I have “a bunch” of rounds for an A303 that were reloaded by someone around
1979, along with “a bunch” more of factory loaded .22 shells that were purchased
in 1980 or 81. Are they still good? If I move them will they blow up? If I load them
and fire will the chamber blow up? Should I throw them out? While we are on the subject,
I hear there is an ammo shortage, so what’s the deal with selling ammo?
Is it legal? If I put it on Craig’s list, will I get a visit from the authorities?
If the factory loaded ammo was stored in a reasonably dry area (not underwater), with reasonable temperatures (suitable for humans), it should be fine - I routinely fire 3006 ammo that was manufactured in the 60s. Check to see if the brass is corroded and discard such rounds - there’s a chance the brass could split when fired. I won’t make any statement on the reloads.
Selling ammo is completely dependent on the laws of your state. I have no idea if craigslist has any sort of gun/ammo policy - I know ebay won’t allow such a listing.
My dad has a bunch of bricks of .22LR rounds laying around from his college days on the rifle team – which would date it back around 1980. In our experience, it works just great in his bolt-action rifles, but causes all sorts of misfeeds on his semi-automatic rifle (but newer ammo worked fine). Our guess was that the old ammo had lost some of its “oomph” (highly technical term, that), and couldn’t cycle the action completely.
Ammo doesn’t really go bad in any reasonable sense if it is stored properly. You can still buy and shoot WWII surplus ammunition and maybe even older. It may be less reliable but there isn’t anything dangerous about it.
I’ve shot plenty of ammo from the 50’s. My FIL has ammo even older than that, and I’m sure some of it will come my way someday… I’ll have no problem shooting any of it when that day comes.
As said above, stored properly, it lasts nearly forever, though inspection is required prior to loading, to eliminate suspect rounds.
I have fired factory and government ammo that was 100 years old or more at times - as much for the giggles as anything else. If it passed visual inspection it usually functioned fine. At the worse would be a misfire or two; especially with some pre-WW II .303British and some .30-40 Krag stuff I shot up. If it misfires, count to ten slow, eject, and go about shooting.
<<I have “a bunch” of rounds for an A303 that were reloaded by someone around
1979,>>
Personally I will never fire someone else’s reloads; not even relatives I know and trust on a daily basis. I also never give my reloads to anyone else. I have a habit of loading hot now and then for a couple specific weapons and conditions and it just isn’t a good thing to do. With the reloads I would either take them apart (I have the experience to do that) reusing the cases and bullets (but dump the powder) or spray them down good with penetrating oil and tossing them.
I was going to ask a supplementary question based on the OP, and I suppose this is probably the answer. So this is the procedure for disposing of old ammo that will never be used, yes?
As someone pointed out, for modern factory ammo it isn’t that reliable a method. But for anything say pre-70s or home reloads its worked OK for me. I must admit that I have rarely tried to fire a round after so doing, but its what my gunsmith does and I trust him (literally) with my life in a lot of other ways.
PS – soak the whole thing down. Not just the primer. The bullet is often the weak “seal”.