new neos old ammo (first post, too)

onewhisper · February 17, 2013, 11:26 PM

Hi all,

After a long break, I am finally getting back into using firearms. My first purchase is a Beretta Neos. I picked up the Cabelas green model so that I would blend in with the trees and meadows better

and the Marvin the Martian styling really makes me stand out. I have fired a couple of hundred rounds with it; the Winchester White 555 box fired flawlessly, the Federal 325 pack had three rounds that failed to fire. The failed rounds had good strike marks and fired on the second attempt. Stingers were perfect, too. When I let family know the difficulties I was having in finding ammo, my dad sent a few hundred rounds north to me with a friend. They are very old, as you can see by the picture.

How old is too old for rimfire ammo? Is there any value to keeping the old ammo in the original packaging? If I use it for practice, should I save the boxes and labels? Thanks for any advice.

js

be just, love mercy, and walk humbly with God

9mm · February 17, 2013, 11:36 PM

Is that the gun you can kill superman with? I see green on it!

Eric M. · February 18, 2013, 12:33 AM

Over the past years, all of my shooters and myself have had a very high percentage of duds using Remington .22s.
Just figured that I would let you know after seeing your picture.
I really haven't seen very many duds with Winchester or Federal.
I have seen problems with any type of ammo that is stored in a garage for instance, due to temperature variations and humidity.
You might want to give some CCI .22s a try also.
Many of my shooters who shoot the Neos like this ammo.

Eric

onewhisper · February 18, 2013, 01:57 PM

I think you need that funky green tipped ammo to kill Superman and it seems hard to find. I like the long green rail because a few other new shooters are going to the range with me and it is much easier to see movement while they are shooting and point out bad habits. The magazine release and slide release on opposite sides make it obvious when they are not thinking about what they are doing.

I didn't expect much from the old ammo, particularly the Remington. If it works at all it should be good for training how to clear a bad round while firing. Dad lives in a pretty dry area but we'll have to see how well this older stuff performs. I'll lay my hands on some newer cci as soon as I see it. The current availability makes it hard to be choosy.

carguychris · February 18, 2013, 02:06 PM

The usable life of ammo is almost indefinite if it's stored in a relatively cool, clean, and dry environment. An average climate-controlled home is fine; ammo will last for decades in this environment. There are folks on this forum who have successfully fired ammo that was made well before WWII and had been stored indoors.

Water or chemical exposure can ruin ammo relatively quickly; extreme heat and high humidity will ruin it too, but it may still take a number of years.

The ammo in your picture is NOT that old, and it looks like it has been stored with care, judging by the appearance of the packaging. I doubt you'll have any problems. Fire away.

certified106 · February 18, 2013, 06:50 PM

Nice Neos! I have around 8000 rounds through mine and it is still running strong. I doubt the ammo is old enough to have issues. After my grandfather died we found. 22 caliber ammo that was upwards of 55 years old. It shot fine but we did find that the lead had softened a bit and would cause some leading issues after a hundred or so rounds, then again it could have been the lead was just softer back then.

I have run every brand of ammo that you can imagine through my Neos and haven't had trouble with any of them. I have found that after 500 or so rounds in one session the gun starts to get really dirty and will choke occasionally when chambering a round. As soon as I clean it back up its good to go again.

TailGator · February 18, 2013, 08:13 PM

Everyone who shoots my Neos enjoys it, and that is pretty much the goal with .22 semi-autos. The extractor claw is necessarily pretty small and fouling produces failures to extract if you don't clean it properly. Other than that the little bugger has been completely reliable.

Lots of people gripe about the reliability of .22LR bulk ammo, but I have had precious few failures. If a round doesn't fire, eject it and go on. It's .22LR, and you chose your pistol because the ammo was cheap as dirt.

ET. · February 18, 2013, 08:41 PM

Truly old ammo is like 10 to 20 years old. Even then there is usually no problem with it if it was stored correctly, with a few exceptions... I've seen several threads lately where old (10-17 yrs) 40s&w actually blew up several guns. In one case the ammo was just loose in a drawer for years and the person had no packaging, so he couldn't go back to the ammo manufacturer. The gun manufacturer said it wasn't their fault so the guy was out of luck. It is good practice to keep the ammo in the original packaging until it is shot for this reason. After it is shot throw the boxes away if the ammo didn't destroy your gun.

+1k ammo · February 19, 2013, 12:57 PM

I would think the .22 would be ok to fire if old. Probably would just be a dud if bad.

Blowing up guns? Would that be just from old powder or an improper load from a reloader?

I had a bunch of 9mm ammo my Dad gave me from the 80's and most was fine. A few duds, but they were all hand loads from an old friend.

