Ammunition

We have found that as long as you keep it cool and dry, it stays reliable for decades. Ammunition is surprisingly hardy stuff, but it doesn’t much care for humidity or wild temperature swings. If you leave your boxes in a damp basement or the back of a hot truck, the primers or powder might get finicky over time. We usually suggest storing your Ammunition in a sealed can with a fresh desiccant pack to keep things crisp. Properly handled, it will likely outlast the person who bought it. We have seen surplus rounds from the middle of the last century that still go bang every time, provided they weren’t stored in a puddle.

We find the easiest way to tell them apart is by looking at where the firing pin strikes the base. With centerfire Ammunition, the primer is a little replaceable cup sitting right in the middle of the casing’s bottom. This makes it a favorite for folks who like to reload their own brass after a day at the range. Rimfire Ammunition, on the other hand, has the priming compound spun right into the edge of the rim. Once you fire a rimfire round, the brass is pretty much done for. We usually save the rimfire stuff for small varmints or plinking, while the centerfire gets the call for the heavier chores around the property.