AK Sponsor
Posted: 9/15/2006 3:14:25 PM EDT
|
10 or 11 years ago I put away 480 rounds of the white box non corrosive Russian HP's that were available at the time. They have been air conditioned most of their life save a little time in storage. Anyway, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to shoot up the old stuff and replace it with current manufacture Golden Bear soft points? |
|
Some of the ammo labeled "non-corrosive" back then was actually mildly corrosive. I nearly had to trash an SKS back about 1991 or 1992, I shot it with some Russian ammo and then left it in my truck for about a month or so. When I tried to clean it the piston, gas tube, and a small part of the inside of the barrel was covered with some kind of greenish-brown goop. Wound up soaking it with gas and if finally cleaned up enough to cycle but it still looked cruddy. I was suprised that more of the barrel wasn't messed up but most of it looked OK. I'm not sure how this might affect stored ammo. YMMV. |
|
If you read the www.ammo-oracle.com, it's generally recommended to rotate your ammo every 5 years. The above poster is absolutely correct: stored the way you have, that ammo will outlast you even if you're 18 y/o. But if you are a purist, store the ammo in airtight, good condition US ammo cans with dessicant in a cool dry place. Rotate the stock every 5 years. 
|
No. Plus, corrosive 'Potassium Chlorate'-based primers are extremely stable chemically and are much more tolerant of heat than 'Lead Styphnate'-based primers. Both will still outlive you though. 
|
| I think that it's a good practice to have a minimum stock level and use the FIFO (first in, first out) inventory method with any consumable regardless of how long it may or may not last. It's not fermenting, so the old stuff needs to be shot first. On the other hand, don't buy more just because you're worried that it's going to go bad, because it's not. |
AK Sponsor