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Modern metallic cartridges have been known to work correctly after many decades of storage, however there have been instances where over a long period of time a gun's lubricating oil had worked it's way into a chambered cartridge, causing the powder to not burn correctly. Nowadays this is very rare, and is more likely to happen with rimfires, but nonetheless I will not keep the same rounds in my carry guns for more than six to twelve months.

As I keep my stockpile of ammo in a cool and dry location, I don't mind if they sit in the box for many years. However, I seem to shoot too often to let a years-long stockpile build up....

PhilR.