HOW LONG WILL RELOADS STAY SAFE TO SHOOT? I'VE GOT 2000 RDS OF .357 MAG AND .38 SPLs LOADED. I HAVEN'T SHOT ANYTHING FOR AWHILE AND I AM CURIOS AS TO YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT HOW LONG THEY WILL LAST AND STILL BE RELIABLE. THANX .

THE 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTS US ALL........

I'm sure it depends on storage conditions and nature of the powder and primer. I would not hesitate to fire WWII surplus ammo if it has been stored in a reasonable (relatively cool) manner.

Pull a bullet and smell. A strong ammonia smell will indicate some deterioration, though not necessarily redering the ammo unshootable. More likely there is a loss of potency than anything else. (Of course loss of potency can result in squib loads which can be dangerous by creating a bore obstruction)

Contact Hodgon powder company before you fire the ammo since you are concerned about it.

[ 11-28-2002, 15:11: Message edited by: steve y ]

I have reloads that I've fired that were over 25 years old with no problem. They have been stored indoors. If stored correctly, the life of ammunition is almost indefinate. There really isn't anything to "go bad", so to speak. Temperature and humidity are the biggest enemy of ammo. I've found the same is true of powder. Bill T.

There shouldn't be a problem! Shot some reloads that I did in 1977 a couple of weeks ago and they shot as well now as they did then. If was for a varmint rifle. If your 357 bullets are jacketed there would be almost no chance there would be a problem even it stored where it gets hot! If they are lead that are lubericated would still be safe to shoot even if they had gotten hot, but they might not go off or give full velocity as they did when loaded. Have shot ammo that was loaded in 1941(military) and had not problems. Had to clean the rifle a couple of times because it had corrosive primers. Good Luck

If your ammo has been kept reasonable cool and dry, it will last almost indefinitely. I have ammo that was reloaded several years ago and it is just as accurate and reliable as it was when it was first loaded.

HERE'S AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT FOR SOME OF YOU TO TRY ON OLD RELOADS. I never used to wipe the lube out of case necks. Then I found that ammo loaded and not shot seemed to have more pressure than the "fresh loads". What I came to believe is that the lube had caused a "bonding " between bullet and case. The other night I found some 5 year old reloads and I put them into my seating die and was going to see if it was easy to "push them down" a little more. I found it took a little effort and then each one let go with a little "cracking" noise. This might be something to consider with that older ammo.

From the last 3 years on I've been wiping the lube out of the case mouth by using a small plastic brush wrapped with a damp heavy duty paper towel. You can do about 3 cases and the towel gets a blackish green look and then you either re-wrap it or start with another small fresh piece of towel. This might be a pain to do with a huge amount of prairie dog rounds but, it takes just a couple of minutes for 20 hunting rounds.

I have fired reloads that were 18 years old and they shot just fine. Of course, they were stored inside a house, not out in the shed.

Try storing your reloads in ammo cans after they have been sealed with a vacuum food sealer with a small pkg. of dessicant. Works well! Try to keep them at a cool temp.

Properly stored ammo will last a long time and should soot fine. Seating the bullet seales the case from outside conditions and the powder from the moisture in the air. How and under what conditions the ammo was stored will determine the outcome when it is fired. Who knows, it may not fire, but one thing is certain, one of mans greatest inventions is the little primer used to ignite smokeless powder. It is amzing the abuse a primer can and will be subjected to and still remain active when the trigger is touched. I have seen primers soaked in oil and still go off when struck by the firing pin. Never think for one second that primer is inert and won't go off. In my 45 years of relaoding I have never had a primer not go off. That's a 100% success rate for me all those who knows how many small and large rifle primers I have seated into cartridge cases.

For my hunting reloads (handloads) I seal the primer and bullet... I know this (sealing the bullet and primer) is a whole topic within itself, but I have been reloading for over a quarter century and even old loads not sealed are shooting fine... My setup is in the basement. Cool, dry and perfect conditions... I have chronographed old loads that were 10 or more years old and there was no change at all...
Dave

Hmmmm... from reading the responses to this post, we must ALL be a bunch of old coots!!! As for me, I can't hear, can't see like I used to, and can't...... well never mind that part.

The meek willinherit the world, the old farts, only the outhouse.

Just read an article about the army loading for 1000 yard matches. They load in very large batches and if they are not used for a year or so they re-seat the bullet .003-.005 deeper to break any bond that might have formed between bullet and brass. Seems they deem this more important than relationship to lands.