Ammo storage

[TacMedic]

What do you think is the best method to store your ammunition?

Growing up my father always kept them in military ammo cans in a drawer in the closet. I’ve seen other people that keep the ammo in factory boxes stacked in a room with no further “controls”. I’ve also seen people that store the ammo in a gun/fire safe.

I currently use ammo cans and make sure I put in desiccant packets and also lock it up in my gun safe.

 

[Vinnie B]

I use all of the above it seems. I never put much thought in it I guess... I put the ammo I use most in cans and keep them by the reloading bench. Other stuff I keep on a shelf or in a cabinet. The stuff I bought from you I haven't really gone through and most of it is still in the boxes it was in when I got it lol

 

[laserguy]

Bulk pistol reloads I just dump in a small ammo can that is marked for that caliber, when I go shooting I open the can and grab a few handfuls to put in a Tupperware container in my shooting bag.

Rifle reloads and precision pistol reloads go in the plastic 50 round reload boxes

factory ammo I leave in the boxes

All of my ammo goes in a set of old school lockers with matching keys on all the locks.

 

[jledman]

The old timers would say as long as it doesn't get over 95 degrees or so for longer periods of time it will last 100 years. But that's just the really old timers.

 

[knockonit]

lol, pretty clear many here have no idea of ammo storage and relationship to weather and other conditions. hell what do old timers know..................uh oh wait, hehehe
Rj

 

[Flash]

I've got ammo, powder and primers that have seen two weeks at -40 degrees celsius and then saw years of 120 degrees plus and it all still works fine. Some of it dates back to 1970 or so when I bought or reloaded it.

 

[Vyadmirer]

Serious stuff goes in ammo cans labeled with chalk on the outside of the can. Random calibers and shotgun shells are stacked on a shelf

 

[samnev]

Almost all of my ammo is hand loaded so I keep it in MTM ammo boxes.Other than hand loads I keep it in factory boxes.

 

[rjscolonel]

Ammo boxes for my reloads but I do keep factory ammo in the boxes.

 

[dustmaker]

Temperature isn't the problem with ammunition storage...humidity is. Keep it dry and your will not have any problems. Look up ammunition storage in Vietnam and Desert storm and the key to long term storage is keeping it dry.

I found some ammunition .22 and .357 in an old truck I bought. The ammo was under the seat and had been through probably 12 + years of Phoenix summers. The ammunition went bang when I sampled some.

If you have corrosion on the case get rid of it.

dusty

 

[rockbronco]

Typically store in an ammo can either loose or in factory boxes. I would like to get an ammo dedicated safe for organization sake

 

[mtuck]

I voted for leave it in the factory box and just store it. Although, the majority of my ammo is reloaded. Those go in MTM plastic boxes and stored in a nice dry place. The one nice thing about living in the desert is the lack of humidity.

With that being said, I've been rethinking my storage place and process. I've picked up about a dozen .50 cal military cans and I'm thinking of how to best use those for storage.

 

[Elk34]

I store all of my ammo in 50 cal and 40 mm cans. They stack nicely. They can be stacked to the ceiling without any issues. Never had a problem with them.in the bunkers.

 

[AZPLINKER]

I’ve had some stuff stored in a conex for years. Some of that was Turk 8mm from the 30’s and some was more recent factory ammo. All of it was stored in ammo cans with desiccant packs. I always wondered about the heat having an effect but with the living situation I didn’t have a choice. 15 Years later I’m getting around to shoot a bit more. The 8mm still goes bang as well as the factory ammo. Not really seeing any crazy velocities or failures. I’m guessing as mentioned before that moisture does more harm than heat.