Question: Ammo

cmikl3518 · July 30, 2010, 11:35 AM

Was told that recent changes were made to limit storage life of ammo by giving the primer pin a shelf life (ie: 1 year)...any word on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, cmikl3518

ISC · July 30, 2010, 12:38 PM

1) never heard of a ptimer pin.

2) you were told wrong, this rumor has been going around for over a decade and it is an urban myth.

3) the closest thing to truth is that sometime around WWII ended most countries transitioned to non corrosive primers for ammunition. While they are known to have slightly shorter shelf lives, it is a difference of "only" being reliable for 50 or 60 years instead of 70 or 80. That ssumes proper storage of course.

BigJimP · July 30, 2010, 12:43 PM

There is no such thing as a primer pin ....but I'm assuming you are talking about the "primer" itself in the base of the shell - that the firing pin in your shotgun strikes to fire the shell. ( just to make sure we're talking about the same thing here )...

But a 1 yr life is nonsense on any shell ....

If you store shells in a dry environment / they should last at least 20+ yrs with no issues. Eventually, the powder inside, may break down ....but it would be rare even after 20+ yrs.

I reload / so I have primers ....to be put into new shells as I reload ---for handguns and shotshells that are well over 5 yrs old on my storage shelf.

I recently bought 10,000 handgun primers from an old fella that was getting out of reloading / that he bought about 20 yrs ago and never used ...and he let me test a box of 100 and they were just fine. He assured me they were stored inside his home / dry / no humidity --- and the boxes showed no signs of any moisture or corrosion. I've since used them to reload 1,000 cartridges and have had no mis-fires... I would expect the same form shotshell primers.

Now if the shells get wet / in and out of a boat / left in a wet shed or a real humid environment / left in a wet hunting vest --- then all bets are off ---and I wouldn't keep them past 1 year if they showed any sign of corrosion.

zippy13 · July 31, 2010, 02:27 PM

Greetings cmikl3518, and welcome aboard,

Think about it for a moment…
Can you imagine the potential legal liability from making ammo that was intentionally short lived?

FYI: I just shot up some misc. GI .45 ACP rounds just to be rid of them. The ones from 1915 shot just as well as the ones from 1942 -- both were as good as new.

the rifleer · July 31, 2010, 03:06 PM

I've shot around 600+ rounds of ammo from the early 1950's and every single one of them went bang.

I would be very very upset if i paid for ammo that went bad after one year.

Rampant_Colt · August 2, 2010, 10:43 AM

I better go out and buy some new ammo!!

ADB · August 2, 2010, 12:51 PM

Quote:

I better go out and buy some new ammo!!

Please tell me that was sarcasm.

ScottRiqui · August 2, 2010, 02:11 PM

I can't remember which primer manufacturer said this, but the gist of their statement was that anything they could do to the primer that would kill it in a year would kill it in a matter of days. In other words, they can't make them intentionally short-lived unless they wanted to make them *really* short-lived.

July 30, 2010, 11:35 AM	#1
cmikl3518 Junior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Posts: 1	Question: Ammo Was told that recent changes were made to limit storage life of ammo by giving the primer pin a shelf life (ie: 1 year)...any word on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, cmikl3518

July 31, 2010, 03:06 PM	#5
the rifleer Senior Member Join Date: March 5, 2008 Location: Sunny California Posts: 1,281	I've shot around 600+ rounds of ammo from the early 1950's and every single one of them went bang. I would be very very upset if i paid for ammo that went bad after one year. __________________ There is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid people.

August 2, 2010, 10:43 AM	#6
Rampant_Colt Senior Member Join Date: March 17, 2006 Location: Parts Unknown Posts: 1,478	0bama's fault I better go out and buy some new ammo!! __________________ member of an elite paramilitary organization: Eagle Scouts

July 30, 2010, 12:38 PM	#2
ISC Junior member Join Date: August 5, 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 1,982	1) never heard of a ptimer pin. 2) you were told wrong, this rumor has been going around for over a decade and it is an urban myth. 3) the closest thing to truth is that sometime around WWII ended most countries transitioned to non corrosive primers for ammunition. While they are known to have slightly shorter shelf lives, it is a difference of "only" being reliable for 50 or 60 years instead of 70 or 80. That ssumes proper storage of course.

July 30, 2010, 12:43 PM	#3
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	There is no such thing as a primer pin ....but I'm assuming you are talking about the "primer" itself in the base of the shell - that the firing pin in your shotgun strikes to fire the shell. ( just to make sure we're talking about the same thing here )... But a 1 yr life is nonsense on any shell .... If you store shells in a dry environment / they should last at least 20+ yrs with no issues. Eventually, the powder inside, may break down ....but it would be rare even after 20+ yrs. I reload / so I have primers ....to be put into new shells as I reload ---for handguns and shotshells that are well over 5 yrs old on my storage shelf. I recently bought 10,000 handgun primers from an old fella that was getting out of reloading / that he bought about 20 yrs ago and never used ...and he let me test a box of 100 and they were just fine. He assured me they were stored inside his home / dry / no humidity --- and the boxes showed no signs of any moisture or corrosion. I've since used them to reload 1,000 cartridges and have had no mis-fires... I would expect the same form shotshell primers. Now if the shells get wet / in and out of a boat / left in a wet shed or a real humid environment / left in a wet hunting vest --- then all bets are off ---and I wouldn't keep them past 1 year if they showed any sign of corrosion.

July 31, 2010, 02:27 PM	#4
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Greetings cmikl3518, and welcome aboard, Think about it for a moment… Can you imagine the potential legal liability from making ammo that was intentionally short lived? FYI: I just shot up some misc. GI .45 ACP rounds just to be rid of them. The ones from 1915 shot just as well as the ones from 1942 -- both were as good as new.

August 2, 2010, 02:11 PM	#8
ScottRiqui Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 2,905	I can't remember which primer manufacturer said this, but the gist of their statement was that anything they could do to the primer that would kill it in a year would kill it in a matter of days. In other words, they can't make them intentionally short-lived unless they wanted to make them really short-lived.