How long would you store "match" reloads?

[z7.jled]

I will have some things changing in the life and won't be doing much reloading soon. I am not sure how much shooting I will do either. I do plan on loading up around 500rds of ammo for my 308 to have available, but it might be a year to two before I get to shoot some or all of it.

would you do it that way or load a smaller number and if I need ammo, buy some cheap FGMM from Palmetto State Armory for $17 a box?

how long do will well loaded handloads be good? assuming optimal storage conditions in makes sense that they should be just as good in one year as they are in one day. The OCD weirdo in me only wants "fresh" ammo, not that that makes any sense.

 

[Adam4pt6]

I would like to know too. I will say I loaded up some rounds a few months ago for a rifle. I sold that rifle and had another in the same caliber so I loaded up a few for a quick ladder test to make sure they would shoot safely in the 2nd. Gun 2 had a shorter throat and all of the rounds needed to be set a little deeper than before and in doing so I noticed every single one of them seemed "stuck" where they were and had to break free to seat deeper. I'm not sure the effect this has on accuracy or consistency but the gun grouped at .5 with them. I'm curious to know how it would have performed had I not changed seating depth

 

[z7.jled]

I had some I loaded up in June that I finished off on saturday, 3 groups, 5 shots each yielded an average of .38", so I know that 6 months doesnt hurt a thing

 

[tnc]

I shot some match loads in my AR last week that were loaded in 2016. No issues

 

[VP47PPC]

My only experience is with my Swiss K31 and surplus GP11 is still pretty accurate. Guessing your handholds stored in "cool dry" conditions should be ok for a couple years.

 

[Dai Bando]

Use Redding/Imperial dry neck lube inside the case mouths to help prevent cold welding.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

First thing that comes to mind, is that ammo is still being sold that was made during WWII. That ammo still functions properly. This stuff ain't bread, or fresh vegetables. As long as it isn't stored in your aquarium, it would be good.

 

[EchoDeltaSierra]

One of my good friends shot 308 national match about 30 years ago. In the last few years he felt confident enough to gett back into shooting calibers larger than 223 due to (insert long medical story). He still had 308 and 223 match hand loads from a few decades ago that performed very well and without any issues. That said, it was stored cool and dry in a sealed ammo can.

 

[Headquarterz]

Cold welding of the bullets to neck will produce vertical, but are we talking minute of steel plate or hold the 10 ring at 8,9, and 1k? If the former, I wouldn't worry about it and would store the ammo.

 

[z7.jled]

Cold welding of the bullets to neck will produce vertical, but are we talking minute of steel plate or hold the 10 ring at 8,9, and 1k? If the former, I wouldn't worry about it and would store the ammo.

I don’t plan on any serious fclass or Br games and if I do, I’ll change a whole lot of stuff including ammo, but I think I’ll use some Redding dry lube as well to try and reduce cold welding

 

[3-0-hate]

If you are worried about cold welding of the bullet in the necks, you could always work up a load using hex-boron coated bullets. Store them in an ammo can in a climate controlled environment with some desiccant packs in there. Should be GTG.

 

[NGCSUGrad09]

I found a box of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo that I loaded 4 years ago right before Christmas. 5 round group was 3/8 MOA and had an SD of 6, and that was before I have all of the fancy tools I have now. You should be fine.

 

[Milo 2.5]

I hear of cold welding, not sure I buy into it. A couple yrs ago I shot some Federal red box 22-250 that was 35 yrs old in a 788 Rem, it shot better than I remember, had a better scope this go.
In 2001 I loaded 3-4K 223 rds, vacuum sealed them, they shoot great. Many other factory hunting rds that sat for yrs also.
One summer and fall I did haul a box of 6.5x47 to range 20+ times w/o firing it, 35 mile round trip, some gravel. That ammo shot like crap, I chalked it up to powder settling.
I'd load the ammo, store correctly, if your load is good, it will most likely out shoot the FGMM that you'd end up buying.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

My only experience is with my Swiss K31 and surplus GP11 is still pretty accurate. Guessing your handholds stored in "cool dry" conditions should be ok for a couple years.

Funny, thats exactly what I thought of when I saw the thread title. When my K31 had a scope on it, .7 groups were common with 35 year old ammo.

 

[sabrecross]

A climate controlled environment is key. You shouldn't have any problems storing them for several years.

 

[Supersubes]

I shot some 6.5 creed I loaded in June. It’s been everywhere. 90+ temps, we’ll below freezing for the last few weeks, while stored in a regular mtm style box. Shot the last ten rounds at a plate this afternoon. Shot great, AVG and SD were dead on right where they should have been. An ammo can and some desiccant packs from Amazon ought to do just fine if it concerns you.

 

[enigmamdw]

We used to shoot 556/ 762 from boxes over ten years old and kept in what one would call austere conditions. >115degF high and low humidity varinances, pull it out and shoot it with no issues. I pulled some .308 from '04 and put it through one of my bolt guns last month and had zero issues or perceived accuracy loss. Humidity and temp fluctuations hurts ammo to my understanding. Barring exseesive amounts of either, ammo is basically gtg for our lifetime. YMMV.

 

[Singleshot]

As many have said. Environment you store it in is key. The ones stored in my ammo can / safe near dehumidifier perform as expected (.5 Moa or better in my case) after 10 years +/- (308 & 223 match rounds).

HOWEVER, couple of years ago, I had these test rounds I’ve been meaning to shoot but never got it it. They were just left on the bench in my garage, for about a year. When I finally got to shoot it, I had all kinds of issues. When I got home and decided to pull a few of them, the powder was “lumpy”. Weird. Never seen it before. I’m guessing it got wet *shrug.

 

[clcustom1911]

Sealed ammo can with one or two dessicant packs in there. You'll be fine. I found some 45 ammo I loaded 5+ years ago and shot it the other day. Function and accuracy was the same in the same pistol it was loaded for.

 

[47guy]

ive never shot ammo older than about 3 months...i load fresh a day or two before a match but i know a few guys that load during the winter for the following season and a couple of them just seat .020 or so long then seat to finial depth before a match...like someone said im not sure i buy into the whole bullet weld thing because i to have seen OLD ammo shoot very well with decent ESs.

 

[DPhillips62]

I use dry graphite in the necks and on the bullets to prevent cold welding. Then I seal the loaded rounds in vacuum seal bags. I'm shooting ammo that was loaded 2-3 years ago and It's still as accurate as it was the day it was loaded.