Topic: Given big stash of old 38 special, safe to shoot?

[kreativecid]

A relative gave me a big can of 38 special factory ammo from one of their elderly friends who recently passed. Most are 158g lrn, Winchester. The others are Winchester but not in a box so I don't know what bullet weight. None are +p.

Safe to shoot as plinking or practice rounds? Apologies if this is a "duh" question, but I wanted to make sure before having old ammo blowing up my 642.

[Shade OGrey]

Someone told me this years ago, I cannot say how valid it is but FWIW.
Put the old ammo in an air tight container for a couple of days, then upon immediately opening the container smell it, if you get a faint vinegary odor then toss the whole lot, the powder has gone unstable.
Other than that, just check the cases for signs of corrosion and/or damage and toss the suspect ones.
People have been shooting 80 year old milsurp safely for a lot of years.
FWIW.

[Scarecrow]

I'd shoot it out of a .357, but probably not a 642.