I found an old box of winchester ballistic silvertips (which my gun loves) in my ammo bag. I guess them to be at least 4 years old, probably a year or two more.

Out of interest, I fired them with a fresh box this weekend. One shot old, one shot fresh, one shot old. Beautiful group of about 5/8". best groups ever from this gun is about 1/2".

Just thought it was interesting. Don't know if I would feel as comfortable bringing them on a hunt.

This is a 'believe it or not' story, but one of my local friends owns a Sako 30-06 that he bought in the early to mid 1960s, or about when Sako first started producing the longer action versions.

At the time, he also bought a box of 180 gr. Federal factory ammo, which as it turns out shot like gangbusters in his new Sako. It shot so well that he went back to the Portland sporting good store he bought his rifle at and bought all the rest of that lot number of ammo that they had in stock, which was something like three cases worth. That's the ONLY ammunition he's used in that rifle for the last forty years, and he's down to just a couple of boxes left.

That Sako '06 is the only big game rifle he owns, and that old batch of 180 Federal is the only ammunition he's ever fired in it. And he's used it extensively on whitetails, mule deer, elk, moose, grizzly, Canadian, Alaskan, and African game of all descriptions -- you name it. He's taken a wider variety of big game in more places with that old rifle than most equipment collectors and dreamers have ever seen. He goes to the range once a year to test the zero of his rifle. If it's still hitting in the same place, he makes a scope adjustment and fires again to confirm, then he goes hunting. Once in a while he'll go to the 200 and 300 yard line to test as well, but not always! Much of that forty-some year-old batch of ammo has been fired at game, rather than paper..........

A few years ago, I picked up a new-condition push-feed Model 70 in 338 Win. Mag. that was made in 1968, and it came with three boxes of the old yellow-box Winchester 250 gr. Silvertip ammo. Not only did it shoot perfectly, it produced 1" groups.

So don't worry about four year-old ammunition. If it's been well-stored, it's still practically new, and should perform every bit as good as new.

AD

Four years is not old. The gov't considers ammo old at 20 years and replaces it. If kept in a cool dry place it can last much longer than 20 years.

If the ammo is good the day it's made and stored reasonably, it's good for forty years.....more?????....who knows.

I found, while moving, a few years ago 5 boxes
of 30-30 with a price tag still on them.$2.95.
Shot some a few weeks back. No problem.
Gene

Allen, I agree on the age of ammo issue that its no big deal, but what I like about your story is that with the variety of animals taken with that nice '06 it really answers a different thread about the '06 being dead.

It will never die. NO reason that it should

I agree with what everyone is saying about smokeless powder cartridges. 4 years shouldn't be an issue.

But if they were old blackpowder cartridges (ie. some blackpowder 45-70s), wouldn't you be a little worried? I would.

So far it seems we are all talking about factory ammo.

What about reloads?

Reloads would have the same shelf life....Black powder cartridges ? The powder itself remains potent but if they are very old I would worry about the possibility of mercuric primers which deteriorate the brass.

Reloads should last just as long, particularly if you use a primer sealant and store them in plastic boxes. I tested tome 300 Win. Mag. ammo I put together some 12 years ago, and it worked just as good as when fresh, and delivered the same velocity as well. And this stuff had been up in wet Alaska, wet and frozen Oregon, and warm, arid Texas.

AD

I concur, ammunition is the only thing in the known world that actually has a longer shelf life than Spam.