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I've got a couple of cases of pre-Obama Fed Champion .22 long rifle ammo that will be stored outside this winter. Temps will easily get to minus 20 degrees, possibly minus 40. Will this affect the cartridges in any way? I won't be shooting in very cold temps, nor visiting the stuff much either. Just hope it will be intact come spring and summer.

Heat and H2O is the enemy of ammo. As long as it is dry cold should not affect it..

-20 and below is a very dry cold so humidity will not be a problem. If you have a way to vacuum seal them or in good ammo cans would be best. Now if you decide to try to shoot them you may have a surprise. Not very many mfg design there ammo to function good at those temp.

Extreme temperature swings, both hot and cold, accelerate the degradation of ammunition. The nitrates in smokless powder and its binders breakdown faster if it is not properly stored in stable temperature and humidity controlled areas. Shelf life is greatly shortened if not climate controlled.

R,
Bullseye

stupid cold, like -20 to -40, will make the ammo less consistant. thats why the biathalon folks use special ammo thats less cold sensitive. but it should not effect it if you are just storing it. Like it was said air tight ammo can type storage with a dessicant (silica gel) should keep it good for long term storage. if you do not use a dessicant you run the risk of condensation forming as the temps warms up. the big devil to ammo is water so keep your powder dry!

As I recall from a couple of winters back when we had a slightly more moderate winter than normal, temps ranged about 25 - 30 degrees in 24 hours - and often less. It usually remained below 10 degrees in the daytime. It's very, very dry - a major factor in being livable.

This summer it didn't get up to 90 degrees. Elevation is 7800 ft. I may be able to find some ammo cans to put some or all of these bricks into. But, it sounds like the worst environmental abusers are fluctuations in temperature and moisture. I won't be shooting during the winter or if I do it would be indoors. Don't usually shoot bullseye events. This is practice ammo for plate shooting. I'll keep my modest match ammo in the residence.

Thank all of you for your help - I didn't have a clue. I'll keep this information handy for the future.

Four, thought you might being storing/hiding it outside for Dec 21st, 2012 (doomsday prophecy)
Haka

No, nothing brewing on the conspiracy front. Just a high volume shooter who likes to keep things spread out a bit, not all in one place. This is practice ammo and I guess it will do all right under wraps in the dry, clean cold.

I don't expect Dec 21 to have much more meaning than usual, but we'll find out soon enough.

Keep it dry and cool, constant temp. If you are a high volume shooter, the ammo will evaporate before it goes bad.

I'll tell you on 12/22 if I'm worried about 12/21.

greener wrote:I'll tell you on 12/22 if I'm worried about 12/21.

If we're still around.
H