Storing loaded lead ammo

[CS86]

How long do you guys store your loaded lead ammo, or what would be the time period that they should be shot. With lead bullets don't you have to worry about the bullet hardness and bullet lube changing depending on the time and climate that they are in?

If you load lead bullets are your intentions to shoot them right away or throughout the year. I'm guessing this can depend of the type of lube and different lead alloy mixtures.

Just curious as I've thought about casting later.

[dab102999]

I still have some lead bullets from the 30' s or 40' s that i will load up once in a while. If that helps any. And as far as shells i dont have any reloads that old but do have some rifle rounds from the turn of the century that still go bang if that helps any.

[Edward429451]

Once you load your ammo you should shoot it up within 50 years to be on the safe side. I shoot mine faster of course but it's no different than factory rounds and they are proven to go bang for a long long time.

[oneounceload]

Once you load your ammo you should shoot it up within 50 years to be on the safe side.

I'd go with that.....

[Misssissippi Dave]

When stored in a cool dry place, they will last a long time. Check for corrosion of the brass paying close attention around the primers. When stored properly they should last longer than the person loading them.

Mine are in a climate controlled facility and will probably need to be inspected by someone for corrosion (if any) a few years after I'm on the other side of the grass. If they are good then the next check should be in another 10 years or so.

[gunsablazin]

I recently dug out some .38 spl loaded with a 158 gr LSWC from 10 years ago. It all shot just fine. This ammo had been stored in plastic coffee jars, and looked like it was loaded yesterday.

[rtpzwms]

I'm still shooting stuff I loaded in the 80's. Works fine for me, if you're going to store it for a long time don't forget to rotate the bullets so the powder doesn't settle too much and when the wind blows tarp the the building...

Smart a$$ over, like others have said I wouldn't even think twice about shooting something over 50 years old. I've seen people using pin fire ammo and I don't think that's been made in 80 years at least. Just as long as it looks clean shoot it.

[CS86]

Wow! I expected that you had to shoot them in a time frame. I read somewhere...eighter From Ingot to Target: "A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners" or "ABCs to Reloading", that when you start putting alloys together that some alloys will eventually seep out towards the outer surface of the bullet changing hardness characteristics. I also thought that depending on the lube that time can also change characteristics, or start to get stinky.

Do you guys see different shooting characteristics as far as accuracy or velocity during different time periods, lets say 6 months to a year or 2?

[Don P]

Oh boy, the ammo MUST BE USED within 49 days 7 hours and 16 minutes if not the ammo will become one giant blob of lead, powder, and brass

I know the above is true and correct, don't believe me just ask and I'll elaborate.

Info provided from the Mid Evil Almanac of 1379.

[Hardcase]

Originally Posted by CS86

when you start putting alloys together that some alloys will eventually seep out towards the outer surface of the bullet changing hardness characteristics. I also thought that depending on the lube that time can also change characteristics, or start to get stinky.

The metals alloyed to lead become part of the crystalline lattice of the alloy - they can't seep out because they're electrostatically bound together. Oxidization can cause the metals to separate, but that only happens when the alloy is in a liquid state. As a solid, lead and lead alloys are stable, although the solid metal may form a thin oxide shell in a humid environment.

It's a long-winded way of saying that the alloy structure will remain stable for a long, long time.

As far as stinky lube, well, that's in the eye...er, nose of the beholder. I suppose that natural lubes could get rancid.

[rtpzwms]

As far as stinky lube, well, that's in the eye...er, nose of the beholder. I suppose that natural lubes could get rancid.

I don't know about anyone else but I don't go around sniffing lube, new or old.

[Slamfire]

The lifetime of ammunition is primarily determined by the lifetime of the gunpowder inside.

A rule of thumb is 20 years for double based and 45 years for single based.

Temperature is the worst enemy of gunpowder.

Heat accelerates the deterioration/decomposition of powder and the rate is directly proportional to the Arrhenius equation. If you read in the Insensitive munitions literature, you will see that they use high temperature to accelerate aging of smokeless propellants.

