Shelf life of defensive ammo

[Guest HunterH]

I did a search a few differnet ways for an older thread, but did not find anything. Sorry if I missed it. MY question is: I have 10 year old Corbon ammo .40s&w and wanted to know if I should have confidence in it or shoot it off and buy new stuff? I will be getting newer stuff for my primary carry guns, but I wanted to use this in my less used guns. I just want to have confidence that it will go boom. I suspect it is fine, but wanted to ask to be sure.

Thanks!

Hunter

[Guest 2Old]

The question you've got to ask yourself is "do you want to bet your life that it's still good". If it's been sealed in an ammo can it's likely still good, or it could still be good even if it's just been lying around in your closet... but I'd buy new ammo for self defense and go to the range and have a ball with the old stuff.

[molonlabetn]

I would say get new ammo, but not because there is any reason to expect the 10y/o ammo to not function just fine... instead, simply because ammunition technology has come a long way in 10 years. While pretty much any JHP is adequate to get the job done as long as you are... there's no reason to handicap yourself even slightly over just $20-$30 for new stuff.

[Guest Grout]

If kept indoors or in an ammo can it will be fine.Save your money for some hardball practice ammo.

[towerclimber37]

I would say get new ammo, but not because there is any reason to expect the 10y/o ammo to not function just fine... instead, simply because ammunition technology has come a long way in 10 years. While pretty much any JHP is adequate to get the job done as long as you are... there's no reason to handicap yourself even slightly over just $20-$30 for new stuff.

Eddie has a great point here! also, why take even the smallest chance?

[Guest dwrd]

I have seen on some other boards that some of the permit holders will shoot their carry ammo once a year and then replace it. I think that I am going to follow in that camp, as it lets me get in some practice with my carry ammo, and I know that I should have reliable ammo in my weapon.

[Guest gsbell]

What dwrd said!

And if you where to do a bit of research you will see there are better choices than Corbon.

Ranger-T

Gold Dot

Golden Saber Bonded

Another big problem with carry ammo is repeated chambering of the same round. This can lead to bullet setback which can equal a Ka-Boom

[Guest sling]

What dwrd said!

And if you where to do a bit of research you will see there are better choices than Corbon.

Ranger-T

Gold Dot

Golden Saber Bonded

Another big problem with carry ammo is repeated chambering of the same round. This can lead to bullet setback which can equal a Ka-Boom

Or there is always Federals HST;)

Can you tell that i'm a fan?

As for the repeated chambering setting back rounds... thats a good point. I typically will just drop the first round in the chamber by hand and then slap a full magazine in. Repeated chamberings can be really bad in a Glock due to the sharp edge at the end of the feed ramp inside the bore. Some are sharper than others. It has a nasty habit of cutting brass.

[Guest bkelm18]

Or there is always Federals HST;)

Can you tell that i'm a fan?

As for the repeated chambering setting back rounds... thats a good point. I typically will just drop the first round in the chamber by hand and then slap a full magazine in. Repeated chamberings can be really bad in a Glock due to the sharp edge at the end of the feed ramp inside the bore. Some are sharper than others. It has a nasty habit of cutting brass.

Chambering a round by placing it into the chamber then closing the slide on it is very hard on your extractor. Doing so forces the extractor up and over the rim of the shell, possibly causing it to weaken and break. Whereas normally when it is fed up from the magazine, the rim of the shell comes up under the extractor not placing any extra stress on it. Just my

[Guest HunterH]

Wow, this thread has had lots of great advice including unexpected topics. THank you all very much for all the things to consider. I had not ever considered the set back issue, the extractor issue or the change in technology. All very good points and reasons to get the new stuff as soon as I can. I take the responsibility of carrying very seriously and try to use the best equipment, get the best info, and train as much as I can. I guess I was tired last night and in a moment of cheap-ass weakness considered useing the old stuff.

Now to make my final choice of to stay with the Golden sabre that I have been using the last few years or to try the Hornady or the federal or the gold dot.... is there a better choice among them in .40 as compared to 9mm?

