Ravindrane wrote:I dont think Winchester will fall in your category. They are made to perform till their end.
I wish that were true
, but I'm afraid all of them have a shelf life! I have extensively used WCC (Western Cartridge Co. i.e. Winchester) ammo with manufacture dates all the way back to the 1940's and I can say with certainty that the reliability of these cartridges (like others) deteriorates over time.
Of course, I understand where you are coming from, our home grown IOF (KF) ammo seems to deteriorate much faster than imported brands, but that does not mean that the imported ammunition brands are 'invincible'. The same laws of chemical decay apply equally well to them, though use of better material usually means that they tend to have longer shelf lives than the KF ammo.
Careful storage in a low oxygen & humidity environment can slow the deterioration but even that will not stop it. An airtight container with plenty of silica gel (replaced/ recharged regularly) would go a long way in helping preserve ammunition for longer periods. That said I would be pretty amazed if indeed your friend has stored his ammunition in such a manner.
On the other extreme, poor storage will invariably lead to even faster deterioration! There is a shooter at the range who had imported B&P 12 bore ammunition
just last year, which is amongst the most expensive competition grade 12 gauge ammunition. However, water seepage from the A/C made it to some of the ammunition boxes, as a result this shooter is regularly experiencing misfires while shooting (this ammunition) at the range. Once again, this is top grade ammunition, manufactured less than 12 months ago!
As to price, I believe imported .32 ammunition usually goes for ₹ 300+ but YMMV
Imported 12 bore ammunition usually goes for between ₹ 40 and ₹ 400, or more. The price variation is huge and depends on:
a) the shot load weight (24 grams are cheapest and 34 grams most expensive)
b) the size of shot it is loaded for (bigger shot sizes like slugs usually command the highest prices, while birdshot like no. 9,7,6, etc. is usually the cheapest)
Cheers!
Abhijeet