A friend recently said that he would never use rifle bullets over 2 years old for moose hunting due to the risk if them being bad. What he was refering to the "knock down" power. He also got into a story of a guy that had fired several shots a moose and when he cleaned it that several bullets had barely punctured the skin. He said several shots were fired and "old / new" bullets mixed up. Is it possible that the "powder" looses its power?? Also "failure" to fire is this a concern with older bullets? Some of you guys have done a lot more hunting than I will ever do and I would like to here your thoughts on this question. Keep up the good posting.

I have shot rifle shells that were 10 or 12 years old with no problem. People are still shooting old military ammo that is very old. If the ammo is stored at room temperature the shelf life will be for a very long time.

The only thing like that that I have heard of was with the old paper shotgun shells. I understand that moisture and age would break them down and render them useless.

I have used powder and loaded ammunition over 20 years old with no problems.Unless you store them improperly by exposing them to moisture or heat they last many years.

ive shot some old bullets very old...dont group well....i duno about it not shooting ect..

mauser06

IF you store your ammo and it is not exposed to moisure or excessive heat it will be fine .

I've got 30-06 ammo, about 500 rounds left, that are from WWII!!!!!! They are corrosive, but I don't care when I shoot them out of an old beat up M1 Garand. Immediately after shooting, I clean the barrel/action in the field. Never had a problem.

I agree with everyone here. As long as the bullets are kept in a dry, normal temperature area, they will last for a long time. Mine are going on about 46 years now. I bought them about 2 years ago form someone who kept them sealed in air tight ammo cans. They work like a champ and kill coyotes with ease.

Believe it or not guys, when I traveled full time, I left my hunting gear at a friends house in his garage (much moisture), and two years later, some dry fired. The others shot bad. I didn't have much choice at the time however but learned an important lesson. But I see people shoot military rounds that looked like they were soaked in mud for the last 50 years without a misfire. On all my carry pistols, I change ammo every two years or so since it is exposed to all kinds of weather being pulled from the cold outside to the heat of a car, etc, etc.

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Military ammo is manufactured to stand up to moisture a bit better than standard factory fare. If you look the primers have been sealed with something that looks like fingernail polish. The other day we were pulling some bullets out of some old 7.62NATO and it has sealer in the case neck too. As long as you keep your powder dry, it should go bang.