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I have to admmit, I had something strange happen to me awhile back that made me think about bulk ammo. I bought 1000 rounds of no name 9mm ammo back in the 80's. I shot a few boxes and it was fine. I lived and moved and moved and lived in different places so about 15-20 years later, I pulled the old 9mm out and was going to plink some. I shot a couple and then had a stovepipe, a couple more and a jam. I looked at the brass and it looked as though that were loaded hot. Pimpled primers and stretch marks, and after a couple more rounds, a split case. I shot maybe 20 shots all together and the ammo was usless for anything serious. Retrieved another box and the same thing. Then the gun wouldn't eject. I had a bent ejector.

I couldn't figure out what went wrong as I had shot these same rounds a few years back just fine with the same gun.

I asked around and was told that after storage and moving, the powder can break into smaller pieces and make the powder burn too fast. I had military rounds from the 50's that shot fine so I doubted that explanation. As it turned out, I removed the bullets and the guy was right. The powder looked as if it had several different powders in the brass case. Some as small as sand and others twice as big. Apparently carting cases of ammo around in a car trunk for hundreds of miles jiggles some powders enough to make them disintegrate.

Pulled the bullets, reloaded modern powder, and seated the same bullets in the same cases and all was solved.

I suppose if you buy thousands of rounds to store in your closet and never move them it will be all right, but don't jiggle them to much.