22lr longivity

[NOTABIKER]

i am trying to have enough 22lr on hand to last me a while. somebody told me 22lr does not have a good shelf life like other ammo. i have no idea this is true. it would be a shame to have it go bad. i keep it in my house out of the weather. is 10 years shelf life reasonable. thanks

[dominic]

I've fired 22LR that was made in the 1920s-1930's without any problem. It all depends on how it was stored. If its kept dry and not handled, it could conceivably last 100 years. Skin oils and moisture can corrode the brass, but moisture is the real determining factor in shelf life.

[stephewc]

I've shot and still have Remington 22LR surplus ammo from 1995. Ammo works great with no issues. As mentioned above, properly stored ammo will last a long time.

[dominic]

I should say that .22s with paraffin waxed bullets will last longer and not oxidize as easy as plated rounds.

[kihnspiracy]

I have shot 20-30 year old rimfire ammo and only had 1 or 2 duds out of 4 or 5 bricks of it.

[macman9]

My grand father gave me 22lr he bought in The 1950s sometime. I shot half The Box and had no problem.
Its kind of funny. The on The Box of 22lr was like $0.95 for a Box of 50. He said he paid more because he use to buy ammo at The gas station before going camping. I have never found at any gas station I have been to.

[NOTABIKER]

thanks guy's . i will HOARD in confidence.

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by NOTABIKER

thanks guy's . i will HOARD in confidence.

Yeah - it'll last longer than any of us here.

I've got bricks from Wards, Penney's, etc that are all sure-fire. Same with old Remington, Federal, and Winchester. If it has been stored right, it will pretty much outlast you.

[x-007]

I started a long-term storage experiment with .22 LR ammo more than 6 years ago. I know that 6 years isn't a "long" time, but the experiment is still on-going.

Instead of storing the ammo in boxes and inside steel ammo cans, I emptied 10 boxes (500 rounds) into a clear plastic "Skippy" peanut butter container that was completely clean/dry. The plastic lid was screwed on tight, but without any sealant/silicone. So far, so good! No "fuzz", and the brass casings are still bright and shiny. Last year, I opened that container and removed 10 rounds, then recapped the container. All 10 rounds fired as if they were still new.

The experiment was more for the container....which was tested for water tightness without the use of any sealant on the lid. All I did to the container was smooth up the top of the lid with sandpaper. Oh, and I didn't use any dessicant packs, either, so I'm assuming that it's both air- and water-tight when the plastic lid is tightened.

[Eljay]

Maybe a year or two ago the CMP got something like 20 million rounds of mid 1990s Remington .22 and everybody thought it was pretty decent stuff. 15-20 years didn't affect it at all. Looked factory fresh. Admittedly each case had a kind of foil wrapper but nothing magic about it.

[NOTABIKER]

i am a 66 year old Geezer, i think it will out last me.

[jazman]

I don't think you have to worry about it going bad...may have to worry about finding enough though.

[G21Shooter]

It is ideal to store .22 lr ammo in a air tight container with a moisture absorber. That said its going to be fine for years stored in a cool dry place.

[postal]

Originally Posted by kihnspiracy

I have shot 20-30 year old rimfire ammo and only had 1 or 2 duds out of 4 or 5 bricks of it.

If it was brand new rem 'golden bullets' you'd have 4-5 duds per box.... That stuff is garbage!!!!!!!


Just like any other ammo- cool and dry it'll last a LONG time.

[CSACANNONEER]

.22lr does not have a great shelf life. I can't seem to keep any on the shelf longer than 10 years.

[Steve_In_29]

I don't remember how old it was but I stocked up on .22 from Walmart at $5 a brick (normal price not a sale) and was still shooting it with no issues when the same ammo had become $15 a brick at Walmart. I hadn't bought any in the interim and about pooped myself at the increase.

I think that was about a 20 year shelf life in my closet.

[G21Shooter]

Originally Posted by postal

If it was brand new rem 'golden bullets' you'd have 4-5 duds per box.... That stuff is garbage!!!!!!!


Just like any other ammo- cool and dry it'll last a LONG time.

Funny because I have shot cases of Golden Bullets with no issues...

[Southpaw45]

Originally Posted by G21Shooter

Funny because I have shot cases of Golden Bullets with no issues...

You need to go buy lottery tickets right now!!!

[vincewarde]

I saw this coming a long time ago and stocked up - I have fired .22 ammo from the 1970's with no problem. Keep it cool, keep it dry and it will live longer than you will.

[desrt2]

I was picking up a S&W M&P .22 LR Pistol yesterday and looked at a box of CCI ($11.99 for 50 rounds). A low-end brick next to it was $69.
Both are 4x what I paid at Wally's every month.
3 years ago I went to the range with my daughter once a month and shoot 500 then stop by Wally's and buy 3000.
So I should be close to dead if I shoot 50 rounds every month.

[VegasND]

Back in '79 or '80 I bought a bunch from Monkey Wards (Federal) at $5/brick. Several bricks ended up in an ammo can that I misplaced for about 20 years ...

Found it when I moved in 2003 and I've been slowly shooting it up since -- still shoot great.

[Jeff213]

Originally Posted by Southpaw45

You need to go buy lottery tickets right now!!!

I have had less issues with golden bullets purchased this year than ones I had purchased in the past. Only 1 or 2 misfires out of a box.

[Caseless]

Originally Posted by macman9

My grand father gave me 22lr he bought in The 1950s sometime. I shot half The Box and had no problem.
Its kind of funny. The on The Box of 22lr was like $0.95 for a Box of 50. He said he paid more because he use to buy ammo at The gas station before going camping. I have never found at any gas station I have been to.

Interesting on the gas station ammo markup 60 years ago. Are these premium match grade ammo? I recall Walmart sold 550rd bulk pack for less than $9 back in 2006.

[Goop]

The only real enemy of ammo shelf life is moisture. This is a problem for those that live out in really humid states like Louisiana or Florida that complain about ammo going bad. Out here in Cali it’s pretty much a non-issue.

[Hispanic_Hercules]

I still have ammo from 1980's with Montgomery wards price tags. Shot just fine a few days ago.

[Dan_Eastvale]

Originally Posted by CSACANNONEER

.22lr does not have a great shelf life. I can't seem to keep any on the shelf longer than 10 years.

Lol, And yes, Walmart can't keep it on the shelf more than 10 minutes!!!

[hatidua]

Originally Posted by NOTABIKER

somebody told me 22lr does not have a good shelf life like other ammo.

They lied.

[EddieEd]

I’ve had 22lr ammo from the 70s and had no problems. I purchase an AR-7 in about 78 with about 500 rds. Just used some of the ammo 2 yrs ago, still had about 200 rds.
Didn’t know anything about shelf life only for my baked beans and can foods. Then I read the shelf life is only a safety thing that the companies need to follow but some can foods can extend 3 to 5 yrs pass their listed shelf life if not damaged.
No wonder all those people in the zombie movies are still eating can food years after the problems started.
For a minute I thought there was still a delivery truck dropping off some can good between zombie attacks.