Parking Ammo in the Garage?

[bowzette]

I've moved and in the new house I'm short of ammo storage room at least for six months or a year maybe longer. I live in Texas and it is hot. Putting security issues aside, will the heat deteriorate modern ammo. I will keep target grade ammo and high dollar SD ammo in the house. The bulk ammo, some of which is remanufactured, I was considering the garage. I'm guessing the military stores ammo for years in unconditioned environment but not sure.

 

[ralph7]

I think that 90 degree temps will eventually degrade your ammo.
I keep everything inside my house because of the heat.

 

[OKFC05]

Yes, mil ammo is stored in sealed ammo cans in bunkers in some pretty extreme temps without problems. MOISTURE getting into ammo containers should be prevented, like by using ordinary ammo cans. Ammo will last longer than you in the heat, by far.

P.S. I live in SW Oklahoma, where we routinely have 100 summer days near/over 100 degrees. I've had ammo in the garage every summer for 25yr with no issues.

 

[deyomatic]

"It's not the heat, it's the humidity."

Sorry, just couldn't resist. Keep them sealed up with maybe some desiccant in the container with them and they should be fine, I would think.

 

[g8rb8]

I've moved and in the new house I'm short of ammo storage room at least for six months or a year maybe longer. I live in Texas and it is hot. Putting security issues aside, will the heat deteriorate modern ammo. I will keep target grade ammo and high dollar SD ammo in the house. The bulk ammo, some of which is remanufactured, I was considering the garage. I'm guessing the military stores ammo for years in unconditioned environment but not sure.

The ammo should store safely without significant degradation in a Texas garage for 6-12 months. I have read, but have no first hand experience, that heated ammo generates slightly higher pressures so if your ammo is cooking in sunlight you might let it cool down before shooting with it. I'm not sure about Texas law but obviously make sure you keep the ammo secured.

I suspect you are not a bachelor as any bachelor would find a place in even cramped living quarters for their ammo:
-microwave
-refrigerator
-kitchen cabinets
-dresser

 

[bowzette]

The ammo should store safely without significant degradation in a Texas garage for 6-12 months. I have read, but have no first hand experience, that heated ammo generates slightly higher pressures so if your ammo is cooking in sunlight you might let it cool down before shooting with it. I'm not sure about Texas law but obviously make sure you keep the ammo secured.

I suspect you are not a bachelor as any bachelor would find a place in even cramped living quarters for their ammo:
-microwave
-refrigerator
-kitchen cabinets
-dresser

LOL-Guilty! Married 48 years and trying to avoid the divorce

 

[Bozz10mm]

Short term, 12-18 months, it shouldn't degrade much, if at all. I wouldn't store it there 5 or 10 years though.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Styrofoam (cheap) coolers with those desicant things in them-seal with black tape, and store low to the floor. JMTCW.

 

[tops]

I have about 20 flats of shotgun shells that have been in my garage for over 10 years and last month I started shooting them and they work like brand new. Larry

 

[Bigdog357]

I have stored all kinds of ammo in unconditioned garages in California and in Indiana for over 30 years with no problems. Some of it has been in ammo cans and some in its original boxes, it all goes bang when I use it.

 

[alwslate]

I prefer to keep all my ammo in the house but I do have some old
sealed case military ammo in the garage. I do have central air conditioning and my garage gets warm in the summer but not nearly
as hot as some storage building sitting out in the sun would. If you're
in Texas then you surely have central air, probably with an outlet in
the garage, so you shouldn't have to worry about any ammo stored
in your garage.

 

[Targets Guy]

Moisture is not your friend.

 

[josywales]

Moisture can be created by temperature changes. So heat is one thing, but try to store ammo where the temp will remain relatively constant.

Folks wrap their model trains in bubble wrap and put them in the attic. Ouch! I wrap them in wax paper, leaving the ends wide open, so air gets in and they don't sweat. Plus, mine aren't in the attic. But if they were, they'd probably be fine.

 

[Sconie]

The only problem I ever had storing ammo in a garage was when I used to live up in northern Wisconsin in the late 00s. At the time, I stored shotgun shells (for trap) out in the garage and had as many as 30-40 flats of them out there----with the temperature varying between 10-20 below zero F. in the winter and 90 degrees F. in the summer, with very high humidity, in the summer as well. Long story short, over the course of several years a light coating of rust developed on the metal base of the otherwise plastic shells----other than cosmetics----and with the exception of one shell where the corrosion affected the primer-----each and every one of them worked just fine.

 

[NYlakesider]

Back in the late 80s we bought our summer camp. (Now my year around house!) It was owned by a long retired NY City Police lieutenant.

Found some ammo (800 rounds in their cardboard boxes) way in the back of a closet shelf (.38 RNL) Called up the X owner and asked him about it. He laughed and said I left it for you. I asked him how old was it and he said at least 25 years old.

Now you got to understand this is Northern NY and the temperatures can go from about 96F to -30F over the course of a year. We can get a very high humidity in the summer! Multiply that times 25 and that ammo has seen a lot of tempt changes. There was no AC or heat in that summer only place!

That ammo worked perfectly. All rounds fired, all sounded right and the recoil was right. I fired off the last of it a year ago and it still was fine. Full disclosure after I found the ammo I took it home and for the rest of its life it was in a better temp/humidity controlled area.

Based on that I believe a few months in a garage, your ammo will be fine.

 

[jimmyj]

Many, many, many years ago One of my daily duties was to record the temperatures of lowest and highest in the magazine bunkers for the past 24 hours. IIRC most of the "Ready" ammo was on shelves in just the factory boxes.

 

[bowzette]

I

Thanks for the responses. I may be able to store all the ammo in a closet in the house. If not some bulk ammo will be store in the garage in some type of sealed containers. I like the suggestion of styrofoam ice chest sealed with duct tape. I have one 50 cal ammo container I can use as well.

 

[Kid_Pappy]

in Texas then you surely have central air, probably with an outlet in
the garage, so you shouldn't have to worry about any ammo stored
in your garage.

As a contractor I've built hundreds of new houses with only one request to put an HVAC vent in a garage. He wanted to keep his prized Deloreon nice and comfy.

I've stored ammo in my attic for I know over 25 years and still shoots. Don't know if velocity was compromised though?

 

[chief38]

COOL & DRY is the way ammo manufacturers tell us to store their products. I personally would NOT store them in a hot & humid garage especially in your neck of the woods. Maybe you can find a friend or relative that can lend you some storage space in their climate controlled home for the duration. Otherwise I'd move the ammo onto an a/c'd part of the house.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I would put my foot down and at least get to store it........

under your half of the bed or a spare bed if you have that option.

Most women want all the closet room they can get.........
bargain.