How long should you keep ammo in storage? Is there a time limit?Or does it not matter
That is a very nebulas question. much of that depends on how the ammo is stored. I have shot some 20 year old ammo that was stored in a sealed container that worked just fine, I have also seen some brass ammo just a year or two old, starting to turn green from moisture, that I wouldn’t consider putting in a firearm. Properly stored in a cool dry place, a good quality ammo should be safe for at least a year. I generally order 1,000 rounds at a time for each caliber handgun I have and will go through that in six months to a year with no problems. I believe the storage is they key, cool dry place.
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Having moved from a moderate temp dry place to a high humidity hot to cold place… controlling the humidity in stored ammo is pretty important. We’ve shot some pretty old ammo but you want to inspect it first… and green is definitely a bad thing.
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Till I shoot it…
Granted, all my ammo is commonly vacuum sealed with moisture absorbers or in sealed ammo cans with moisture absorbers…
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I’ve fired some 70 year old 7.62x54r stuff before. It’s my understanding, as long as the ammo is visually ok, and not discolored, damaged, or corroded, then it’s fine.
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Be sure to dispose of old ammo in a safe manner. Check with local police departments or gun ranges to see if they’re able to help you dispose of old ammo.
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Agree that ammo needs to be stored in a cool dry place. If stored properly, it can last a lifetime.
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Cool dry place ammo will last a long time. I shot ammo from WW|| it shot fine.
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For defensive use, I wouldn’t want anything older than 10 years stored in a cool dry place.
Double base smokeless powders contain nitro glycerin which is stable up to a point, which is why storage conditions are so important.
More than one veteran hand loader has come across containers of old smokeless powder that has turned into yuck!
There are no guarantees that those cases of third world milsurp ammo people buy to “stock up” were carefully stored,
Chemically performance could be degraded or even cause fires.
Military Ordnance has experts that are continuously inspecting ammo dumps and destroying dangerously aged munitions.
I knew a Deputy in the early 60’s who carried Korean War vintage milsurp .45acp (this was when nearly everyone carried revolvers) and his ammo failed in the middle of a gunfight
For the homeowner, old range ammo either works or doesn’t. It usually works. Slight degradation usually isn’t noticed. As for defensive ammo, well, do you really want to bet your family’s lives on suspect ammo?
If I come across ammo that I know is very old and there is discoloration, I’ll pull the bullet and inspect the inside of the cartridge. Is the powder clumpy and dis- colored? Is the brass interior corroded? Good hints it needs to go.
Black powder OTOH, doesn’t go bad, It just goes boom!
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Aged powder, discolored &/or off odor, can be used as fertilizer.
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Just don’t drop any lighted matches 
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As an RSO I see a lot of ammo that people dispose of at the ranges. The vast majority of the stuff is still very safe to fire. It’s like drugs—the expiration date is a joke.
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Commercial and military ammo really does not have an expiration date. I just shot off a bunch of SD Winchester ammo someone gave me from the 80s and it all went bang. I also have tons of Military Match ammo from the 80s that was given to me as “practice” ammo for my precision rifle I’m still shooting And will be for a while. I’ve shot .45acp military stuff from to 60s without a hitch. Some of my ammo has moved with me MANY times over the last 20 years from super cold to super hot and humid and some of it has been in storage for years at a time in less than desirable conditions to no ill effect.
My rule of thumb is if it’s clean it’ll get shot. That being said I like my carry ammo pretty fresh so I go through my lots pretty quickly and resupply well before I run out.
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