Ancient Eley Target Rifle (Yellow)

I have about 600 rounds of Eley Target Rifle in the yellow box. I guestimate it is from the late 90's. I used it for SB Silhouette, SB Sporter Rifle and SB Prone and 3 Position.
Have not touched since I arrived in TX in 2000.
I wish to burn it up in my BE pistol, just to reduce my .22lr inventory. On examination it has a white fuzz (lead oxide). It of course fails the plunk test with all the fuzz. I have wiped off the fuzz on 50 rounds and they pass the plunk.

While wiping the fuzz off I noticed that I could twirl the bullet around while holding the case stationary. Am wondering what to expect:

Nothing
Short shot ..not reaching the target as powder gasses leak out prior to full propulsion.
Failure to fully ignite powder resulting in bullet remaining in barrel
Other?

Am also wondering if they really need to be relube?

I did a search for fuzzey, fuzzy and fuzzies with a handful of returns. Nothing was really conclusive.

Go ahead and choot’em.  There still should be some residual lube unless you used a solvent to wipe them.  As for the loose buckets, should be no issue. 

I’m not sure I’d shoot them in a match tho.

Greetings,

I had about 1,000 rounds of TENEX that suffered the same as your Yellow box ammo.

Eley said I should destroy it.

Being cheap/frugal I refused to destroy it.

Solution?

1) I tumbled the ammo in dry Stainless Steel pins until the white fuzzy stuff disappeared.

2) I lubricated the nose with SPG Bullet Lube spinning the cartridge with my fingers. The SPG was lightly daubed on my thumb and index finger.

3) Place the newly lubed bullet in a 22lr plastic tray that holds the cartridges apart.

4) Let dry for a day or two.

Some of the ammo would still not freely chamber in my Walther GSP. Here, I made a false chamber with a match reamer and resized the troublesome rounds.

Results?

The ammo shot inside the X-ring (ten shots) fired via a barrel tester.





CAUTION!!!

The white fuzzy stuff is Lead Oxide. EXTREMELY TOXIC!!! Wear gloves and wash the Stainless pins when finished.

Bonus Offer...

I think I know where the false chamber tool is. You are welcome to it should you choose to wander down this path.

Cheers,

Dave

I have found that Eley match ammo goes fuzzy in just a few years, there is very little protective wax or oil applied.

Absolutely positively remove the fuzz before shooting it. You really don't want that stuff wafting around the bench as it poofs out the barrel or chamber.

-TT- wrote:I have found that Eley match ammo goes fuzzy in just a few years, there is very little protective wax or oil applied.

Absolutely positively remove the fuzz before shooting it. You really don't want that stuff wafting around the bench as it poofs out the barrel or chamber.

I will wear a mask (TY Covid...lol) and a gloves when handling the fuzzy rounds when I test.

Maybe I better check the unopened Eley Yellow case (3113-30353) I got years ago.  An opened case is 3108-30218.  If I understand the code, 3108 is older.

One box of RF left .  Code on the Tenex from my last brick is W04009

Anybody know the codes for sure?

Can't resist this cynical remark:-

Hope that this problem befalls all of the Hoarders and Preppers! Ha,ha, ha!

Remark definitely not aimed at OP or other responders. Honestly.

My new post C19 motto. Buy enough for your foreseeable needs and at a price you can afford. Then consume it before the "sell by" date.

On a less cynical note.

Jack. If it is still shootable and you want to move it on I am happy to buy all of your Eley at your asking price. I know several Bullseye Shooters who are desperate for 22 ammo and can ship it at my cost to them.

Jack H wrote:Maybe I better check the unopened Eley Yellow case (3113-30353) I got years ago.  An opened case is 3108-30218.  If I understand the code, 3108 is older.

One box of RF left .  Code on the Tenex from my last brick is W04009

Anybody know the codes for sure?

I will see your lot # 3113-30353 and raise you lot # FP1044 LOL

-TT- wrote:I have found that Eley match ammo goes fuzzy in just a few years, there is very little protective wax or oil applied.

Absolutely positively remove the fuzz before shooting it. You really don't want that stuff wafting around the bench as it poofs out the barrel or chamber.

You have me worried now.   As you can tell from the price, I've had this for quite a while.

All I can say is that there are a lot of ammo poor shooters who wish that they had your problem. Good luck!

Greetings,

I have several cases of CCI SV probably thirty years old.

CCI use a wax lube that does not seem to deteriorate.

Actually, some of the old stuff groups better than the new offering.

I have one or two boxes of Winchester MKII gleaned from GrandPa's Army days (early 1960's) and the lube is still fine.

I still subscribe to the have enough ammo/components to last five years.

Just In Time Supply does not seem to fare well with shooting supplies.

Cheers,

David

BE Mike wrote:All I can say is that there are a lot of ammo poor shooters who wish that they had your problem. Good luck!

I can assure you I have not contributed to the ammo shortage.   I purchased mine when prices were low and stock was readily available.

One old ammunition, stuff 20 years or more, pull a bullet and see if there is internal corrosion







Gunpowder deteriorates with age, it deteriorates unpredictably, and some of the by products of deterioration of the nitrocellulose are NOx. One of nitrogen oxides released is nitrogen dioxide, which is horribly oxidizing,  and when it encounters a water molecule, it converts into nitric acid gas. Which is not particularly better.


Your loose bullet could be due to weakened brass reacting to acid gas in the case. If you fire the stuff and get split case necks, you know the powder has deteriorated to the point it is attacking the case.

This was bad


And it got worse, and worse











So pull a bullet, look in the case, look for corrosion, clumping. Old gunpowder does not burn evenly and it will burst the case head, due to burn rate instability.

Old ammunition can shoot very well, but it is at your risk. At a recent ASSA Smallbore Prone Nationals, the Eley rep said their ammunition is World Class for five or seven years after manufacture, will function after 10. After that, its your problem.

At one Smallbore Prone Nationals, the lady near me was shooting this old Eley




and she was shooting much better than me!.  What I thought was humorous, Joe Farmer, the 80 plus year Senior Champion, told me he had old Eley, might have been from the 1960's or 70's, and his stash was blowing case heads!. Joe was absolutely uninterested to be told his ammunition was so old and deteriorated, that the powder was attacking the case. Joe was not using that old lot during the Nationals, but I am quite sure,  he never got rid of the old stuff when he returned home. People really don't want to hear that their hoard of ammunition will go bad at some point in the future. They act the same way a smoker does when you tell them that smoking kills. They don't want to hear it.