ROLE OF DIPHENYLAMINE AS A STABILIZER IN PROPELLANTS;
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY OF DIPHENYLAMINE IN PROPELLANTS

Nitrocellulose-base propellants are essentially unstable materials
that decompose on aging with the evolution of oxides of nitrogen. The
decomposition is autocatalytic and can lead to failure of the ammunition or disastrous explosions.

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/783499.pdf

Heat, as you can see in the report, will age gunpowder



Keeping moisture away from gunpowder is good as water is a polar molecule and interacts with the double bonds on the nitrocellulose molecule.

Just keep the stuff cool and dry. As best you can.

[rclark]

It is one of those things that I will never have to worry about or even think about..... Every few months and all is 'new' again..... At least the revolver cartridges. Rifle loads don't get cycled as often. I have stocked up on .22LR though.... and some I haven't touched in a couple of years....

[CS86]

Thanks guys. That's one less thing I have to worry about.

[sc928porsche]

My loaded ammo is stored in plastic boxes and then into Military ammo cans with a packet of silica in each can. Those cans are stored in a special room where I keep my powder. The room is an old walk in box and is controlled by forced electric heat. Temp is kept at 68 degrees.

[BlueTrain]

I hardly give it a thought but there are places in the house where I wouldn't keep it, like the attic. Lately I've been keeping it out in the garage next to the gasoline for the lawn mower and the propane for the grill.

I'd even venture to say that handloaded ammunition put together with modern components will last longer than some factory military ammunition made in the past, chiefly because of the primers. I've seen military ammuntion, 8mm Mauser for instance, that had come in those sealed metal containers that already had corrosion around the primers. But on the other hand, if I'm remembering correctly, when shooting up a batch of .303 British, which I believe was British military, I had a surprising number of misfires but it was not invariably the ones with corroded primers. I suspect there might be a slight danger of using badly corroded ammunition. Very old lead bullets turns a whitish grey.

Fairburn in his book "Shooting to Live" devoted a whole chapter to rotating the stock of ammunition for use in police training, so he considered the matter to be of some importance. Personally, I think stored ammunition will last as long as you will but there are several reasons to rotate ammunition that is being carried and to be careful with it while you're at it.

[oldpapps]

"Storing loaded lead ammo
How long do you guys store your loaded lead ammo, or what would be the time period that they should be shot. With lead bullets don't you have to worry about the bullet hardness and bullet lube changing depending on the time and climate that they are in?

If you load lead bullets are your intentions to shoot them right away or throughout the year. I'm guessing this can depend of the type of lube and different lead alloy mixtures.

Just curious as I've thought about casting later. "

My view, always have one, sometimes right, often not.

Storage depends upon so many things, what is being stored, how, temperatures and variations, humidity...

Lead bullets are inert and it takes a long time for lead to oxidize. That said, lead can be tempered (a process of heating and cooling that makes the lead harder). Tempering fades over time and the lead reverts back to its normal hardness. My experiments with tempering produced bullets so hard that I couldn't size/lub them. (I found that I could size them before tempering and lub after.) I was doing 30 cal 178 grain RN and was not able to seat gas checks after tempering. These were great bullets, no leading at some very fast velocities for lead. But I found the process overly labor intensive for the gains.

Primers - modern primers are very stable and I suspect the shelf life (if properly stored) is longer than you and I will live.

Brass - again, stable if stored properly. Not in contact with anything containing acids/salts or moisture gathering.

Powder - By it's nature it has acid in it. Over time that acid will break down the other components including the brass casing. Expected life has been well covered above. I would add that it is my opinion (right or wrong) that 'ball' type powders have a longer life span.

The storage problem. Cool, low humidity, with as little variation as possible. I would like to add no air movement and darkness. Sealed 'ammo' cans in a cave/cellar/basement/under ground could be ideal. But insulate the cans from touching concrete/masonry/metal to reduce moisture/temperature transfer. Go with plastic racks giving air flow under and around. Wood would work but is subject to rot and bugs.

Nuf babbling.

Enjoy and be safe,

OSOK