-
Forum Update: We've upgraded the software to improve security, performance, and the overall experience.
👉 Read why we made the change | Support the Forum
Sealing reloaded ammo
- Thread starter O.G.
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
There are liquid and gel sealers from $7 to $24 on the market
that will do the job.
Try Hornady , Midway or other suppliers.
that will do the job.
Try Hornady , Midway or other suppliers.
roscoepc
Member
You can seal primers by placing a baggie over the case head before seating the primer. This will punch a little disc of plastic into the primer pocket and seal it against moisture attacking the primer.
Having relayed all this, I must admit I've never used this method. No need for it in my shooting methods and habits, but I've always remembered it as a "just in case".
Larry
Having relayed all this, I must admit I've never used this method. No need for it in my shooting methods and habits, but I've always remembered it as a "just in case".
Larry
Ole Joe Clark
Absent Comrade
I recently have been shooting ammo that I reloaded about 30 years ago, .357, .38 spec, .44 mag, stored bullet down, with cast bullets. None of this ammo was "sealed," just stored in a cool dry place. No misfires, no problems with any of it.
LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
Here in southern Colorado about the last thing we worry about is humidity. I have stored reloaded ammunition is factory boxes (cardboard with Styrofoam inserts), plastic ammo boxes, and zip-lock plastic bags for years with no problems.
The kitchen "seal-a-meal" vacuum sealers might be a good idea for long-term storage in humid areas.
Having purchased several cases of GI surplus ammunition over the years I know that the steel ammo cans are effective; when you first open them you can smell the gunpowder aroma that has been sealed inside since production.
If I were really concerned about it I would probably brush around the primers and case mouths with a light application of shellac or clear nail polish. This method was used for GI ammo for decades.
The kitchen "seal-a-meal" vacuum sealers might be a good idea for long-term storage in humid areas.
Having purchased several cases of GI surplus ammunition over the years I know that the steel ammo cans are effective; when you first open them you can smell the gunpowder aroma that has been sealed inside since production.
If I were really concerned about it I would probably brush around the primers and case mouths with a light application of shellac or clear nail polish. This method was used for GI ammo for decades.
kbm6893
SWCA Member
I just dump them into GI ammo cans. The cans did smell a bit funky when I bought them. I wiped them down and aired them out before using them, but the funky smell is still there when I open the cans to dump more completed rounds in there. Just loose rounds. No styrofoam. I was gonna line the cans with heavy plastic but I figured that might be more moisture.
The HXP ammo I get from the CMP for my Garand comes in a 30 cal can, but the can is lined with plastic. This stuff has been in there for 40 years and it still works.
The HXP ammo I get from the CMP for my Garand comes in a 30 cal can, but the can is lined with plastic. This stuff has been in there for 40 years and it still works.
Last edited:
ACP230
Member
It can be overdone.
A few years back some shooters were sealing primers before heading
off to The National Matches at Camp Perry. (Humidity there was the reason.) They sealed things up so well that they were getting failures to
fire at the match.
I wouldn't have bothered. The ammo was going to be made one
week and fired the next after all. I have never sealed any of mine and even some rounds that got lost in the car trunk and rolled around there for months fired when retrieved.
A few years back some shooters were sealing primers before heading
off to The National Matches at Camp Perry. (Humidity there was the reason.) They sealed things up so well that they were getting failures to
fire at the match.
I wouldn't have bothered. The ammo was going to be made one
week and fired the next after all. I have never sealed any of mine and even some rounds that got lost in the car trunk and rolled around there for months fired when retrieved.
Hasbeen1945
Absent Comrade
I buy sealer from Midway. I used it on rifle ammo I use for hunting. Never sealed any pistol ammo.
Many yrs. ago I put some primers in a container of water and the next day they went bang. I quit worrying about moisture killing primers. I have primers that were bought in the 60s and every once in a while I load a couple and they still go bang. Larry
I wouldn't worry about it. I've accidentally dumped live rounds into a bucket of water when cleaning dirty cases. They were fully submerged. They still fired fine once dryed off.
You're more likely to over apply the sealant and cause problems.
You're more likely to over apply the sealant and cause problems.
+1;
I don't waste sealer.
I just seal the loads going out into the snow or swamps, here in Nevada.
