Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Old ammo reliability

I would gladly take those of your hands just kidding.

Those loads will bring premium $'s if you wanted to sell them. In my opinion they are much better for elk than the 200 grain loads.

I've had trouble with old ammo. Pre WW2 shotgun ammo splitting at the base.

1988 isn't old.

I'm still shooting some 7X57mm that I bought in 1958 that was produced in the late 1890's. IIRC, I paid $15 dollars for 1,000 rounds (175 gr. RN FMJ). I use it in a Remington M1905 Rolling Block that I bought at age 15 (mail-order from Golden State Arms) for $9.95. It's a shame that such firearms can't be readily found now at such prices!

Anyway the ammo still fires with only a very rare dud.

I found old ammo reliable about 5 years ago when I decided to hunt Whitetail with some old 250-3000 ammo that my Father left me. The bullets were re-seated .025 deeper to make sure they had not bonded with the case.



87 grain ammo worked.

Heat and moisture will degrade stored ammo. Moisture issues, at some point you'll detect visible clues on the bullet and case. Heat issues, may chemically break down the load, having no visible clues. Storage in a vehicle during the summer can easily reach temps high enough and long enough to degrade ammo.

Absent excessive heat and moisture, I'd expect modern loads to easily store a decade or so in great shape. In ideal conditions, decades. But I'd also expect that modern loads, today, are markedly improved over loadings from a half century ago, from the get go. So in that context, your ammo from a half century ago would likely not be as tolerant to the extremes as a current equivalent.