Looking to store up a little ammo...

C

checkmyswag

New member
This is for long term, "who knows what the situation will be in the future" purposes.

I may just chip away at it over the years, or ammo may completely become too pricey to afford, or otherwise unavailable.

My question is...say I wanted to store up 500 rounds of .308, would I be better to just order 250 rounds of FMJ and 250 rounds of HP or to buy it by the box...20 rounds at a time?

Looking to ensure I have what I need. My concern with buying it in bulk is that if it's a "bad batch" and I really need it in the future then I'm out of luck, versus hedging my bets with the average spreading across small portions from many different lots.
 
If you buy quality ammo then you shouldn't have to worry. Even the cheap stuff won't have a noticeably greater failure rate after 20 or more years.

Keep the stuff dry and away from rapid changes in temp and you'll be fine.
 
Buy a box, if you like it, buy a lot of it, if you don't, then buy a box of something else and try it.

Once you've found a box of ammo you like, then buy a large batch and spot check rounds from a few boxes to make sure it's all the same quality as the first "test" box.

If you don't like what you find, you can either sell it or use it for practice ammo. Then start the process over.

I agree that if you're buying decent ammo, you should be in pretty good shape without doing a lot of testing. However, there's no denying that some rifle/ammo combos don't get along. I have a Model 38 Swedish Mauser that will shoot nice tight groups with Winchester ammo but scatters Remington ammo in the same bullet weight into "groups" that won't stay on a pie plate at the same range.
 
I thought you were a reloader.

But to your question- that's hard to answer as it really kinda depends on your budget doesn't it? For me, I went with the few boxes at a time game plan. I keep the .308"s, .223's, and some .30-06's in their own corner in GI ammo cans. It's my worry that I'd start dipping into it and eventually find myself having to start over.

edit: Just read everyone's advice to spot check. If you can manage to buy several boxes all of the same lot #- then if you feel the need to check- you should only need to check a couple per lot. And in my opinion- if you don't jiggle it around all the time or subject it to harsh temp extremes or a lot of moisture- it'll keep longer than 50yrs. Some guys here are shooting WWII stuff with no problems at all.
 
After decades of using surplus ammo from WWI through the 1970s vintage, and only having occasional problems (and that primarily with ammo from nations that lost WWII) I never expected any problem with .308 Win (7.62NATO).

Then a friend showed up with a few hundred rounds of stuff that had dirty cases, "308 Win" inked on the side of the cases, and headstamped TZ 80, 81 , & 82.

This stuff (and I have no idea where it originally came from) is crap. Out of 100rnds test fired, there were half a dozen misfires (complete failure to fire), AND nearly 20% split cases. Splits and cracks in the case body just ahead of the web.

The rest of the lot was pulled down for the bullets, which were fine. Cases and powder discarded.

So, there are bad lots of 7.62mm NATO.

If you buy a bulk lot (and do not have the opportunity to examine it first), test some of it for proper function (and accuracy) before you salt away the rest for long term storage.
 
Georgia Arms bulk packages in 500 or 1000 comes in 30 cal ammo cans.

Good stuff... most is reloaded (once) military ammo in brass.
 
If you intend to store 500 rounds of ammo AND do some shooting, you'd be much better served loading your own. The equipment will be paid for in 500 rounds, perhaps 1000, or 2000, depending on how much you spend on fancy equipment. If you just want 500 rounds and don't hardly ever shoot, I agree with Georgia Arms.
 
My question is...say I wanted to store up 500 rounds of .308, would I be better to just order 250 rounds of FMJ and 250 rounds of HP or to buy it by the box...20 rounds at a time?
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What's the purpose for the HP? I'm assuming you realize that most .308 HP ammo is for target shooting and not really designed to expand. If you want bullets for hunting look at spitzer soft points or whatever hunting bullet your rifle likes.
 
In addition to Georgia I really like buying from sgammo.com

Lots of good priced bulk ammo but only in the calibers you typically see it 7.62, 5.56, etc.

Still has good prices on other non-bulk ammo too though.
 
For a time, I was spending about $100/month on ammo until I got my brass supplies built up. Now, that I have at least XXX rounds for each rifle, I am putting that money towards bullets, then comes the powder and primers, which will get packed into a CO2 purged air tight containers for storage.
This is my strategy.
 
What's the purpose for the HP? I'm assuming you realize that most .308 HP ammo is for target shooting and not really designed to expand. If you want bullets for hunting look at spitzer soft points or whatever hunting bullet your rifle likes.
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My thinking too. Buying a bunch of ammo for what? That would help explain a lot about how much to buy, what type etc. I am thinking that if you are buying it just to have it you will likely regret it since it will sit unshot on a shelf somewhere..... Good for me however. I can buy it back from you at half price two years from now when you put it in the trading post to buy diapers for your yet unborn, unthought of baby. :)
 
cow0man, you may want to consider using argon or nitrogen for your purge. As I understand it, the purpose of using a purge gas is to remove as much oxygen from the storage environment as possible. I know argon is available from welding gas suppliers, not sure about nitrogen.
 
So, there are bad lots of 7.62mm NATO.
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Nearly every Western Country has loaded some type of 7.72 Nato round. Stick to US, German, GB stuff and you'll be ok. Some of that 'other' junk is of poor quality at best. I had an HK 91 for awhile and used German Nato Ammo in it and never had a bit of trouble.
 
Good advice above as to what to do and buy. My only comment is, if you don't know what the future will bring, and you are storing away for dire contingency, 500 rounds is not going to get you through even a reasonably dire strait. Think 1000 rounds as soon as you can get it, and build up to 3000 or 5000 rounds in a year or less. Also stock up on .22LR, same numbers.
 
What's the purpose for the HP? I'm assuming you realize that most .308 HP ammo is for target shooting and not really designed to expand. If you want bullets for hunting look at spitzer soft points or whatever hunting bullet your rifle likes.
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I didn't know that about hollow points.

Aside from my military experience which was all FMJ in M16A2/M4/M249...I've mostly been into handguns. Looking to round out things with some rifles and a shotgun.

So need to look into softpoints instead of hollowpoints, thanks.

Have the latest cheaperthandirt catalogue...any suggestions?

Good for me however. I can buy it back from you at half price two years from now when you put it in the trading post to buy diapers for your yet unborn, unthought of baby.
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No...sorry. I've been through that...buying and selling, trying things out. Trying to get a well rounded kit, enjoy it from time to time. Not saying I won't buy a few more over the years, but I'm REALLY trying to research purchases so I make good choices that hold up over the years.

Trying to do the same thing with ammo...and how it's stored.
 
There are all kinds of hollow points. Some are designed for long distance accuracy, some for expansion. It's not "don't use hollow points", it's know what your particular bullet is built for.
 
checkmyswag said:
Have the latest cheaperthandirt catalogue...any suggestions?
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Again, it depends on what you intend to shoot. There are bullets designed to expand rapidly for small, thin-skinned game and there are heavy, bonded bullets designed for deep penetration and weight retention on big game. And there's just about everything in between.

JohnKSa gave very good advice when he suggested finding out what your rifle liked before buying it in quantity. Your rifle will have a weight range (bullet length, actually) that it will shoot the best.
 
Addycat,
Yes that is the reason for CO2. Easy to get, just throw some dry in container with lid loosely fitted. All 02 will be pushed out. This is also how I purge for my food stores.
 
If you're looking for good military .308, keep in mind something I read somewhere: Don't buy ammo from countries where you wouldn't drink the water. Good advice I think.
 
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