I've got an old yellow and red box of Winchester Super-X factory ammo in .458 Winchester Magnum with 18 rounds remaining. I don't know how old the ammo is, but I've been told that Winchester hasn't used the yellow and red boxes for 30 years or so. I have two questions:
1. How old would you estimate the ammo to be?
2. Would it be safe to fire?
I've read that the powder was heavily compressing in Winchester's .458 ammo years ago and that it can break down over time and "clump" together, making for erratic ignition.
The ammo looks great. The only thing that would indicate that it is old is that the lead tips of the bullets (they are softpoints) are a little "cloudy" looking, and not as shiny as new bullets are.
I hadn't thought about pulling a bullet, but that's an excellent idea.
I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it..If it were handloads I would not shoot it. Factory ammo will last almost indefinitely, but I would not reload old brass as it deteriorates.
I would not worry, hell many of us have been shooting surplus military ammo from the 1940's here in Australia for eons in .303 (unless there is a difference b/w military and sporting I am not aware of) Use it up.
Regards PC
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Posts: 7505 | Location: Australia | Registered: 22 May 2002
you say that if it was handloads you would not shoot it. i am curious.....why? i have a lot of handloads i made as long as 15 years ago. i loaded my guts out a while back and still have one heckuva bunch of handloads. i shoot it as time permits. the only time i get a problem is when i attempt to shoot a round which i did not charge. at times during my reloading binge, i got pretty bleary eyed and sometime i simply forgot to charge a case. other than that, i have had no problems. should i get ready to start having trouble as the time advances?
Posts: 466 | Location: Oklahoma | Registered: 20 December 2000
Moleman: Go ahead and shoot it. I've got the same thing in .458 and it's fine. Ammo properly stored, has an almost indefinate shelf life. The box I have was bought in 1977 and it still goes bang! It says "Super Speed" on it, and is in a yellow box. It says it's recommended for Asian Gaur, whatever the hell kind of animal that is. Bill T.
Moleman, I would not hesitate to shoot it. I have shot rifle ammo from WWI, and steel cased .45 acp ammo from WWII with no ill effects. Just my two cents Good luck and good shooting.
Posts: 849 | Location: Between Doan's Crossing and Red River Station | Registered: 22 July 2001
Moleman: I forgot to mention, I have cast bullet handloads in .458 that are just as old and they shoot fine also. It seems that everyone worrys about ammo getting old. The older I get, the less older my ammo seems. I'll get on a kick and reload a $h!tload of ammo in a given caliber, then it takes me eons to shoot it all up! I went nuts in .458 Magnum back in the 70's, I thought it was the best thing that God, (or Winchester), ever created! Now I have .458 Ammo for LIFE!! Bill T.
Moleman the yellow and red box of Winchester Super-X I have is from the 1960. I have rifle and shotgun ammo in the same box and it shot good. On reloads I have some 15 to 18 years old and they shot fine but you must store them right in a dry cool place
Bill T, an Asian gaur is an oversized water buffalo. Atkins wrote about hunting them way back when. Apparently, they are bigger than African buff but not as aggressive. I've never hunted them, so this is all secon hand info. FWIW- Dan
Posts: 5285 | Location: Alberta | Registered: 05 October 2001
Thanks everybody for your input. Based on these replies I'll give it a try. Hopefully I can find some time to drag out the bench this weekend and get in some shooting.
