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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo

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1945 A

09-19-2005 08:15:29




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Does anyone know of, or tell me about the "shelf life" of rifle ammuntion?
The reason I ask, is that twice now, within the last couple of months, I"ve shot at feral hogs on my place. The first one I hit, squealed like nobody"s business for way too long, before dying---- I attributed that one to poor angle/pulling the shot. The second one, Friday evening, was standing broadside at about 100 yards, I had plenty of time, but the &%$& thing jumped (I didn"t know a 300 pound animal could jump waht appeared to be "flat footed" 6" up a berm and disappear!).
I"m pretty darn sure this second one wasn"t me---I had plenty of time to settle down and take the shot, and I"ve never had a deer take a step after shooting, so my question is, could the ammo I"m using (factory Remington 150 gr.) have gotten old on me? It"s something I don"t buy a lot of, so it"s probably 2-3 years old now. I"m going to take my gun to the range this week to double check the scope (Leupold "gold ring" 3X9 variable).
This problem is driving me crazy---I"m used to 1 shot 1 kill.....
Thanks for any help!
P.S.----No comments about the "shooter, not the gun" please----LOL

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Herc36A

09-25-2005 16:28:03




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
I have actually gone hog hunting, A buddy of mine and I went after some European hogs on a game preserve. What everyone is saying about the armor plating is correct. We both took Marlin .45/70's shooting 405 grain bullets. He shot his like you would a deer and had to shoot it 5 times before he brought it down. On mine I shot it with it walking twards me and penetrated it just beind the head at an angle. It dropped like a rock and squealed for a bit. So I'd say it definatley isn't the ammo, or the gun, but rather a different prey you were't used to. (for what it's worth)

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buickanddeere

09-20-2005 20:20:38




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
A hog is armor plated. The typical off the shelf 150 grain in a 30/06 is a varmit round for soft skinned game. Try something that says designed to penetrate on the ammo box. Nosler Partition etc are exceptional good dual purpose cartriges. Soft on the nose if only flesh is hit. Solid and hard construction for the other 2/3 of the bullet should bone(s)get hit.



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devildawg(tx)

09-19-2005 23:49:56




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
If your shooting hogs you need a large caliber, high velocity round. The headshot is the best way to take down a hog. I've seen bullets that riccoshet off of a hog if they're not hit square. On the hog that got away, did you find the blood trail? Good luck on future ventures.



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jack12345

09-19-2005 21:08:16




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
I test rifle & ammo befor and after hunting season sometimes even during if rifle got bumped. the more you shoot the better you get to know what shots to take and which one you should pass up.



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youngster

09-19-2005 17:33:38




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
first thing i would do well actually id jsut say i missed then id check my scope mounts all around then have it bore sighted then go to the range and fine tune it. then if you cant hit what your aiming at well your up a creek but im avaliable to come shoot anything you want me to for a small fee. i would also say that i would use a heavier bullet i know that in pa i use a 150 grain .308 to hunt deer and our deer aint big ones and thats the perfect weight bullet for them so upgrade a bit just my two bits about the issue

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buckva

09-19-2005 16:44:41




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  

A short answer is! It ain't your ammo and it ain't your shootin. It's where you hit that hog. Try for the head if you want the hog to just drop. Best shot is right between the eyes.



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Coldiron

09-19-2005 15:08:09




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
My bet is that the hog was hit but the penetrating mushroomed bullet didnt get far enough in to hit a vital. It will crawl off and die somewhere in the brush. You didn`t verify a cal. but 150 grains at 100 yrds that mushooms will slow down inside the body mass pretty quick. Besides that, hogs are tough to knock down.



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1945 A

09-20-2005 09:02:06




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to Coldiron, 09-19-2005 15:08:09  
It"s a 30-.06.
I"m going to the range tomorrow night after work to check out the scope, also will look at bullet options while there.
If scope checks okay, I"ll start taking head shots. This particular incident, though, the hog was broadside, and the shoulder area looked like the better option, since the head looks pretty small at 100 yds....



