5.56 ammo torture test results - Stored outdoors for 5 years

[longbow]

I had stored loaded pmags and GI mags in a metal box and left them exposed to the elements for 5 years. In the summer of 2008 I thought I'd see what would happen. The box was sealed from moisture. It was exposed to the sun, cold in Indiana for that entire time.

It was a mix of m855, reload, and Winchester white box from Walmart. 55 and 62 grain bullets were in the mix,

On the 16 inch carbines I had zero failure to fires and zero short strokes. Some of the ammo showed some corrosion on the case but nothing else.

On the 18 inch barrel with the rifle length gas tube was another issue. The rifle would short stroke most of the time. I am not sure it is a gas port
,ammo or other issue with the gun.

For the most part, the ammo was good to go for a carbine length gun after baking for 5 years.



W

 

[BehindBlueI's]

That's pretty much how the military stores it. When I worked for DynCorp one of the installations we had the contract for was a PSP (Pre-positioned Supply Point). The ammo was just stored in huge concrete bunker type buildings. There was no climate control.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

This is encouraging. When I ran out of closet space (), I started storing ammo in a (locked) shed. Most of it is corrosive ammo in sealed spam cans, so I'm not too worried about that, but I also have some non-corrosive ammo stored in regular ammo cans.

 

[sporter]

Temperature is not a factor when ammunition is stored in an air tight container.

Just think of all that Soviet bloc ammunition that gets shipped over in sardine cans. You know those Ruskies aren't keeping that in a climate controlled area during the winters.