Sealing bullet primers and bullets,,,,thoughts

[15mtyler]

This has been asked before, but never to the exactness as I have been searching for. For those who reload and then store their ammo for long periods, do you seal the primer and bullet, or just the primer, or neither. I have about a thousand plus rounds of fiocchi 158gr 357 jhp that i have stored in ammo cans with a sock full of silica gel beads. Fiocchi is good quality ammo as far as i have experienced and heard, but i am unsure if they use sealant on their primers and bullets during the loading process, and I intend to store this ammo for a long time in case there is ever a shortage, or God forbid, a ban.. what are your thoughts and opinions on using sealant for primers and bullets.

[ACP230]

Don't get carried away with it.

A pistol team of my acquaintance once
decided to seal primers against the humidity of Camp Perry.
Did such a "good" job that some rounds wouldn't always fire.
Messed up timed and rapid stages a bit, eh?

[ArchAngelCD]

I have never sealed primers or bullets. That doesn't mean it doesn't need to be done, I just don't feel the need. If the seal on the ammo can is good that should be enough to keep the ammo fresh.

[OKFC05]

I never seal .38 and 9mm used for competition.
I have accidentally run them through the clothes washer after a match, and the washed loads always fired when tried.


The sealing and staking on military rounds is mostly to assure they stay together and fire reliably in automatic weapons after decades of storage in non-environmentally controlled shelters.


I have commercial ammo that has been stored since the 80s in ammo cans, and it fires just fine whenever I fire some of it. Actually, I haven't had problems with moisture spoiling ammunition since I quit hunting in rain with paper shotgun shells.

[Old_Cop]

Agree with OKFC05, store in GI ammo cans. Keep the cans in the house to prevent temperature or humidity swings.

[MichiganScott]

I store ammunition in ammo cans simply because it's more convenient than attempting to store loose boxes on a shelf. I also have full cases in the box stored in various closets. It all goes bang when I want it to.

Like OKFC05, I've accidentally washed speedloaders and the ammo still works.

[rockquarry]

No sealant of any kind is needed.

[delta-419]

In 1985 I was working at Grafenhor Gunnery Range, West Germany (at the time) with the US Army. The garrison decided to lay a water line along one of the streets on post. During the excavation, the corner of an old WWII bunker was encountered, as it was in the way of the project, orders were to cut out part of the concrete wall and proceed with the water feed line. That's when we found it, a bunker full of 9mm luger ammo (30,000+) rounds. It was like new after 40+ years underground. The MPs took it to the range and invited the local German Polizi to a shutzen fest I went along and enjoyed the fest. Every round went down range. I store my ammo in GI ammo cans, they were made to withstand anything mother nature can throw at it.

[stansdds]

A little better than 3 decades of reloading and I have yet to apply any sort of sealant to primers or bullets. I considered it, but I don't think it is worth the extra effort.

[kci-mia]

Back in late in 1998 or early 1999 I did a little water test on my reloaded ammo.

I put 25 rounds of each type of ammo I was going to load for Y2K in a ammo can and filled it up with water. I put that ammo can in my truck and drove it around for a week...water splashing and ammo can getting banged around.

After a week I took out the ammo and laid them out on paper towel to get most of the water off and then loaded them and shot every round. Every round worked fine including 25 rounds of CCI Minimag solid ammo.

[Rock185]

I've been reloading since '67 and haven't used sealant. I haven't experienced any issues in not sealing ammo that sometimes sat, unused, for years. That being said, my stored reloads were never exposed to extreme environmental conditions. I think sealed bullets and primers, as in 9MM NATO, and some premium factory Duty/SD type ammo, etc., that might be stored and used in conditions more extreme than my reloads, are a good idea.

[Decker]

Typical military rounds that are sealed are primarily done because they (military) have to allow for unknown storage times and conditions.
Sealing ensures that ammo will fire no matter when it's put in service.
Sealing even allows for full submersion as a possibility.
When's the last time any of us left some ammo out in the rain for a few months?

As a reloader, I have some ammo I loaded 30 years ago that I am just now finding and shooting (misplaced in a move or two). It's all fine, including some that was stored in a damp garage for quite a time.

So no, unless you truly believe in a bury-in-the-yard, dig-up-years-later scenario, sealing is a total waste of time.

[Beemer-mark]

Originally Posted by OKFC05

I never seal .38 and 9mm used for competition.
I have accidentally run them through the clothes washer after a match, and the washed loads always fired when tried.

Hate to admit it but I've done the same. I have other posts on all the ways I'v tried to deactivate primers installed in the case but not wanted to load the case afterwards. Soaking in all kinds of oil including WD-40, sometimes for weeks, water, ultrasonic cleaner. Only method I have found to deaden a primer is to throw it in the burn pile.

[LoboGunLeather]

US military ammunition was produced with a primer sealant for many years, typically a simple application of colored varnish or shellac around the perimeter of the primer.

The only examples of bullet sealant I recall was .45ACP ammo loaded during WW2 (and perhaps a bit later), which incorporated an application of asphalt-based cement. This was done to prevent, or minimize, bullet set-back during the feeding cycle of semi-auto and automatic weapons. I have fired quite a bit of that stuff (in M1911 pistols and Thompson Submachineguns), and the only strong recollection I have is very messy clean-up.

As others have commented, I never felt the need for either over the 46 years I have been reloading. Store your ammo properly (avoiding high heat and extreme moisture conditions) and you should never experience a problem.

[GeoJelly]

Kinda sorta on-topic - late last year I decided to “kill“ some W-W primers so I could make up some dummy test rounds. The primers (10) still popped after sitting in WD-40 (sealed) for over a month. Three or four of them sounded a little weak but they still went bang. After that little, admitted unscientific, experiment I decided to not worry about factory rounds or reloads having a problem if a little bit of WD-40 or CLP gets on them… Later, just for giggles, I did soak 10 in 91% isopropyl alcohol and they were all dead after the same 30 days or so ... even though the IPA had mostly evaporated. The IPA quickly dissolved the red lacquer on the primers and it turned red after a day or so and then still managed, somehow, to mostly evaporate.