Shelf life of defensive ammo

[Bill Stryker]

Put on your hard hats guys. War story time:

In olden days when I was fighting in Vietnam, before the M16 trash, we were even using some pre WWII ammo. I have a .45 case   I am still reloading head-stamped FA25. That I shot in the 1965-66 time frame.  Most of the M1 Garand & 1903 Springfield ammo was WWII vintage.

I just now am shooting the last of the .357 ammo that I bought in the PX in 1963.

[Paraguy]

I have read several articles by folks like John Taffin where he used 50+ year old powder to reload for testing. He claimed to have no problems.....BUT, I agree with Solus and probably wouldn't do it....powder ain't that expensive.

I would be more concerned with solvent/oil contamination to primers/powder. I have heard of folks using penetrating type oil, such as Kroil or PB B'Laster, and it could (if not removed from the internals of the weapon properly) contaminate ammo.....rare, I know, but possible.

So leaving ammo in the auto pistol could impact the integrity of the round.  Sounds like I need to go the range more often and shoot out my SD ammo.  BTW, the range near me has Rem .40 Golden Sabres for $159.99/500, might be the excuse I was looking for to "invest" in some.

[2HOW]

So leaving ammo in the auto pistol could impact the integrity of the round.  Sounds like I need to go the range more often and shoot out my SD ammo.  BTW, the range near me has Rem .40 Golden Sabres for $159.99/500, might be the excuse I was looking for to "invest" in some.

Not leaving it in but chambering the same round time after time can cause the bullet to work its way down further in the case causing pressures to build higher than spec when shot causing a catastrophic event. KABOOM. If you clear you gun daily just rotate the rounds and shoot up those that may cause you trouble after a good inspection.

[Solus]

I have read several articles by folks like John Taffin where he used 50+ year old powder to reload for testing. He claimed to have no problems.....BUT, I agree with Solus and probably wouldn't do it....powder ain't that expensive.

I would be more concerned with solvent/oil contamination to primers/powder. I have heard of folks using penetrating type oil, such as Kroil or PB B'Laster, and it could (if not removed from the internals of the weapon properly) contaminate ammo.....rare, I know, but possible.

Might depend upon whether the can of powder has been opened or not.  I've been applying that "rule" to opened cans.

[Timothy]

I'm not a loader, just a shooter but when I qualified and re-qualified back in the '70's, the ball ammo was nearly thirty years old.  My last qualifying score was 289 or 290 out 300 and I physical saw one round leave the muzzle of the Colt 1911 (tweaked a bit) I'd borrowed from my supervisor.  I had no problems with three decade old ammo...

Would I trust my life to it?  Doubtful...

[Sponsor]

[Ping]

I use up my self defense ammo usually every six months but will not go over a year. This is just my personal preference.

[Solus]

I have gotten into the practice of dropping the first round into the chamber when I do an "Administrative" reload and then releasing the slide by pulling it back and letting go.

I have heard there could be a problem with this procedure, maybe something like the extractor may not engage with the round chambered or perhaps the extractor/case will be stressed by this process.

I have never had a problem with extraction after using this procedure.  It does avoid the setback that may be caused by repeatedly chambering  a round.

Any one have any information on this?

[PegLeg45]

I have gotten into the practice of dropping the first round into the chamber when I do an "Administrative" reload and then releasing the slide by pulling it back and letting go.

I have heard there could be a problem with this procedure, maybe something like the extractor may not engage with the round chambered or perhaps the extractor/case will be stressed by this process.

I have never had a problem with extraction after using this procedure.  It does avoid the setback that may be caused by repeatedly chambering  a round.

Any one have any information on this?

Done it both ways for years, never had a problem.....however, I can see where it may potentially be an issue with some pistols more than others. Like 1911's that use a solid extractor, with tension built into the extractor itself, versus a pistol with a coil spring powered extractor. The main problem that I could see happening is excessive wear on the case rim if the extractor keeps hitting the same spot each time. Close inspection of the cases and good rotation of ammo would solve this.

[PegLeg45]

So leaving ammo in the auto pistol could impact the integrity of the round.  Sounds like I need to go the range more often and shoot out my SD ammo.  BTW, the range near me has Rem .40 Golden Sabres for $159.99/500, might be the excuse I was looking for to "invest" in some.

I don't think it is a major concern, just something to keep in the back of the mind regarding the type of oil used inside the gun.......but extra range time is good.   

I was just introducing a potential (but rare) problem into the thought process. I have never experienced this myself, but an 'old-timer' at my club years ago told of an instance of a squib load that was traced back to oil contamination. He said he had always been guilty of "over lubing" his 1911 competition gun and had inadvertently left a mag full of ammo in it after a match. Evidently, the oil worked its way into either the powder or primer and resulted in a squib later on (this was his best guess, and may not be the case, as there are many variables involved). Think about how many times many of us have lubed up a pistol and then cycled it over and over....all the while continuously wiping the excess oil that continues to creep out of crevices and openings. I don't thing you would have to worry much with factory ammo with a good crimp.

As I said, this type of thing is very rare, and in actuality, I would be more concerned with bullet set-back (as others have mentioned).


My bottom line, relating to the original question, is that SD ammo is still cheap enough right now to rotate it out at regular intervals. I shoot the outgoing ammo and this gives me peace of mind (as much as one can have with variables) that my ammo works in my gun, and that I have fresh ammo in-loaded.

Like before, I make no claims as an expert so, it's JMHO, FWIW.

 

[kmitch200]

I have gotten into the practice of dropping the first round into the chamber when I do an "Administrative" reload and then releasing the slide by pulling it back and letting go.

Not a good practice IMHO.
Rounds are supposed to slide from a mag under an extractor not bang into them. While it does avoid bullet setback, that can be dealt with by rotating which ones are fed first.
Bullets are cheap and easy to replace, in a real hurry if need be. Extractors you rely on for the gun to save your life. (and give you that 'real hurry' next bullet.)
I won't take a chance of making a gun go bang, oh shit. I want bang, bang.