Some of the ammunition cache which was stored at 5809 Taft Street in Middleton, Wisconsin.
Posted on 09/18/2021 5:50:45 AM PDT by marktwain
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- How long can ammunition be stored before it degrades? Much depends on the storage conditions. With reasonable care, ammunition has a shelf life of many decades, as verified by tests done with military centerfire cartridges.
But how long does .22 rimfire last before it starts to degrade? There has not been much systematic long-term storage testing of .22 rimfire. It tends to be used as an expendable item. Some people have found an old box or two of ammunition and checked it for viability.
This correspondent was able to obtain a large cache of 65+-year-old .22 rimfire ammunition with a good pedigree. The bulk of the ammunition was Remington Standard Velocity .22 Long Rifle ammunition made before 1956.
I met the owner at the University of Wisconsin in 1970. We started a friendship that lasted 48 years, to his death in 2018. The friend was Don Cowling from Middleton, Wisconsin. He is the world record rat hunter who this correspondent wrote about in 2016, when I became aware of the provenance and extent of the ammunition cache.
From that article:
The .22 ammunition has been in the jars for over 60 years. He allowed me to crack the seal on a mason jar that had been filled before I entered first grade. I anticipated an odor of acetone, as you often find in old smokeless powder. I could not detect any, nor could my friend. There was a faint hint of old wax, barely noticeable.
My friend gave me an even two dozen rounds to test to see if it had been degraded. I shot the ammunition out of a Mossberg target rifle of similar age.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
The ammunition was tested as essentially the same quality as CCI Standard Velocity .22 Long Rifle, new.
Some of the ammunition cache which was stored at 5809 Taft Street in Middleton, Wisconsin.
Not surprising.
A few years ago I acquired/shot some British “Radway Green” .45 ACP ammo that was about 60 years old at the time, and it worked just like brand new.
.303 Enfield ammo from the Pakistani Ordnance Factory, however, not so much; lots of “click-bangs”.
Had to search but the answer is ...
My friend gave me an even two dozen rounds to test ... Every round fired as though it were new.
I found old WW2 30-06 worked just fine.
Purchased some Western Auto ‘Wild Cat’ boxes. Seem to work fine.
Diana: Good use for any excess mason jars that weren’t filled with garden produce this year!
Don't recall any misfires.
Some years ago I got some Mauser 8mm rifle ammo. The ammo was made in Romania the 1950s and was sealed in tins. When I opened a tin, there was a strong acetone odor. But I shot hundreds of rounds over a couple of years. No misfires and it seemed as accurate as modern ammo. Now I wonder if the acetone oder was from it degrading but somehow it was still functional.
No surprise. The differences in spread and velocity variability could have been inherent to the ammo when it was new.
I’ve still got a couple of boxes of Remington .22 LR of my Dad’s that are probably from the 1940s, in the original paper boxes. In all this time, think I’ve seen one round that had some extruded white substance and a little green brass oxide. Undoubtedly from a ceiling drip somewhere 70 years ago. Tossed it. Never had a problem with any of the rest of it. Fires just like my new boxes.
I expect the shelf life of .22 rimfire is well over a hundred years.
I could be wrong, but the degradation may be halted once the confines of the can reach the vapor pressure of acetone, A reason for air-tight storage.
Farmers in France still occasionally hit a WW1 cannon shell and it explodes.
Never knew Radway made .45 ACP, though since the British had Thompson SMGs in inventory during WW2 I suppose it would make sense.
As to the POF .303, I’ve heard if you let it warm up first (like letting it sit out in the sun for a while) it makes a difference with the hangfires. It’s been speculated that that was the last ammo in the world made with actual Cordite propellant.
I fired one round out of a box of 8mm Mauser from 1926 Germany. I had bought 2 boxes. The box I opened looked like it came out of the factory last week. Too collectible to fire anymore rounds.
The POF .303 does seem to work better when warmer.
Back in 1970, I was shooting nazi head stamped 9MM from my Browning HP. All shot fine!
A few days later I noticed (gasp) horrible BARREL CORROSION!
Unfortunatly, they are corrosive. Your example was, not doubt a strong learning influence in your life!
I bet you did not make that mistake a second time!
It appears the non-corrosive primers were perfected enough by 1956, that they are extremely stable and reliable as well.
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