Timeline for Could you pick up a loaded gun five centuries from now and fire it?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jul 7, 2016 at 18:32 | comment | added | HopelessN00b | @AndyD273 The shelf life of modern smokeless powder is virtually indefinite, given proper storage (keep it away from heat, light and moisture/air), but on time periods of several hundred years, there's no way to be sure, because obviously you can't test that adequately. | |
| Jul 7, 2016 at 17:32 | comment | added | MozerShmozer | @AndyD273 I found this forum about long term storage of ammunition. <survivalistboards.com/…> From what I understand, the main issue is oxygen and moisture corroding the metals, but primers seem to be the worst culprit, and might go dead due to slow internal chemical reaction. | |
| Jul 7, 2016 at 15:56 | comment | added | AndyD273 | I'm curious, if it was stored in a hermetically sealed, nitrogen filled vault, would the ammo still go bad? Is it the oxidation that does it, or is there another process? | |
| Jul 7, 2016 at 14:07 | comment | added | Wayne Werner | I wonder if cast iron would work fine? Once it develops a protective layer of rust, if nothing disturbs the rust it will continue to work fine. The Rifle is a story along these lines. | |
| Jul 7, 2016 at 11:55 | comment | added | Graham | @Erik Those 15th century weapons are all just variations on a theme of "stick them with the pointy end" though. For any 15th century gunpowder-based weapon, I doubt any modern armourer would be happy about firing it. (Mind you, it's dubious how many 15th-century gunpowder weapons would be considered safe to use by modern standards even when they were new - metallurgy was not great back then, and a significant number blew up their users instead of their targets.) | |
| Jul 7, 2016 at 11:28 | comment | added | Erik | Based on how many 15th century weapons there still are in a working state, I think "zero" is a lowball, although for the number of weapons that have been continuously kept in a good state rather than occasionally being dug up and fixed it might be more valid. | |
| Jul 7, 2016 at 0:58 | comment | added | WarPorcus | Having seen a warehouse full of neglected WW2 era weapons being cleaned out, I can attest to this issue. Their conditions are sickening. | |
| Jul 6, 2016 at 23:37 | history | answered | MozerShmozer | CC BY-SA 3.0 |