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Coldiron

09-21-2005 06:08:48




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-20-2005 09:02:06  
150 grain `06 would be a bit lite for hogs. I would step it up to 200 gr and go for the deep penetration. The bullet will be slower but inertia will give you more knock down power.



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Show the Flag

09-19-2005 14:03:30




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
Check for a vinegar like smell, this is the indicator of powder that has gone bad. If it was stored properly, there should be no reason why it will not keep a lifetime. I vacuum packed, repacked in grease, and buried in sealed PVC pipe sections several thousand rounds of military caliber ammunition during the 90's, when the administration was threatening to take our guns and the FBI and BATF were on their murderous rampages, and during my yearly quality assurance checks, the quality and performance has not deteriorated. It is also a good idea to put a drop of nail polish over the primer to prevent the possibility of high humidity causing the primer not to ignite, most military ammo already has this sealed.

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Steve from Mo - dangit!

09-19-2005 11:32:29




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 Tougher critters. in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
A 300 pound feral hog is a lot different target than a deer. Your loads might be light for them. I don't know what state you are in, but in the midwest, deer don't weigh half that much.



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dhermesc

09-19-2005 11:12:49




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
People line up to buy rifle ammo from the 1940s. I'm shooting Turkish ammo that's stamped '42, all it did was get hotter. Lots of Russian 7.62X39 from the 1950s is being sold in the US today for pennies per round, I hear of very few failures.



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Ken Crisman

09-19-2005 10:50:13




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
Did you ever think maybe age is changing your shooting accuracy . I used to be able to nail tacks at 100 yrds but not now . Mine accuracy changed I know that . I've done alot of Chuck hunting in the past . I also had one jump straight up & run to hole . Went down to investigate & found I hit under him because the ground was exploded where the bullet hit , & no blood . So relax , there's more light around them to hit than ya think . I use reloads only & if they show any green color where the bullet goes into the case , pull the lead & dump the powder . If shells are keep high & dry , they store for years . ken

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old

09-19-2005 10:14:49




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
First off a pig can be harder to put down the a deer. As far as ammo I use stuff in my guns that is 50 plus years old. Most of my guns are old milarty stuff, the stuff the antigunner say don't work for hunting but I feed a lot of people with them old guns. I hunt deer every year with a SKS and it works very good.



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Mike M

09-19-2005 09:55:30




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
I mess around with some old odd cal. guns and use old surplus ammo and if I have a problem (very few)it's in the primer they won't even go off. If yours went off and sounded "normal" I'd suspect it of being off target for some reason.Also have you used this gun before on this type of game and gotten one shot one kill success ? Could be these animals are tougher than what you may of shot at before ?

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Coloken

09-19-2005 09:45:23




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
If it "sounded" OK, and felt OK, it was OK. Check the sights.
Kennyo



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kraigWY

09-19-2005 09:30:56




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
I still have some wwII issue 30-06 and 45 ACP ammo, it works just fine. Shelf life for smokless power shell is almost indenfinent



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MAC,IL

09-19-2005 09:30:18




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
You will probably get various answeres. Most cops I know only carry the ammo a year. However I have "old" ammunition I use frequently. I have some .45 cal ball ammo, that I use in an old 45 auto. Headstamps are 1918 and 1942. Old military surplus. Still works OK. I reload a lot of rifle and pistol ammo so I cannot speak to much for the shelf life of these and the powder used. Main thing is proper storage. I suspect some of the ammo used in korea was left over from WW11.

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ribbitt

09-19-2005 09:21:24




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
Your ammo is very likely just fine. Shelf life is pretty long (25 years or so) if it is kept in any kind of reasonable environment, like a house or garage. I would suspect your scope mounts might be loose.



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John in MA

09-19-2005 08:56:00




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 Re: O.T.---- Shelf Life of Rifle Ammo in reply to 1945 A, 09-19-2005 08:15:29  
I"m not an expert, but I know a lot of folks shoot ammo from the "40s. Usually a few outright failures, though.



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