1960's 22LR ammo still good?

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Ruger508

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Recently talking with my father-in-law about shooting etc, and he mentions he might have some 22lr ammo somewhere he brought back from the army, he was an MP and served in Korea. He's a bit of a pack rat. Brings up a Dutch Masters cigar box from his basement with 850 rnds of 22lr Remington and Winchester X. This stuff is from the mid 60's, is it still good to shoot? Maybe safer in my LCR rvlvr?[thinking]
 
I'd imagine it should be fine or at least safe to shoot. I shot some 60s 38 specials that my grandmother had and shot great.

If they were stored in a damp basement, worst that could happen is that some might be duds now? Try em out! If you don't feel safe firing them, I'll gladly dispose of them for ya.
 
I would try a few in the revolver and then get after it. If they're not visibly corroded from excess moisture, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be just fine to shoot. There wasn't a dearth of terrible ammo running around in the 60's Afaik... granted I wasn't around then.. :)
 
any lube left on them ? I got plenty of old ammo 60s 70s most stored in closets and atticks over the years. shoots good, better than remington golden!
 
yeah maybe shoot a little and see how it behaves.
with very old ammo i am often cautious that the round exits the barrel before squeezing off another.
at least with 22LR a squib load isn't going to blow off you're face....maybe just dent the ego a bit.

although since it's 22LR you might as well put it on gunbroker and charge 25c/round. [smile]
 
Just be careful not to damage the box if it's in good shape.there are a lot of people that collect old ammo boxes.
 
I just shot some CCI Mini mags that I bought at K-Mart around 1975.

Worked great.

Only $1.37 for a box of 100.
 
mac1911 said:
That sounds expensive for 1975......
Click to expand...

Fifty cents for a box of 50 was standard in the '70s. Mini-mags were "high end" then, so $1.37 for 100 would be right in line.

As to the OP, the very worst that can happen when shooting old .22 is either a squib, or a hangfire. Take your cleaning rod with you, so you can shove out any bullet that doesn't clear the barrel.
 
KBCraig said:
Fifty cents for a box of 50 was standard in the '70s. Mini-mags were "high end" then, so $1.37 for 100 would be right in line.

As to the OP, the very worst that can happen when shooting old .22 is either a squib, or a hangfire. Take your cleaning rod with you, so you can shove out any bullet that doesn't clear the barrel.
Click to expand...

+1 to the cleaning rob/squib remover. If the powder is compromised, you'll end up with a squib assuming the primer is still functional as well. Hopefully the worst case you have to deal with just a round that is a dud.
 
As others have said if its not corroded it should be safe to shoot. I have 30-06 sears and roebuck brand ammo form the 1950s that looks like brand new.......I would have no problem firing it (as far as safety is concerned) but I keep it as is in the original box in the safe......cuz its just frigging cool to have a box of that hanging around. Most of the mis surp guys (im new to the mil surp collecting) have ammo we get that was made decades and decades ago and have no problems shooting it at all.

I read somewhere on a mil sup website that some of the guys "shake" a box of ammo if it has been sitting around for decades. The thought is if the box lies undisturbed for decades the powder can "pack up" at the tip rather than the base of some of the carteridges that are oriented in the box or crate upside down and cause a mis fire. I have no idea if this is true or not and am not saying I even believe in this theory......but........if you start having some mis fires you could try shaking the box first.
 
Last edited:
Ruger508 said:
Recently talking with my father-in-law about shooting etc, and he mentions he might have some 22lr ammo somewhere he brought back from the army, he was an MP and served in Korea. He's a bit of a pack rat. Brings up a Dutch Masters cigar box from his basement with 850 rnds of 22lr Remington and Winchester X. This stuff is from the mid 60's, is it still good to shoot? Maybe safer in my LCR rvlvr?[thinking]
Click to expand...

.
 
I had a bunch of old ammo I got from someone who cleans out houses a while back. It all looks fine and shot with no issue. Mostly 9 and 45. Therre was some stuff I dont shoot so I gave it to my brother. He shot it no issues.
 
We expect a lot from our ammo-whether it's Artic cold or tropical heat-and we expect it to go bang no matter what. Luckily, 150 years of innovation and competition has given us ammo users ammo that does just that.
I have shot 40,50 even 60 year old ammo for calibers like .32 Win. Special, .30-30 Win, .35 Rem., .25-20 Win, .30-06 etc.. that was just fine. This has all been hunting ammo, but I've also shot military surplus .45ACP and .30-06 as well.

As long as it hasn't been stored outside for years, I would be confident that your ammo is good to go.
 

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