Bad Ammo & The Damage It Causes

Recent ammunition shortages caused a lot of people to dig out the old stash and use it. Even The Gunsmith’s collection of odd ammo brought in a bit of change when we auctioned it on GunBroker.com.

Unfortunately, just because it’s in a box doesn’t mean the ammo is still good to fire, especially since most of you don’t clean your guns thoroughly after you shoot them. I’m certainly no expert, but The Gunsmith loves to tell me all the details of his daily endeavors in the shop.

Old ammo, when not properly stored in a climate controlled area, turns into acidic goo that fouls and then eats firearm actions and barrels. We’ve had multiple instances of guns not firing or ejecting properly, due to fouled barrels and actions recently.

We even had a case where the ammo had lost it’s potency, and bullets did not leave the barrel. The MN record so far is 6 stuck in one pistol barrel. No where close to CA’s 15 bullets, but there’s still time.

Be wary of old ammo, and Happy Shooting!