February 18, 2013, 12:33 AM	#3
Eric M. Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2007 Location: Forest Lake, Minnesota Posts: 307	Over the past years, all of my shooters and myself have had a very high percentage of duds using Remington .22s. Just figured that I would let you know after seeing your picture. I really haven't seen very many duds with Winchester or Federal. I have seen problems with any type of ammo that is stored in a garage for instance, due to temperature variations and humidity. You might want to give some CCI .22s a try also. Many of my shooters who shoot the Neos like this ammo. Eric __________________ NRA Chief Range Safety Officer NRA Pistol Instructor NRA Life Member DNR Certified Firearms Safety Instructor 37 yrs

February 18, 2013, 01:57 PM	#4
onewhisper Junior Member Join Date: February 12, 2013 Location: Oregon Posts: 3	thanks for the replies I think you need that funky green tipped ammo to kill Superman and it seems hard to find. I like the long green rail because a few other new shooters are going to the range with me and it is much easier to see movement while they are shooting and point out bad habits. The magazine release and slide release on opposite sides make it obvious when they are not thinking about what they are doing. I didn't expect much from the old ammo, particularly the Remington. If it works at all it should be good for training how to clear a bad round while firing. Dad lives in a pretty dry area but we'll have to see how well this older stuff performs. I'll lay my hands on some newer cci as soon as I see it. The current availability makes it hard to be choosy. __________________ be just, love mercy, and walk humbly with God

February 18, 2013, 02:06 PM	#5
carguychris Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2007 Location: Richardson, TX Posts: 7,523	The usable life of ammo is almost indefinite if it's stored in a relatively cool, clean, and dry environment. An average climate-controlled home is fine; ammo will last for decades in this environment. There are folks on this forum who have successfully fired ammo that was made well before WWII and had been stored indoors. Water or chemical exposure can ruin ammo relatively quickly; extreme heat and high humidity will ruin it too, but it may still take a number of years. The ammo in your picture is NOT that old, and it looks like it has been stored with care, judging by the appearance of the packaging. I doubt you'll have any problems. Fire away. __________________ "Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules... MARK IT ZERO!!" - Walter Sobchak

February 18, 2013, 06:50 PM	#6
certified106 Member Join Date: January 26, 2013 Posts: 51	Re: new neos old ammo (first post, too) Nice Neos! I have around 8000 rounds through mine and it is still running strong. I doubt the ammo is old enough to have issues. After my grandfather died we found. 22 caliber ammo that was upwards of 55 years old. It shot fine but we did find that the lead had softened a bit and would cause some leading issues after a hundred or so rounds, then again it could have been the lead was just softer back then. I have run every brand of ammo that you can imagine through my Neos and haven't had trouble with any of them. I have found that after 500 or so rounds in one session the gun starts to get really dirty and will choke occasionally when chambering a round. As soon as I clean it back up its good to go again.

February 18, 2013, 08:41 PM	#8
ET. Senior Member Join Date: June 8, 2010 Location: Savannah, Ga. Posts: 638	Truly old ammo is like 10 to 20 years old. Even then there is usually no problem with it if it was stored correctly, with a few exceptions... I've seen several threads lately where old (10-17 yrs) 40s&w actually blew up several guns. In one case the ammo was just loose in a drawer for years and the person had no packaging, so he couldn't go back to the ammo manufacturer. The gun manufacturer said it wasn't their fault so the guy was out of luck. It is good practice to keep the ammo in the original packaging until it is shot for this reason. After it is shot throw the boxes away if the ammo didn't destroy your gun. __________________ Soldiers are dying every day to protect our freedoms. The least we can do is vote.

February 17, 2013, 11:36 PM	#2
9mm Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2011 Location: Land of the Free Posts: 2,834	Is that the gun you can kill superman with? I see green on it!

February 18, 2013, 08:13 PM	#7
TailGator Senior Member Join Date: May 8, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,787	Everyone who shoots my Neos enjoys it, and that is pretty much the goal with .22 semi-autos. The extractor claw is necessarily pretty small and fouling produces failures to extract if you don't clean it properly. Other than that the little bugger has been completely reliable. Lots of people gripe about the reliability of .22LR bulk ammo, but I have had precious few failures. If a round doesn't fire, eject it and go on. It's .22LR, and you chose your pistol because the ammo was cheap as dirt.

February 19, 2013, 12:57 PM	#9
+1k ammo Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2013 Posts: 235	I would think the .22 would be ok to fire if old. Probably would just be a dud if bad. Blowing up guns? Would that be just from old powder or an improper load from a reloader? I had a bunch of 9mm ammo my Dad gave me from the 80's and most was fine. A few duds, but they were all hand loads from an old friend.