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Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2350 Location: West MI

Reading a recent post about older Rem wads brought this question to mind; Does anyone here know if there is a point when older plastic wads become too old to safely use/load? My experience with other plastics has proven that most get brittle over time as the plasticizers dry out, flash off or react with/to the atmosphere/environment they are stored in.

Over 20 years ago I bought several bags of Lage wads. The have been stored in my shop which is neither cooled nor heated. As I write, the wads are still flexible and as new.

Joined: 09 Jul 2009 Posts: 510 Location: Central CT

If the plastic wads have been stored in the same environment as primers, powders and ammunition, cool and dry (under 75 degrees F and less than 60% humidity) they will last a long time. What will destroy the elasticity of the plastic is heat and worse direct sunlight. I have wads some R12L Remington's that were made in the 1960's. They are still nice and pliable. I still have a lot of 12 gauge hunting wads made back in the 1980's that are fine also. Same for a fairly large collection of Alcan Max-Flite wads, they must be of 1960's vintage also.

All my components are stored in my basement that I keep a dehumidifier running year round and it is always cooler than75 degrees F.

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

When the wad is no longer pliable-toss it Simply sqeeze a wad with your fingers it is noticable when they are no longer of use Wink

I notice brittleness with age more in hulls than wads, especiallly those that have been fired more than once. I like the old CF formed AA hulls in all gauges and notice that my hoard of 410 and 28ga have an even shorter life than when newer. Not so noticeable in 12, 20 and thankfully 16ga., but they all seem a little less flexible with time.

Joined: 12 Jun 2009 Posts: 3 Location: Maryland

I had some WAA-20 wads that sat on a shelf in our basement, which is neither overheated nor damp, for about 34 years, possibly more. They were still flexible, however, it was easy to break the pedals off.