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#1
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Is old ammunition dangerous?
In 1967 I bought a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver and several boxes of ammunition. After a few visits to a firing range to learn how to use the gun, I put it and two boxes of ammunition on a shelf in my closet where they have remained ever since. I ran across them the other day and was wondering if the ammunition is still good after 38 years. If I tried to use it, would it misfire or blow-up?
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#2
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It'll probably work fine. At worst, you might have only a round or two misfire - that is fail to discharge. There's no danger of it "blowing up," though.
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#3
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Take it to the range and use it there. It's probably perfectly good, but I wouldn't trust it in a self-defense situation. Or give it to someone who has a .38 and wants practice ammo.
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#4
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There was a case a few years ago of a man in Oakland who bought a gun for home defense in the 50's, took it to the range a few times to practice, then put it under his bed until, a few years ago, somebroke into his apartment in the middle of the night. The guy was awakened by the intruder.
The ammunition still worked. |
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#5
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There should be no problems with it.
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#6
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As long as the cases show no sign of corrosion, you should be fine. I routinely shoot old shotgun shells, and some other centerfire ammuntion that my father-in-law has stored for many years. Much of that ammo is dated pre-1970.
I've found that much of it actually shoots BETTER than new factory loads that I can purchase today. Whether this is a case of better quality control then, better components, or simpler processes, I'm not sure. |
#7
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I've fired plenty of WW-II vintage ammo w/o problems of any kind.
Black powder era ammo might be an issue. The only real concern is corrosive primers, but good cleaning after shooting will deal with that. I might worry if the ammo was exposed to high levels of vibration. Burn rate depends on grain size. Otherwise, if it looks OK it probably is. |
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