Ammo at the yard sale

[mydogiscool]

Bought this ammo for 10.00 today can't have enough ammo. Some of the boxes look very old, do you guys know how long ammo keeps? How can you tell if it's bad? Also does anyone know if collectors go after the old bullet boxes?

 

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[pong12211]

Yes collectors buy old bullet boxes.. Ammo never actually goes bad it always has the ability to be fired regardless of the age and should always be handled with care.. Those are some pretty nice finds you have there.. Nothing very rare but still some nice finds.. For 10 bucks you made out pretty well..

 

[vpnavy]

Nice - I am always looking as well mydogiscool. Your ammo is probably "safe" to fire providing it was never submerged, corroded or otherwise visually damaged. I remember reading an article about a collector firing 1917 (7x57mm Mauser) cartridges without any problem and other's shooting WWII shells as well.

 

[leadnugget]

very nice buy.

i don't know how old those boxes are but i am sure that they are collectable.


ammo that has been stored properly can last a very long time.

i just finished shooting a case of 7.62x54R that was imported from some soviet block

country, it was from the 1940s or 50s and not one misfire.

 

[mydogiscool]

Cool thanks guys. The old boxes don't have zip codes so I guess they are pre-65. All the boxes are full was very happy. I'm going to add to my mic ammo, I have in my tote.

 

[KONO]

They are collectible enough to not shoot!

 

[mydogiscool]

Kono, yes

 

[jerseyben]

Saw a few old boxes of ammo at a sale this morning. It appeared to be corroded, thus I did not even bother to ask how much. (This was in a known flood prone area).

 

[diggummup]

Don't forget that sometimes the empty box is worth something too. Condition is key as usual though.

ammo shell box | eBay

 

[drbecker]

The 2 Remington boxes at the top are what are known as the DogBone style of marking. It is suppose to predate the end of WWII but some might have been sold in the early post war years using up old boxes. So that ammo is probably 65 to 70 years old. It is worth more as a collectable one of the boxes would probably get you your $10 back on a good day. I believe the Western Match ammo box is early 60s the other Remington box is probably 50s or 60s. The Federal boxes and the other Western are only maybe 10 or 20 years old at the oldest so new stuff. The shotgun slugs are neat I think 50s vintage. You did well for $10. Ammo dies not go bad as long as it is stored properly but some older ammo is not as reliable or as good as new stuff. Powder does slowly deteriorate and velocities become inconsistent. Centerfire brass cases made prior ot WWII in the US had a tendency to have necks split from age. I had a batch of 1932 dated 30-06 that would split heads when fired. I stopped shooting that. It was US military M1 30 caliber ammo loaded by Frankfort Arsenal. I had over 600 rounds of it and shot about 20 had two head splits in the 20 rounds so that was bad ammo. I have heard that about 1940 the US military adopted new Quality Control processes that greatly improved the bras cases and splits became rare after then.

 

[dejapooh]

I was at a garage sale a few Months ago and they had about a dozen boxes of ammo of various sizes. What can I do with that stuff if I buy it? Can I sell it? Craigslist? Here?