 2 days in 2004 due to a flood and that he would not use them in a match. He never had one misfire but still did not completely trust them.

This would be for range use only so the only thing it will cost me to find out is time.
Everyone's responses give me hope that it will be fine for that use.
Thanks everyone for your help.

Let me share this about the life expectancy of primers...I moved from Georgia to Tennessee in 1986 and we had some plastic tubs with odds and ends which we put into the attic over the garage...one was a tub labeled “sundry shit”...

Long story short...in 2010 if my memory is correct...we had some garage ceiling issues with the ceiling sagging...so before The contractor started to go up to reinforce the attic to repair and reinforce the ceiling, he asked to clear out everything out of the attic and I found said tub which contained some abandoned steel pistol reloading dies and other reloading stuff. I found a partial box of CCI small magnum pistol primers (back when they had three triangles on their box logo)...plus a clip of 7.35 1938 Carcano cartridges that all fired...

After over two decades in the hot and cold attic environment...I loaded up a few cases of .357 using these primers just to see if they would go bang...and ever one of them did to my surprise ...

Would I trust them for self defense? NO!

Would I trust them in competition? NO!

But it made me realize that too much emphasis is placed on primer life... I believe primers and powder will last longer tha us

YMMV

When I was a kid I got 45 acp from WW1, mostly Peters and US Cartridge. Some of the brass split upon firing, but it all went bang. I bought a bunch of 43 Spanish UMC, so pre-1910. It all went bang, until I realized it is now way too pricey as a collector round to shoot. The 1886 dated Austrian 11mm works too. Hodgden was selling 4831 surplus from WW2 into the 70s or 80s, it still shoots good groups today. On the other hand, I had a can of IMR 4320 go bad on the shelf couple years ago, it was maybe 2 years old at the time. Had some German 1944 dated 8x57 rusting thru the cases from the inside last year. No warranty on that, so it went overboard in 143 ft of water. All this to say, YMMV.

I have ammunition from WWII that all shoots fine. Properly stored, ammunition will last a lifetime.

Around 2010 I fired some 1916 head stamp 45Auto ammunition my Grandfather had loaded in the 12 Colt Magazines he bought new from Colt for his 1912 vintage Government model 45... According to him (if memory serves me) he paid $1.00 each for them along with the pistol in 1912.

The magazines are 'key hole' mags.

Not only did the ammo all work and it was stored in the south for around 40 years before in pre air conditioning days.

As a bonus the magazines I shot were loaded in late 1917 to early 1918.,.. and they worked too...

I expect the primers, powder and ammo I have now to last a couple of lifetimes...

FWIW

Chuck

I have some 748 and maybe a can of 4895 that are 90's, if not late 80's vintage, and I am still using them (8lb can)

I had 2 bottles, 2lbs each, of N540 and N140 that soured,

soured as in the tops popped, and they smelled like Chlorine,
even the condensate the ran down the bottle smelled like bleach and left a white spot on the wood cabinet they were stored in,



I buy and flip a lot of estates, and have found plenty of partial cans, none of which seemed bad, (smell and look)

I burn those off, cause you never trust anyone with open powder

Thanks again everyone. If I get around to doing some reloads I will let you know how the rounds do.

I loaded 20 rounds of 9mm yesterday with these old primers and every round fired just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by maxwayne:
A friend died a couple of months ago and his brother dropped off some of his reloading supplies. I think the primers are close to 40 years old. I plan to load a few rounds and test them. However, I am sure they will be just fine.

I would like to move my reloading supplies to my attached garage. I am wondering if this will be ok. From what i have read here, it should be ok?

It should be. The key word here is should. How you pack it will make a difference, as in the widely available plastic storage tubs with sealing lid. Means the stuff will be double sealed. Guess I tend to try to really break apart things others say and maybe think it through too much. Unmolested stuff tends to last a long time. At least if its packed well.

There is nothing magic about factory ammo. It goes bad, too. Components used in factory ammo isn't any better than we use handloading. Remember powder is stored underwater by the makers. Keeps it fresh. Factory ammo goes bad, too. I went on a "kick" of buying old ammo a while back. OK, a long while back. I picked up two boxes of ancient .30-06 ammo. It was only maybe $1 a box of 20. Cheap because it maybe had a problem. I have boots that have problems, too.

Anyway, one of the cases had a scab on it. When I picked it off, the case itself depressurized. It was hissing like a scared house cat. Genuine American made factory hunting ammo (Probably Remington). You can move and store components regardless of if they're assembled or still separate. And no one can guarantee they'll still be good decades later. Only you can determine that. Start by burning off a small pile of it. Then load up some light loads and test them. Almost always they'll be good, as in going bang when asked to do so. Then loading up more and finding a range and trying to shoot good groups. Its a progression and the reason we tell everyone who asks is we've mostly found they still work. The one flaw in that ointment is my box of factory hunting loads that hissed at me. But factory ammo can go bad, just like hand loads and unloaded components. I tend to doubt there are any real differences.