Hi bsmith,

I agree with the people who posted to your questions already.

Clean the firearm fully and it is a good idea to have it inspected at a gun shop to be sure it is not corroded in a sensitive area (e.g. chamber). It is proabally fine, just needs some TLC.

I have shot a lot of very old ammunition and almost all went "BOOM" with no problem. Occasionally I have had misfires, hangfires and extrtaction/ejection problems with old ammunition usually rimfires and shotgun shells.

One of these hangfires almost caused me a serious problem, I will tell the story to explain.

About 30 years ago my hunting partner gave me a box of reloaded plastic hulled 3" magnum 12ga. shotgun shells as a gift, I carried a few of them in my shell belt for years for use on long-range jack rabbits. Years (and many trips exposed to wet/cold conditions) later in my late teens I decided to test pattern my new pump shotgun and chambered one of these reloads from my belt. On firing the shell it went "pop" and the pellets just barely trickled out the barrel. I figured that over time water had contaminated the primer or powder and I replaced the shell with a similar one. On firing the second shell there was a much louder "POP" and I was unable to eject the casing. I took the barrel off the gun and found that the second shell was wedged in the chamber with the wad just barely exiting the mouth of the case. The pellets of the second shell were loose in the barrel and the wad of the first shell was stuck in the choke at the end of the barrel. What I had done was fire the second shell with a tight obstruction (the wad from the first shell) in the barrel.

I do not know if the second shell was also bad or if the gun was just strong enough to contain the pressure but someone was surely looking out for me that day. On the second shot I could have easily blown-up the barrel injuring both myself and those around me.

So the lesson I want to share is that if you have any ammunition (especially old stuff) that does not fire properly, be sure to check the barrel for obstructions before chambering another round.

Mike