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Posted: 7/13/2007 8:38:15 AM EDT
[#1]
I've shot .22 ammo that's been sitting on a shelf in it's original cardboard box for 30 years that still shoots fine. If it's stored well, I'd guess it'll last longer than you.
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Posted: 7/13/2007 8:44:27 AM EDT
[#2]
like any ammo, if stored correctly it will last long time..i have ammo from the 40's that shoots as well as newer ammo.
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Posted: 7/13/2007 9:27:55 AM EDT
[#3]
Your kids will be able to shoot it when they're adults...even if you don't have kids yet.
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Posted: 7/13/2007 9:43:55 AM EDT
[#4]
I have some federal 22LR from the mid1950s, when I went shooting with my dad, it is still good today.
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Posted: 7/13/2007 9:44:27 AM EDT
[#5]
Probably best to use jacketed bullets for storage to avoid jamming issues because of old lube/wax on lead bullets.
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Posted: 7/13/2007 10:56:18 AM EDT
[#6]
I have shot 10-year-old stuff that was stored in the cardboard boxes just lying around the house. All went bang.
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Posted: 7/13/2007 11:23:36 AM EDT
[#7]
Yeah, I've found a box of federal 22lr in my mothers underware drawer, it was from when I was a little kid, probably 15 years old, fired fine.
ETA: I read somewhere that black powder kegs had been uncovered from the civil war era that was still good. Heat is going to deteriate the powder, but cold won't hurt it. If stored in a dry place (like the .50 can) it will basicly last forever. 
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Posted: 7/13/2007 11:29:58 AM EDT
[#8]
I've had no problem with some 10 year old .22LR ammo that I have. No problems in revolvers or autos.
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Posted: 7/13/2007 11:31:49 AM EDT
[#9]
I have been teaching my kids with Ely Black Box (lead bullet w/lube - sub sonic) left over from my early 70's target shooting days. Not one miss fire so far. It has been stored in a garage cabinet. IE: no ammo can. Half the years within site of the ocean, half in NV.
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Posted: 7/13/2007 12:27:52 PM EDT
[#10]
I have a bunch of Winchester Super X that I bought in 1992, been sitting on the shelf in the original boxes. No issues. I can't say the same about newly purchased Remington bulk pack ammunition in .22lr.
If you pack it in 50 cal cans and store in cool dry place, nest to your wine would be good, your grandkids should have no problems with it. |
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Posted: 7/13/2007 12:32:50 PM EDT
[#11]
Some of you guys are funny.
I have shot stuff that's over 50 years old,and was stored loose in a damp, dark basement, sitting in old coffee cans,cigar boxes etc. Some paper hulled 12 ga shells, that after firing,all that was left was the brass. Yet all went BOOM! .38s that my Dad had from his LE days,and he got out in the 1950s. All were green and some so crusty they barely fit in the chamber.But guess what? When the hammer drops, they go BOOM! Lots of really old .22 LRs as well. This were all "stored" in about the worst conditions.I would expect if kept dry and moisture proof, they'd be good when we are all but a memory. |
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Posted: 7/13/2007 2:46:31 PM EDT
[#12]
great, thanks for the info everyone.
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Posted: 7/13/2007 3:13:01 PM EDT
[#13]
60 years plus if stored dry and low temp.
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Posted: 8/8/2007 11:02:29 PM EDT
[#14]
keep it dry it will last forever
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Posted: 8/8/2007 11:08:02 PM EDT
[#15]
how long exactly would three eons be? figure that out and add another 37 years...
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Posted: 8/9/2007 12:22:14 AM EDT
[#16]
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Posted: 8/9/2007 1:06:21 AM EDT
[#17]
I will not depend on the reliability of old .22 being rimfire ammo.
Maybe it is because I am from a tropical region. But I have had several misfires from old .22 ammo no matter how and where i store them.  Center fires are a different story. |
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Posted: 8/9/2007 2:00:30 AM EDT
[#18]
Eye_Spy what brand or make of that old .22 ammo do you or did have that misfired. Reason I ask is back in 1986 when I went back to the Philippines for a vacation I borrowed my dad's .22 rifle and a box of Remington Kleebore ammo that he bought during his navy days (1950's) basically I did not have any misfire issue. Then again he stored his ammo in the closet. |
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Posted: 8/9/2007 4:02:56 AM EDT
[#19]
I seem to rotate so quickly through my .22 LR that shelf life isn't a concern right now.
 That of course, may change.Now with 4 kids and having moved to a farm, an open box of 550rds of .22 sure doesn't last too long. I must be living right, now that a box of Federal is on my wife's grocery list every week. Back to the topic, I think 99% of folks baby their ammo waaaay too much. Esp stuff made within the past 20-30 years. I have seen 12 gauge Winchester Drylock shotgun shells that have been rolling around the bottom of a duck boat for 2 years go bang. Clean and dry and you should be good to go. |
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Posted: 8/9/2007 7:21:30 AM EDT
[#20]
I've fired ammo from WW1 (not .22lr) and got some hangfires and a few I had to hit the primer twice, but they went bang.
-JTP |
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Posted: 8/9/2007 7:39:10 AM EDT
[#21]
really really long time...........
Just don't store it out in the rain........... 
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Posted: 8/9/2007 7:47:19 AM EDT
[#22]
As long as the ammo is decent when you put it away, it should be OK for many decades.
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Posted: 8/15/2007 7:35:42 PM EDT
[#23]
100yrs...........
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Posted: 8/16/2007 2:38:26 AM EDT
[#24]
You must be desperate digging in your Mom's underwear drawer. What else did you find? |
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Posted: 8/16/2007 3:16:18 AM EDT
[#25]
22lr shelf life?
I would worry more about the shelf deteriorating and failing before the ammo goes bad! 
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