HJL,
Just a quick heads up. As most like minded folks I’ve been storing food and ammo for some time now. Lately .22 ammo has been more readily available so my son and I decided to do a little plinking with our pistols. We each had two mags with our pistols that have been loaded for some time. When we started to shoot 16 of the 20 rounds didn’t discharge. After a bit we reloaded with some ammo that had been sealed and stored and had no problems.
The ammo in question wasn’t cheap quality, but rather decent grade. I’m planning on going through all my weapons that I have loaded and check to ensure the ammo will respond when I need it the most. I don’t know if this is a problem with .22 only or with any round that hasn’t been stored in an air tight container. Before someone asks; the ammo didn’t have any oxidation on it either. Thoughts? – K R in Kansas
My dad used to be a deputy sheriff in Colorado. They had one guy that transfered in from Florida. One of the guys first questions was how often do you rotate your ammo? Apparently in Florida the humidity is so high that ammo can go bad. Colorado on the other hand is so dry that 100 year old ammo would probably still fire.
In FL, I used to carry a Beretta M21A in .22 LR. But, regardless of the ammo, after a few summer months, not a single round would fire, even from the spare mags. This happened several times. A single stack .45 has a similar reduced problem over a longer period of time using premium ammo. There is nothing like going to the range with your carry FA, only to have half the rounds not go off… So, now, I rotate American made ball ammo every three months… It doesn’t seem to happen with rifle ammo for the truck gun, even though it is in even higher heat. I think it has to do with humidity from sweat from being close to the body.
Imagine carrying concealed all those years and having to use it, only to have it go, ‘Click’…
It is the kind of thing that nightmares are made of…
I’ve had some .22 ammo sitting in an open jar for decades and it still fires. Did any oil get on your ammo? That will ruin it.
First thing to check, is that you’re getting a good pin strike. Maybe you need to clean the firing pin channel, or something similar?
There was a large block of bricks that were bad before the drought. At $20.00 for 550 rounds it was hard to pass up then found out about the Failure To Fire even with a good strike or even many strikes in different weapons which I learned about during the drought. Now I just add to my stock and don’t count on my 22 LR for self defense. There was a recall by lot # back then also.
I purchased a “case” of 22LR many years ago. (15+)
Found that approximately 2 to 5% wouldn’t work in my ruger 1022’s.
Changed pins and springs, same problem.
They run in my revolvers flawlessly.
I guess it is a case of hard brass.
I still have more than half of that lot.
Reminds me, I’ll shoot the revolver today.
Gotta go to the range now.
Have two or three tons of ammo set back at all times. Never had a problem as all are in New metal military grade .50 cal. ammo cans with oxygen absorbers. This includes some very high end long range hand rolled rounds. All primers are sealed and a great amount of time and care goes into this. As for my CCW ever six months run all carry ammo and mags out at the range. Have never had a problem with Critical Defence rounds and I live in the South.
.22 ammo does not seal tight & moisture can easily breech the case. If your firearm/magazine has much residual oil, it too possibly has breeched the ammo. I have had many FTF’s with what you may consider quality ammo. Never have had any issues with the 3 letter brand! Seems that most bucket/bulk .22’s are like buying a brick of firecrackers,,,, bang, dud, bang, dud, dud.
This happens. It is a myth that ammo is weatherproof. Also, I believe carrying ammo around for extended periods can shake up the primers.
My .22 pistols are notorious and when I carried a 1911 .45 after three years of carrying the same defensive ammo in the same mags, I had multiple failures to fire.
You have to practice and rotate.
Practice with what you carry.
Had a Raven .25 that fired flawlessly after 25+ years with the same rounds in the magazine.
.22 is notorious for not going bang so it could just be a particularly bad batch.
If it was carried in a vehicle or other place where vibration is a factor then it is possible for the primer to shake out of the channel. This has been known to happen in centerfire when someone would empty the gun every night and then chamber the same round every morning for an extended period.
I live in Utah. FTFs usually found in Remington bulk ammo. Federal and Winchester plated ammo very reliable. Was on the rifle team at two military academies, and when we got Olin/Winchester ammo, we were happy. No misfires. When we got Remingtons, we all groaned. 3% misfires. Never experienced center-fire duty ammo misfires, and I shoot a lot. Drier here. Your mileage may vary.
I do not unload and load my pistols every day. They go for months of carry without ever unloading them. Avoids bullet set back, and unloaded pistols make me nervous.
I have 40 year old handholds of .38 and .45 that work fine, even with cast bullets, and have had no issues with ammo riding in my pickup for decades. A diesel, no less (vibration….anyone?).
One thing we found out the hard way is 22s that are just tossed into a box not in the trays don’t do well because the primer breaks lose after time and with movement.
Are you sure it’s the ammo? I have seen this behavior before, with some ammo that would fire reliably and some that wouldn’t. After much investigation, it turned out that my firearm, a Ruger 10/22, was notorious for inconsistent pin strikes. I sent the carrier group with the firing pin to some guy in CT, (sorry, don’t remember his name). But he “staked” my firing pin and tuned my varrier group and I haven’t had a misfire in 6000 rounds since.
vacuum pack your ammo in the Food Saver bags. Then just keep the storage temperature as stable as possible.
Premium ammo such as hollow point self defense ammunition have a lacquer that is used to seal the primers in place and around where the bullet goes into the brass. This makes the ammunition much more resistant towards humidity and other issues.
>
For long term storage, I use a food saver vacuum sealing system. I can reload 50 rounds of 9mm or .40 caliber ammunition place them in plastic racks (found discarded at the range) and seal them side by side in a vacuum. Two of these packages fit perfectly in a .50 caliber ammo can and they stack exactly 5 deep yielding 1000 rounds per can. Other ammunition can be sealed in the food saver bags, but care must be given for ammunition that has a sharp spire point because they can puncture the plastic and ruin the vacuum. I have had ammo stored in these vacuum bags and in an ammo can survive in perfect condition even after a week under water from an accident. It’s now how I store all my long term ammunition supplies.