How do you store your ammo?

[blues7]

i have a question. not only where do guys you store your ammo, but how old is it and whats the oldest you have shot.

My oldest current ammo is 20 years old or so. Stored in original boxes in larger cartons on shelves off the floor in a dehumidified room.

The only rounds I have had any issues with over the years are four or five 12 ga slugs that developed some oxidation on the brass. (I have not tested those rounds to see if they would still fire.)

Those rounds were issued to me years ago and may well have been dragged to and from the (hot and humid outdoor) range on the edge of the Everglades prior to them being given to me by a range officer, so I can't account for how they had been stored previously. (Any of those old rounds are used strictly as range ammo at this juncture. I have replaced them with fresh Federal and Hornady ammunition.)

 

[serger]

I've still got a lot of LC52 30-06 that gets shot once in a while. Finally finished the EC43 steel cased 45acp. And I've still got about 800 rounds of turkish 8mm mauser that was made right after WWII. So you can say if the ammo has been stored cool and dry it should last at least 50 years and with the stuff I've shot over 70 years.

I forgot to add it is all stored in GI ammo cans.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I don't keep anything loose. It's all in either the factory box or MTM cases, and then in big green ammo cans according to caliber.

 

[BB57]

I also store mine in GI ammo cans.

We took 4 ft of water in our walk out basement during Irene and I only had one can leak - and it was missing 2 of the 3 hinge pins.

Desiccant really isn't needed unless you packaged it under very moist conditions, AND live in an area where you get very cold temps that might cause the small amount of moisture in the small value of air in the can to condense. Even then it will primarily condense on the sides of the can as they are exterior surface that cool first), not the ammo, if it's boxed.

Inside the can I usually store it in MTM or similar 50 round boxes, and those are what I take to the range.

However on large lots of a couple thousand rounds where I run out of boxes, I'll dump the excess in 50 rounds groups in a zip lock freezer bag, squeeze out any extra air, then store the bags in the can. You can easily get over 1,000 rounds of .38 Special in a .30 caliber can with that method.

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I store my precision long range rifle loads in 50 round plastic boxes base down/bullet up with a piece of open cell foam rubber cut to fit in the lid. It protects the points and preserves the OAL even if you drop the box.

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My 5.56mm M193 clone ammo gets stored in 10 round stripper clips in 120 round bandoleers that are then stored in .50 caliber ammo cans - 840 rounds per can.

 

[Franklin]

In 3 of these!

RIDGID 48 in. x 24 in. Universal Storage Chest-2048-OS - The Home Depot


Watch for when on sale for $249.99........

 

[gmiller0737]

In either Factory Boxes or The Plastic Ammo Boxes then in G.I. 50 caliber ammo cans


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[flintsghost]

Your husband is right if it's rifle ammo and accuracy is a consideration. If it's ordinary pistol ammo storing it in a can will suffice... preferrably a GI ammo can with a good seal. Rifle ammo has a more delicate jacket and any kind of jostling of the bullet or things banging into the bullet and jacket will effect accuracy. For example, if a jacketed bullet falls off of the bench and hits the concrete floor of my loading room, it goes in the trash. The impact can change the core and damage the jacket which in turn causes a accuracy problem. For rifle ammo which is used for distance shooting and accuracy then store it in a box, segregated and bullet down. Then store those boxes in a GI ammo can with a good seal. However if the ammo is not intended for a purpose other than just burning it up then any kind of bulk storage is fine. GI ammo is full metal jacket with a penetrator tip and the jackets aren't fragile like commercial bullets can be stored bulk if need be.

 

[2ffat]

I store my reloads in the manufactures' boxes which is stored in ammo cans.

 

[Rastoff]

...if a jacketed bullet falls off of the bench and hits the concrete floor of my loading room, it goes in the trash.

Really? Where do you get your bullets from? Don't they bang around in the box at the store or in the mail?

 

[Muss Muggins]

For example, if a jacketed bullet falls off of the bench and hits the concrete floor of my loading room, it goes in the trash.

Mebbe ya oughta' invest in a couple squares of carpet . . .

 

[e3mrk]

I agree with Bozz10mm.
I have My Ammo in Military Ammo Cans with a desiccant Pack in each Can.