primer life ?

[cshooter]

Hey fellas, I have picked up a couple thousand small rifle and pistol primers from my father n law. The primers are 10 maybe 15 years old. They are a mix of Remington. Winchester and CCI. He has never had air conditioning that I can remember and it gets real hot and humid here in Illinois. He hasn't loaded anything for at least 10 years. They were up in the top shelves his bedroom closet. My question is, are these primers OK to load, or should I not use them. Also, when its humid out but not hot enough to turn on the air conditioner, should I be storeing my primers in air tight ammo cans. We use soxs filled with rice or oats to keep welding rods dry out in the shop, would that work to keep primers dry in air tight containers ?

[Nor Cal Mikie]

The "oats and rice" sounds like a good deal to keep the moisture out. Kinda like rice in a salt shaker to keep it from lumping.
I've had primers that were 20+ years old that were on the top shelf. One of my shooting buddies kicked off and I got rid of all his shooting gear.
The primers were setting next to some powder that the bottom of the cardboard container had fallen apart. The powder made good fertelizer and every one of the primers went BANG in my M1A. No special treatment as far as stoprage was used. Might consider a Zip Lock bag to keep them in and the ammo can for an extra good measure. If they're dry, I wouldn't see any problems.