I may also put the ammo into a zip-lok baggy for a little more protection out in the field and remove when home again.
I don't waste sealer.
I just seal the loads going out into the snow or swamps, here in Nevada.
I may also put the ammo into a zip-lok baggy for a little more protection out in the field and remove when home again.
While I haven't had a need of sealing any of my ammo (I'm not a Navy Seal that often swims with full ammo packs and loaded guns) so I haven't tried. But I have stored my reloads in a tin shed that had a leaky roof and temps. between low 40s to 110 degrees. I now live in wet, rainy Oregon and use no special methods to keep my ammo hermetically sealed. I have some .44 Magnum rounds, 240 JSP over 2400 that I reloaded in '87 that I'll shoot once in a while (I loaded them for my Contender) and they still go bang with every trigger pull. I guess if I was trying to reload for the next Apocalypse in mebbe 50 years I might try sealing some ammo.
I've read of fellers using a drop of fingernail polish on a seated primer and a ring around the bullet/case junction, but again, I haven't tried that...
I've read of fellers using a drop of fingernail polish on a seated primer and a ring around the bullet/case junction, but again, I haven't tried that...
I have accidentally washed live ammo in the pockets of pants. It actually fired about 80% of the time once I fished it out and dried it off. I have also used clear fingernail polish on rounds I knew were going into adverse conditions. Where I live now it isn't an issue.
Old military stuff had a "tar" seal around the bullet and a sealer around the primer. As others mentioned fingernail polish in your choice of colors. For large amounts just put in a zip lock bag or ammo can,
Unless you plan on storing your ammo loose in a flooded basement, don't bother with sealing it. Storing it in plastic baggies or sealed ammo cans is more than enough to prevent a humidity problem. Even that is not necessary for ammo stored inside an a/c'd house.
gwpercle
Member
The wife's clear finger nail polish works fine . It's really a lacquer paint , thin it a little with nail polish remover or lacquer thinner and save yourself a bunch of money.
Gary
Gary
Last edited:
Magload
US Veteran
I haven't sealed ammo since I used to make duck and goose 12ga loads in the 60s. My lab always made sure everything was good and wet. I use this stuff called Water Glass on the crimps and never worried about the primers. Paper cases always swelled petty bad when wet and I would bake then in a portable electric oven my mom had. Never had one go off.
Alk8944
US Veteran
You wanted an opinion, here it is. Don't waste your time, or money!
Several times I have left cartridges in my clothes and my wife has run them through the washer. Some even got to the dryer! They were sure clean! Whenever this happens I just shoot them over my chronograph. I don't just want to know if they will go "bang", but check performance against prior chronograph data. Every time they have performed right where it would be expected from un-molested ammunition! If this isn't an extreme test I don't know what is.
FWIW, if you insist on doing this either use fingernail polish or Testor's model enamel, both are much cheaper than the commercially available sealers, and are just as good. Back in the late 1960s I got the bug to seal some carry loads for .44 Special. I used blue Testor's enamel. Since then the same cases have been re-loaded several times, and put through the polisher several times. Except for what came out on the primers when de-capped the first time what was on the case itself is still there some 45 years later! Yes, I am still shooting them, and cannot remember a single case failure! Some have been loaded easily 12+ times.
Several times I have left cartridges in my clothes and my wife has run them through the washer. Some even got to the dryer! They were sure clean! Whenever this happens I just shoot them over my chronograph. I don't just want to know if they will go "bang", but check performance against prior chronograph data. Every time they have performed right where it would be expected from un-molested ammunition! If this isn't an extreme test I don't know what is.
FWIW, if you insist on doing this either use fingernail polish or Testor's model enamel, both are much cheaper than the commercially available sealers, and are just as good. Back in the late 1960s I got the bug to seal some carry loads for .44 Special. I used blue Testor's enamel. Since then the same cases have been re-loaded several times, and put through the polisher several times. Except for what came out on the primers when de-capped the first time what was on the case itself is still there some 45 years later! Yes, I am still shooting them, and cannot remember a single case failure! Some have been loaded easily 12+ times.
Last edited:
Calliope
Member
I've had Blazer aluminum ammo primers go bad from getting wet. I have some Markron primer sealant that I use sometimes on 'premium' handloads.
