What to do with old handloads?

[radford56]

Yesterday I decided to reorganize and inventory my long term ammunition stash. This was supposed to be just stored factory and military surplus ammunition. I was surprised to find an ammo can in the stash that contained around 400 rounds of .223 plinking handloads (WW748/55 FMJs) that I'd assembled to use in an AR-15. Date on these was 1998!

I don't store handloads for long term use, I've always tried to assemble and fire them in a timely fashion. So now I'm contemplating what I ought to do with these - shoot them or disassemble them and reuse the components. If I shoot them I'd try seating the bullets a couple thousandths to break any "weld" that has developed between the bullets and case necks. Since these were to be used as blasting ammo I would use them for short range drills, nothing where real accuracy is needed or expected.

Probably ought to break them down and salvage the components, but I admit that I just hate disassembling ammo.

Opinions on the best course of action? Appreciate any experiences you may have had with handloaded ammunition this old.

 

[Big Mc]

Yesterday I decided to reorganize and inventory my long term ammunition stash. This was supposed to be just stored factory and military surplus ammunition. I was surprised to find an ammo can in the stash that contained around 400 rounds of .223 plinking handloads (WW748/55 FMJs) that I'd assembled to use in an AR-15. Date on these was 1998!

I don't store handloads for long term use, I've always tried to assemble and fire them in a timely fashion. So now I'm contemplating what I ought to do with these - shoot them or disassemble them and reuse the components. If I shoot them I'd try seating the bullets a couple thousandths to break any "weld" that has developed between the bullets and case necks. Since these were to be used as blasting ammo I would use them for short range drills, nothing where real accuracy is needed or expected.

Probably ought to break them down and salvage the components, but I admit that I just hate disassembling ammo.

Opinions on the best course of action? Appreciate any experiences you may have had with handloaded ammunition this old.

Just use them for foulers. Just my two cents Tommy Mc

 

[jepp2]

Date on these was 1998!

Those are new compared to some of the rounds I have used.

With the current shortage of components, it might change your direction. But breaking the potential bullet neck weld is a great idea. I would tend to just shoot them (assuming the brass is sized properly for your rifle. Then you can put them back through your normal loading process and timing.

 

[milboltnut]

shoot em'

 

[FNSafari]

I loaded some 30-06 for a moose hunt in 1999. My wife drew a tag in 2016 and I tested those 1999 loaded rounds and they were spot on. Shot a moose with them. Store them in a container in a cool dry space and don't worry about it.

 

[chutem]

I would shoot them. On the neck "weld" thought, would this not be a concern on the long term, stored factory and mil surp ammo as well? "Short range drills"...shoot em up.

 

[Jager]

In 1988 I sat down one afternoon and carefully loaded up forty rounds of .270 Win... 56.5 grains of IMR 4831 behind a 130 gr. Nosler Partition. They were intended for my Ruger No. 1 hunting rifle.

When you only shoot one round a year they last a very long time! I still have a dozen-odd rounds left out of that 1988 batch. The deer who fell in the latter years were every bit as non-plussed as were those early on.

Crafted properly and stored properly, neither factory ammunition nor handloads have an expiration date.

Enjoy your find!

 

[tominboise]

Yeah, Like everyone else, I'd just shoot them. For a long time in my life, I had more time to reload than I did to shoot, so I am still shooting up ammo from back then. Go for it!

Might be interesting to put a rifle on the bench and see how they do at 100/200/300/etc., compared to your newer loads.

 

[madmixerman]

Choot em.

 

[DiffEQ]

Cover fire!

 

[jackson1]

Ran out of projects last winter. Decided I would only keep 50 rounds loaded per rifle, so I broke the rest down. Did notice a little cold welding. Cured that by seating a little deeper before pulling the bullets. Luckily for me I have sons and grandkids. So hopefully, I won't be the guy on the local news, where the authorities are hauling vast amounts of loaded ammo out of my basement. Or maybe I will.

 

[FNSafari]

Ran out of projects last winter. Decided I would only keep 50 rounds loaded per rifle, so I broke the rest down. Did notice a little cold welding. Cured that by seating a little deeper before pulling the bullets. Luckily for me I have sons and grandkids. So hopefully, I won't be the guy on the local news, where the authorities are hauling vast amounts of loaded ammo out of my basement. Or maybe I will.

It depends on how many rifles you have!

 

[DiffEQ]

Ran out of projects last winter. Decided I would only keep 50 rounds loaded per rifle, so I broke the rest down. Did notice a little cold welding. Cured that by seating a little deeper before pulling the bullets. Luckily for me I have sons and grandkids. So hopefully, I won't be the guy on the local news, where the authorities are hauling vast amounts of loaded ammo out of my basement. Or maybe I will.

Scroo the media! I'm proud of my arsenal (more than three guns) and my "stockpile" of ammunition (more than 10 boxes).
I'm glad to be a dangerous, domestic terrorist!

 

[radford56]

Thanks for all the replies - you've reinforced the decision that I'd pretty much already made (but it's good to get some positive feedback).

 

[D-4297]

FWIW , I have some Russian 7N1 Sniper ammo from the 70's , and some Czech 152gr , for a 7.62x54r Mosin that is still in the original paper packaging , and it is some of the most accurate ammo you could put in a 91/30 . If you have any concerns , set your seating die to touch the bullet , and add a 1/6 turn . Shoot em .

 

[mr45man]

Had some 8mm german 1940 something , shot steel one day with it, all went boom, iron sights, hit the Rams at 500m most of the time. That was about 10 years ago.

 

[snert]

I regularly shoot LC 43 in my M1 carbine.

Ok, its not a tack driver, but heck....

Just shoot it. If you feel real OCD, tap it in a seat die 2 thou.

If you stored it cool and dry, just shoot.

 

[riflewoman]

Yesterday I decided to reorganize and inventory my long term ammunition stash. This was supposed to be just stored factory and military surplus ammunition. I was surprised to find an ammo can in the stash that contained around 400 rounds of .223 plinking handloads (WW748/55 FMJs) that I'd assembled to use in an AR-15. Date on these was 1998!

I don't store handloads for long term use, I've always tried to assemble and fire them in a timely fashion. So now I'm contemplating what I ought to do with these - shoot them or disassemble them and reuse the components. If I shoot them I'd try seating the bullets a couple thousandths to break any "weld" that has developed between the bullets and case necks. Since these were to be used as blasting ammo I would use them for short range drills, nothing where real accuracy is needed or expected.

Probably ought to break them down and salvage the components, but I admit that I just hate disassembling ammo.

Opinions on the best course of action? Appreciate any experiences you may have had with handloaded ammunition this old.

Just go shoot them. I recently opened and shot a whole friggin”’ can of 223 I loaded in 1984. Same load WW748 and 55 FMJ. All went bang and all functioned just fine in my AR. They’ve since been reloaded again and sit on my shelf. Ammo is longer-lived than most people think.

 

[nksmfamjp]

I think the definition of old is in question.....In general, I’m more worried about 50 yr old stuff than 25 yr.

Also, folks talk about some neck weld, but I’m not sure wha5 the means. Is it a chemical reaction or just static friction?

 

[rr2030]

Last year I fired handgun ammo I loaded in 1982, 2.7 Bullseye / 148 LWC no issues. Just shoot it.