[The Rabbi]

I've shot .45acp ball made for WW2. It worked fine, no failures of any kind. One of my customers has shot ammo made for WW1. It also worked fine.

As long as it hasn't been exposed to oil or has gotten corroded in some way there's nothing to worry about.

A lot of it really boils down to your own confidence in the ammo and weapon. If you lack confidence in any part of it, time to change.

[Guest bkelm18]

I agree with the confidence issue. If you have any doubt in your mind that the ammo will not work properly when you need it most, its time to switch to something else.

[Guest Mugster]

Yeah, there is no shelf life on ammo or ammo components.

I probably wouldn't use corbon anyway even if it was brand new.

[strickj]

I have seen on some other boards that some of the permit holders will shoot their carry ammo once a year and then replace it. I think that I am going to follow in that camp, as it lets me get in some practice with my carry ammo, and I know that I should have reliable ammo in my weapon.

I try to rotate my carry ammo no more then every 6 months,but typically do it more every 3 or 4 months.

The best place to get good carry ammo is http://ammunitiontogo.com/catalog1/index.php?cName=40-sw-hollow-point-ammo

I like using 124g+p LE Gold Dots myself

[Guest sling]

Chambering a round by placing it into the chamber then closing the slide on it is very hard on your extractor. Doing so forces the extractor up and over the rim of the shell, possibly causing it to weaken and break. Whereas normally when it is fed up from the magazine, the rim of the shell comes up under the extractor not placing any extra stress on it. Just my

I disagree. Though it certainly might be possible on something cheaply made i believe the majority of manufacturers actually use at least somewhat good materials. I think it comes down to personal preference as far as how you chamber your rounds as much as anything else.

As some have said confidence in your equipment is key... stay away from ammo where you dont know where its been.

Edited June 22, 2008 by sling

[Guest jackdog]

Sling you may want to re think that chambering idea. There are quite a few Manufactures that tell you to not force the slide over a round Glock is one of them.

[Guest Grout]

Big no no on placing a rd in the chamber and closing the slide.Unless you like replacing extractors.

[Guest sling]

It makes me want to go to the drawing board and design an improvement.

Kind of like when i drew up plans for an AR with a AK gas piston setup..then i found out HK already did it.

[molonlabetn]

Loading a gun in a manner which it does not normally function should be expected to compromise the integrity of the parts. The problem is the pin which an external extractor hinges on gets battered rearward every time the claw must slam over the case-rim... and internal extractors are prone to chipping, cracking or simply becoming de-tuned.

Load from the mag.

[gunsablazin]

I have fired handgun ammo that was 50+ years old and never had a problem, but for carry it would seem that "fresh ammo" is cheap insurance. I fire up and replace my carry ammo every 6-12 months. I'm not as fussy with my house guns, the ammo in them is never exposed to any extreme conditions. that being said my "old" carry ammo has never had an issue either.

[Guest bkelm18]

Yeah, I'm sure your 10 yr old ammo will function just fine, but as gunsablazin said, it's cheap insurance.

[Will]

Most large PD"s give out 50 rds duty every 6 months and require old disposed of.

As long as no oil from gun gets into it it should be good and dependable for a year.

[I_Like_Pie]

Heck...it isn't milk.

Piece of mind I suppose means a lot, but other than setback worries with .40 s&w you don't have to worry about the ammo mysteriously going bad. Heck even if I did have a FTF all I would have to do is pull the trigger again and have that little cylinder roll around a bit more. If I was that worried about the ammo going bad how could I have 100% faith first round in a semi-auto.

I have gone through thousands of rounds of Mauser and Enfield ammo...some of which was 70+ years old without one single failure to fire. I have had misfires in rimfire due to sloppy ammo, but I don't know why there is so much fear of FTF? I have NEVER had a reload FTF...we are talking tens of thousands of rounds here. From what I can tell SD ammo is better than even a reload.

[Guest Grout]

With the cost of ammo nowdays it ain't "cheap" insurance.

[Guest bkelm18]

Paying 20 bucks for a box of Gold Dots is pretty cheap for peace of mind.