Old reloads and Ole Thumper

[Ole Joe Clark]

Went to the range this morning, and took along my wife's Ruger 44 magnum carbine. Hadn't shot it in years and just wanted to do a function test with the open sights.

The only reloads I have are a box of jacketed hollow points that I loaded on November 11, 1985, only 33 years ago.

We only shot 10 rounds total, and both the carbine and the reloads functioned perfectly. The bolt was a little sluggish because of the cold weather. I will fix (clean) that.

Moral of story: Don't worry about old reloads that have been stored properly. Ole Thumper handled them well, shot right where we pointed.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[Slamfire]

Went to the range this morning, and took along my wife's Ruger 44 magnum carbine. Hadn't shot it in years and just wanted to do a function test with the open sights.

The only reloads I have are a box of jacketed hollow points that I loaded on November 11, 1985, only 33 years ago.

We only shot 10 rounds total, and both the carbine and the reloads functioned perfectly. The bolt was a little sluggish because of the cold weather. I will fix (clean) that.

Moral of story: Don't worry about old reloads that have been stored properly. Ole Thumper handled them well, shot right where we pointed.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

I have copied plenty of accounts of gun blows with old ammunition. Some with ammunition under 20 years old. When you shoot ammunition over 20 years old, you run the risk of old ammunition blowing up your gun. The older it gets, the more likely you will experience ammunition problems. Just his week I shot ammunition, loaded maybe ten years, but loaded with military surplus IMR 4895. Just at the turn of the century various outfits, most noticeable Talon, were selling surplus powder. What I did not know, was this stuff was removed from inventory because stability testing indicated that at best, the storage life was seven years. They get rid of the stuff when the stabilizer is less than 20% which is generally accepted as seven years of safe storage left. Every one of my rounds that I shot experienced case neck cracks, which is an indication of the propellant outgassing nitrogen dioxide. The velocities were fine, no stuck cases, but all of the brass was ruined. I have shot rounds with surplus powder, and experienced the occasional stuck case. Even though chronograph testing showed velocities were well below max. Play with old damn gunpowder and the stuff will bit you in the ass.

Before germ theory, a lot of stupid things were done, most died, but some survived. Today, many of the medical practices of the era would be considered suicidal in terms of what we know about disease propagation.

Army Not Producing Enough Ammunition

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2003/May/Pages/Army_Not3866.aspx

Regardless of what the Army decides to do with its industrial base, the fundamental issue does not change: the Army needs to produce more war reserve ammunition, Naughton said. Time is running out, he said. “Most of the ammunition in the stockpile today was built 20 years ago during the Cold War buildup.” Most rounds are designed to have a shelf life of 20 years. “We are outside the envelope of the shelf life on 40 percent or more of our existing ammunition. The rest is rapidly approaching the end of its shelf life.”

Ammunition does not “go bad” overnight, after it reaches a certain age, but “once it’s over 20 years old, the reliability rapidly degrades,” said Naughton. Within a few years, it will become increasingly difficult to shoot it. “You can predict that you’ll lose 7-8 percent of the ammo after the 20-year mark.”*

To replace the obsolete rounds, the Army would have to produce 100,000 tons of war reserve ammunition a year for the next seven years. Past that point, it would need 50,000 tons to 60,000 tons a year to sustain the stockpile. That represents about “half the level of the Cold War buildup,” he said.

* I think what is meant, 7-8 percent per year after 20 years.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

I have fired old reloaded ammo for years a NEVER had an incident concerning squibs, failure to fire etc. I have had a few misfires for unknown reasons on a few .38 and such over the years. If they won't fire I just chunk them. I wonder how surplus dealers get away with selling ammo if the danger level is so high. All of us have seen, and some bought, surplus .30-06 ammo that was really old, and fired it with no problems.

Have a blessed day,

Leon