How Old Is Too Old Regarding Handloads??

[billt]

I thought I would post this because so many people at one time or another ask how long reloads will last. Yesterday I took my new Savage Model 110 FCP-K out to the range to wring it out. I gathered up a lot of different .300 Win. Mag. ammo I had laying around. I found a yellow plastic box of handloads I had loaded up way back in 1975! These rounds were loaded in a Lee Loader because I didn't have a press until I bought my first house in 1976. They were loaded with 220 grain Hornady round nose soft points that, if I remember correctly, I loaded up in anticipation of an upcoming bear hunt that never materialized. So the rounds just continued to gather dust until I found them yesterday.

After all of the serious shooting and grouping went well I decided to get rid of this old ammo. My club range has steel plates set out at 200 yards. I loaded up the Savage with the old handloads and went to work. Every single one went bang, and accurately too I might add. These rounds were stored in a 20 MM G.I. issue ammo can for literally decades, (34 years to be exact). They got no special treatment such as sealer on the primers or case mouths. I loaded the powder, then tapped in the bullet with a plastic mallet, per Lee's instructions.

This should lay to rest any worry about handloads "going bad" with age. At least from my perspective it does. If stored in a dry environment the shelf life of most any kind of modern ammo is all but indefinite.  Bill T.

[alfsauve]

You got me beat Bill.  The oldest handloads I had were 25 years old, and those performed well for me, too.

Making them with clean components helps, I'm sure.   One reason why I prime separately from the press is to insure I don't get the primers contaminated with grease.

[jnevis]

I learned reloading while in Pensacola in 96 but didn't have my own equipment after I left, until last Christmas.  Just before I left I had a bunch of brass that had been cleaned and primed plus all the extra primers I had in an old first aid kit (that luckily had a good seal and fasteners).  When I finally got my own press I opened it and took a couple out to load.  They shot fine so I loaded some more and they did just as good.  Mind you, that brass is shot and not recovered, but they have all gone bang.

Now the reloads my wife's uncle gave me a few years ago on the other hand...
Is a 38 SWC supposed to be green? What about nickel and black cases?
Needless to say those were quickly disposed of.

[tombogan03884]

 If properly stored there is no reason for reloads to be any more effected by age than any other ammo.

[Big Frank]

The green color that "grows" on brass is verdigris. That's what copper does instead of rusting. A little bit won't hurt anything IMO but maybe a lot of it could cause a thin spot in the brass. I don't know for sure.

The main reason they started making nickel plated cases was so cops could carry ammo in their leather belt loops without it turning green. I think black cases are the same except they're more tactical.

[Sponsor]

[JC5123]

I've never been able to store my handloads for more than about 6 months. I get to trigger happy and go shoot it all!

[Badgersmilk]

Weather or not you crimp the bullets, what type of crimp you use, and how much you crimp all play a factor as well.  Some bench rest shooters use no crimp.  Most use a very light one.  And hunters, action shooters, or those just handling the gun much should really be using something very close to a "factory crimp".

Type of powder has a lot to do with it as well.  Larger grain powders are more resistant, and the shape of the grain comes into play as well.  I can't remember which is more moisture resistant off the top of my head.  But this is all moot if your keeping the stuff stored properly.