how should i store bulk ammo? - The Firearms Forum

matty · 03-24-2005, 06:00 AM

i am looking at storing some ammo that i have (and will add more to) for a while. people have told me everything from putting it in the fridge, to storing it in .50 cal. ammo cans with bags of rice to absorb the moisture.

i have seen bottles of primer and bullet sealant on the market and wonder if this would be something worth investing time and money in to? it says on the bottle that it seals out moisture and makes the ammo all most submersable.

i have heard that you can do the same thing with clear finger nail polish, even using different colors to help with the id of different lots. i see that the military puts a primer and bullet sealant on all of their rounds and was wondering if this would help make them more stabil for storing.

i just need a good way to store some rounds for a while, yet be able to add to them every month or so with out messing up my storing conditions.

any help would be much appreciated.

thanks

inplanotx · 03-24-2005, 06:13 AM

Unless you are trying to store these for thirty years in high humidity or under water, you have nothing to worry about. You also did not say how long you want to store these.

matty · 03-24-2005, 06:27 AM

i don't know how long i would store my ammo. proboly not for more than a year. 'cause every year my family gets together and has a reunion/kegger/gunfest (it's a red neck thing).

i am also worried about the high humidity that i sometimes hunt in, rain, snow, freezing rain, ect. that and it has a tendacy to get left in the back of the jeep for a while.(usualy a season or two). but hey! that loose ammo in the back of the jeep is what got me my deer 2 years a go! ( i forgot to swing by wally world on the way out).

the jeep is covered and i try to keep as much water out of it as i can but you never know when a river might suddenly jump out in front of you and you have no choice but to go through it

lol

inplanotx · 03-24-2005, 09:17 AM

I still have ammo that I reloaded 15 years ago and I live in high humid Texas. It has never failed to go bang when I want it too. Hope that solves your problem.

matty · 04-21-2005, 06:19 PM

maybe i will just throw it in an ammo can with some of that silica gel stuff.

thanks for the info

Crpdeth · 04-22-2005, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matty

maybe i will just throw it in an ammo can with some of that silica gel stuff.

thanks for the info

Thats all I do...

One thing I'll always remember about my Grandpa are those old beater rifles he had and ammunition that looked older than dirt sitting loose between the windshield and the dash in a steaming hot pickup truck...He'd pull off an old dirt road and load one up to shoot birds and stuff just to give us kids a kick. Now I'm thinking if those old relics always went bang I dont have any concern about mine which are kept in a 100% better envrionment.

Crpdeth

Smitty 308 · 04-22-2005, 05:40 PM

In 1968 I was a Gunner's Mate in the Navy, in Viet Nam. I was working in a 6"x47 mount and noticed a packing slip from a batch of projectiles. It was dated 1936. I took it to our Chief GM and asked if the projectiles we were shooting was really 32 years old. He confirmed that they were. We shot a bunch of that stuff. Actually, one week we shot 3500 rounds of 5"x38 and 6"x47. I only remember one incident that might have been related to the age of our ammunition. One of our tripple 6" turrets fired a full salvo and the projectiles all went off about 100 yards away from the ship. They arm by how many times they rotate and the rifling imparts the spin so one as one or more projectiles armed and detonated, probably detonating the other two sympathetacally. At chow that night heard it rained a bit of metal. Nuff ramblin.

03-24-2005, 06:00 AM	#1
matty V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 86	how should i store bulk ammo? i am looking at storing some ammo that i have (and will add more to) for a while. people have told me everything from putting it in the fridge, to storing it in .50 cal. ammo cans with bags of rice to absorb the moisture. i have seen bottles of primer and bullet sealant on the market and wonder if this would be something worth investing time and money in to? it says on the bottle that it seals out moisture and makes the ammo all most submersable. i have heard that you can do the same thing with clear finger nail polish, even using different colors to help with the id of different lots. i see that the military puts a primer and bullet sealant on all of their rounds and was wondering if this would help make them more stabil for storing. i just need a good way to store some rounds for a while, yet be able to add to them every month or so with out messing up my storing conditions. any help would be much appreciated. thanks __________________ "THIS IS MY RIFLE, THERE ARE MANY LIKE IT, BUT THIS ONE IS MINE..." "IF THEY RUN, THEY ARE VC. IF THEY DON'T RUN, THEY ARE WELL TRAINED VC..." -->

03-24-2005, 06:13 AM	#2
inplanotx Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 8,897	Re: how should i store bulk ammo? Unless you are trying to store these for thirty years in high humidity or under water, you have nothing to worry about. You also did not say how long you want to store these. __________________

03-24-2005, 06:27 AM	#3
matty V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 86	Re: how should i store bulk ammo? i don't know how long i would store my ammo. proboly not for more than a year. 'cause every year my family gets together and has a reunion/kegger/gunfest (it's a red neck thing). i am also worried about the high humidity that i sometimes hunt in, rain, snow, freezing rain, ect. that and it has a tendacy to get left in the back of the jeep for a while.(usualy a season or two). but hey! that loose ammo in the back of the jeep is what got me my deer 2 years a go! ( i forgot to swing by wally world on the way out). the jeep is covered and i try to keep as much water out of it as i can but you never know when a river might suddenly jump out in front of you and you have no choice but to go through it lol __________________ "THIS IS MY RIFLE, THERE ARE MANY LIKE IT, BUT THIS ONE IS MINE..." "IF THEY RUN, THEY ARE VC. IF THEY DON'T RUN, THEY ARE WELL TRAINED VC..."

03-24-2005, 09:17 AM	#4
inplanotx Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 8,897	Re: how should i store bulk ammo? I still have ammo that I reloaded 15 years ago and I live in high humid Texas. It has never failed to go bang when I want it too. Hope that solves your problem. __________________

04-21-2005, 06:19 PM	#5
matty V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 86	Re: how should i store bulk ammo? maybe i will just throw it in an ammo can with some of that silica gel stuff. thanks for the info __________________ "THIS IS MY RIFLE, THERE ARE MANY LIKE IT, BUT THIS ONE IS MINE..." "IF THEY RUN, THEY ARE VC. IF THEY DON'T RUN, THEY ARE WELL TRAINED VC..."

04-22-2005, 05:40 PM	#7
Smitty 308 Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 21	Re: how should i store bulk ammo? In 1968 I was a Gunner's Mate in the Navy, in Viet Nam. I was working in a 6"x47 mount and noticed a packing slip from a batch of projectiles. It was dated 1936. I took it to our Chief GM and asked if the projectiles we were shooting was really 32 years old. He confirmed that they were. We shot a bunch of that stuff. Actually, one week we shot 3500 rounds of 5"x38 and 6"x47. I only remember one incident that might have been related to the age of our ammunition. One of our tripple 6" turrets fired a full salvo and the projectiles all went off about 100 yards away from the ship. They arm by how many times they rotate and the rifling imparts the spin so one as one or more projectiles armed and detonated, probably detonating the other two sympathetacally. At chow that night heard it rained a bit of metal. Nuff ramblin.