How long before matches can you reload?

[Treegunner]

I have been away for a while and I am not so sure if this topic has been discussed so thanks in advance for your patience and help.


I would like to dedicate a day or two and just reload in mass quantities,probably 5-6 mos. worth of rounds) instead of small quantities 1-2 times a week.

How long before a match can you reload rounds before they "go BAD"?

And, is there any special way I should store them?

Thanks Agian,
Jim

 

[chuckw2]

Treegunner,

Great question, a couple of years ago, in December, at the last local 600 yard match of the season, I simply did not have the time or energy to reload 80 rounds of ammo for my 6.5.


I went in my closet and found enough old ammo,some it over a year old)to shoot in this last match. With this miss matched ammo, I still shot just fine.

Perhaps it is more of a mind game than the ammo really going bad.

Some of my MR and LR friends will load months ahead of a match and seat their bullet a little long and just a couple of days before the match run them in a Wilson seater to get them to the proper seating depth. They think by doing this that it will break any chemical bond that might have formed between the bullet and the inside of the neck, that would give them varying degrees of neck tension. This may or may not be true.


I like shooting fresh ammo in matches, just a week or two old.


Does it make a big difference? Most likely only in my head


Chuck

 

[dreever]

I personally feel what's more important is to load your brass within a day after having the necks sized because there will be a certain amount of spring back which could vary from case to case if left go to long. I generally size and clean brass in 100 piece or less lots, then load them the next day. Some of it may then sit months before use with no ill effects.

Danny

 

[chuckw2]

Great point Danny. I load the bullets the day that I resize the necks. I have some .223 and .243 varmint ammo that was loaded 4 years ago and it still shoots great.



Chuck

 

[Treegunner]

Awesome, Thanks for the replies. Reloading had become a chore with my work schedule so this will actually make things much easier and it seems it wont sacrifice accuracy much if at all.

thanks again
Jim

 

[CatShooter]

When I moved four years ago, I came across a few boxes of loaded BR rounds that were 20 years old - I hadn't used the rifle in a looong time... they shot as well as the day they were loaded.

.

 

[Treegunner]

I came across a few boxes of loaded BR rounds that were 20 years old - they shot as well as the day they were loaded.

.

That's amazing... I hope I don't keep them that long before shooting them Awesome testimony

Jim

 

[GermanS1]

Jim, I recently shot a Palma match,800, 900, 1000) with some handloads that were 5 years old, no problems at all. I also shot a couple of matches with Lake City 62 Match 30-06, a mere 46 years old and WCC 60 .308, 48 years old. They both performed perfectly,not as accurate as modern handloads, but they did what they should).

Keep your ammo out of extremes of temperature and humidity and it'll be fine.

 

[memilanuk]

I'll freely admit I'm one of those guys who is up late the night before a match assembling enough rounds to shoot the next day

In the past I've read of people having issues with what they termed 'cold welding' where ammo that had been sitting for a while,year or more) had excessively high pressure. When they checked some more of that same loaded ammo they found the neck tension was extremely high, and the 'standard' practice I'd heard of for ammo that was loaded well in advance seems to be to seat long, and then seat to final depth shortly before use, to break the 'seal' loose in the neck.

Yes/no/maybe/all wet?

It's of particular interest to me as I need to load up a large quantity of long range match ammo well in advance,as much as six months) and it'd be handy to know if I need to pack a lite weight press w/ seater die along for the trip.

 

[Kodiak99317]

I went out and shot,HBR) a 50-5X at 100 yds with ammo that was loaded 4 years ago. I too was always thinking it mattered, it does not, while as long as it is not over 20 years old, I would not worry anymore myself.

 

[people]

I load it all single stage and all at the same time. As I shoot it up I have not noticed any drop in accuracy. I do not load it for the weather conditions but just very good rds.

 

[CatShooter]

I'll freely admit I'm one of those guys who is up late the night before a match assembling enough rounds to shoot the next day

In the past I've read of people having issues with what they termed 'cold welding' where ammo that had been sitting for a while,year or more) had excessively high pressure.

Yes/no/maybe/all wet?

I'd say all wet - otherwise, how would we be able to buy factory ammo that sat on in the factory or on shelves for a year or two... we would be getting high pressure all the time.


.