My grandfather reloaded 1000's(maybe 10000) of shells that have not been shot. I was going through his reloads a few weeks ago at the ranch. He recently finally had to move into a nursing home at 99 after living on his ranch until last March. Alot are dated from the late 80's through the mid 90's. Tons of .270. .30-06, .30-30 and shotgun shells, 12 and 20 ga.Enough shells to last me a lifetime honestly. My question is are they still safe to shoot or does there ever come a time they are to old? They have been and are stored safely inside and boxed. Also anything you can do with the shells I wont ever use, he has some calibers for guns I don't have anymore or he doesn't either. Thanks for any input.

Metallic cartridges are fine if stored correctly. Shot shells are good if they're plastic, again if stored correctly. Shotshells are tougher to store long term.

Well, shooting another's reloads is really a question of trust, if you get my meaning. Assuming the loads are sane and contentious, I'd use them for plinking and practice. Sealed military ammo will last 50 or 60 years, maybe even longer, but a lot of the longevity depends on how the ammo was stored and exposure to humidity, heat, cold, etc. Unsealed reloads will last as long as they do. That's not a great answer, but it's the truth.

As far as the ammo for which you no longer have firearms, you have more limited options. If you sell it and there's a problem, then you're civilly liable. If you give it away and there's a problem, you might be civilly liable, although you might get a release and be sure that you sell it to a professional or "expert user" of some kind. Again, not a great answer, but probably the truth.

If there's enough of the ammo, you might buy a used gun to shoot it up. When it's gone, then sell the gun.

They should be OK to shoot,but unless they are being shot out of the gun they were reloaded for I'd be cautious. If the brass was full length sized they should fit in almost any gun chambered for the cartridge,but if they were only neck sized,you could have problems chambering them in other guns.
If there is also documented load data for them,that's even better.Then you can make sure they were loaded within data specs,and not be to hot.

Any shells that you don't want,I'd just pull the bullets and use the powder for fertilizer. I'd also de-prime the cases to make them safe to dispose of.

Thanks for the info. I was just a little worried it would be safe. Ive shot alot of his reloads in the past bbbut just wasnt sure how long I could I guess. He reloaded so much I honestly couldnt keep up shooting that much and when I did he reloaded the bullets I had just shot. Just was a hobbby for him, he got into and he just went wild on reloading for about 10 years.Ill just have some fun target shooting I suppose. Definitely wont sell or give it away for liability reasons

I have reloads from the mid 60's that still go bang.

If they were loaded correctly, they aren't going to blow anything up. If they go off, you'll be fine.

I don't think there would be a safety issue, might have accuracy issues due to different rifle, temp differents

Depending on what caibers some of the ones are that you will never use, you may be able to sell them just for the brass. In some of the rare cases people will readily buy loaded ammo just to pull the bullets and keep the brass.

There is guy here that buys out old guns and reloading stuff from estates and ends up with their reloads. He sells the reloads at gunshows and flea markets with a sticker on the box that states something like, "These are sold for components only, do not fire".

I don't remember exactly what the sticker said on the boxes, but I've seen him a few times at our local gunshow with a few of those boxes.

Shoot your new found ammo in your grandfathers guns, that's what he loaded them for.

MY Grandfather....you bet Id shoot his reloads!

I have done that to get brass for some of the hard to find guns I have. I'd list the ones you don't want for sale of components only. You may be able to help someone out.