Loaded round shelf life?

[Lonewolf74]

Aright the thread on the powder sitting in the hopper for a week and possibly changing the accuracy of a load got me thinking on something.

I've read a few post where the person stated that rounds he loaded several months to years ago shot different than when they where first loaded. Others have told me they have loads from 10 years ago that still shoot great. I know there can be many variables to this but I'm wondering how many have seen this?

Another thing that I'm sure is partially the culprit is temp sensitivity. So generally how do the rounds act if the powder is temp sensitive? What I mean by this is could you develop a load that's a solid .5 then when it gets cold be a 1.5 or generally does it stay tight but have a poi change?

I ask these things because I'm trying to get all my loads developed over the next few months then really wanna make a bunch and forget it except practice and confirming zero when season gets close...I hunt like a mad man through archery season and don't have time for load development in the fall so what's ya'll opinions on the best approach?

 

[Montana338mag]

I had some ammo that was loaded about 20 years ago. I shot it the other day. It shot same poi as my newly loaded. It was stored in a garage and then ammo cans then a shed, so im pretty sure what he saw was caused by temp swings. Now if it was fully submerged in water for a while or extreme heat i wouldnt doubt there would be a poi shift. If your really conceres brownells sells a primer and bullet selant. Clear nail polish does the same thing.

 

[Lonewolf74]

Thanks for the reply. I wouldn't say I'm real concerned with it and I suppose time and shooting will give me the answer. I'm just hoping that I don't have to keep tweaking things all the time except maybe seating depth after so many hundreds of rounds to compensate for throat erosion. So once I've found a good load with a particular bullet that's what I plan to stick with till there's something else I wanna try

 

[J E Custom]

Powder degrades over time depending on moisture content at the time of loading.

When it degrades, it will normally do 1 of two things. the first stage will be a mellowing/ lowering of burn rate. this ammo/powder will be very consistent at this stage.

The next stage is when it starts breaking down and takes on an acid smell. at this stage of deration, It becomes un stable and should not be used. Loaded ammo that reaches normal has signs on the outside of the cases and should be avoided. I recently fired some ammo that was over 50 years that was sealed and stored properly that shot well and with some degree of accuracy.

Heat sensitivity might have a bearing on the powder life because it may brake down at different rates.

Re loads don't seem to last that long because primers and bullets are not normally sealed.

I personally don't like to leave powder out of the container that it comes in for any more than the time it takes to load the ammo. this helps minimize the chance of changing the moisture content
of the powder. I also use the one pound containers when bulk powder is bought to work out of and keep the keg sealed as much as I can.

Does it make a difference ? don,t know for sure but it cant hurt.

J E CUSTOM