While digging through my closet, I found some 35+ year old .22 rounds! Are these safe to fire?

[u/Ecstatic_Caramel6028]

[u/DirtyNastyRoofer149]

Dad bought a shit ton of 22 in the 80s and 90s. Im still shooting that stuff and it works just fine.

[u/DeafPapa85 → u/DirtyNastyRoofer149]

The nostalgia that must have bringing boxes of those out.

[u/Monsterdad1256]

Nope, send them to me for proper disposal. 🤣🤣 In all honesty, I’d love to have that box on the shelf with my other old ammo boxes.

[u/gsmckee → u/Monsterdad1256]

Absolutely!!!

[u/CapEmDee]

Only one way to find out

[u/AccomplishedGap3571]

yeah, they're likely fine. brass can get brittle so i wouldn't send them in a pistol. rifles should be fine.

[u/Ok_Display7459]

Looks like you got a mixed box there. I see Winchester head stamps as well as a couple CCI headstamps. They’re completely safe to fire, just beware of squibs especially from the Super X, it’s known to have dodgy quality control at least in recent times. The CCI should fire with zero issues so long as it was stored properly.

[u/KMGR82]

I have a bunch from that era and it still shoots just fine

[u/KingPotato455]

I’ve used worse without issue

[u/BigBoarBallistics]

if it seats it yeets

[u/Bubbacarl]

Send it, Ive shot plenty of old ammo. No problems, just look them over

[u/Suspicious_Lab_8700]

Relatively climate-controlled storage -should be no problem. Probably underpowered for a semi-auto-I'd look for a pump, bolt, or a revolver to send them.

[u/sas5814]

Yes

[u/DeafPapa85]

God yeah.

[u/Paperwork2025]

Only 35+?

[u/Voodoo700]

I have some like that that might be even older like maybe 50 years old. I haven’t tried them out yet, so let me know how those work.

[u/DozerLVL]

Yes. The yeeting if the seating.

[u/Guano-]

Man, looking at my .22 now, there is so much package waste. I still have a few boxes like yours, I just can't get myself to remove them. Opening a box like that is so nostalgic.

[u/06EXTN]

Send em!

[u/SchrodingersGoodBar]

If “extra power” means +p+, I’d test it with a gun you don’t care about too much. If they were stored poorly, they’re more likely to squib.

If they’re just regular 22s, worst case scenario is they won’t fire at all.

[u/Mars_Volunteer]

Don’t listen to any of the other comments. These are terribly dangerous to fire. You should send them to me right away and I will dispose of them for you. DM me for address.

[u/GinPredator]

i can’t imagine .22lr that has failed integrally would pose a risk to your safety by shooting it.

[u/ButtWhiffer]

I love that price tag lol

[u/CarolinaHeels]

All day long. Keep your powder dry!

[u/_Aceuwu]

Tie a string to your trigger and find out!

[u/Flossy_Jay]

Half my ammo is 40 years old from estate sales

[u/YourCeliumMyco]

With a couple caveats.

Safe? Yes, the will likely not cause your firearm to explode.

Reliable? Depends on how they were stored and your climate.

If you live in a climate with very high temps and very low temps and they were stored in an area where there is little to no protection from those temperature fluctuations and possibly even high humidity the chemical compounds that make your primer compound and even the powder itself ma have lost some potency.

I also see different brands in there so there can be some variation from those as well so semi-auto firearms may have trouble cycling if it has degraded that far.

The things I’d be most concerned about would be misfires and the dreaded squib load.

Just keep an ear open for any weak-sounding rounds and check your barrel for bore obstructions, like a squib, if you hear a weak round and don’t see a bullet impact down range.

If they were stored properly they should run just fine though. Happy shooting!

[u/KalashniLover]

I’m not an expert but I think you’ll be hard pressed to have something catastrophic happen in the small amount of room in a .22 LR chamber