storing your ammo ?

R

rebs

New member
where and in what kind of container do you guys store your ammo ?
Is a steel box with lock a good idea or is a wooden box with lock a better choice ?
 
This will depend on the type of environment you plan of keeping the container in. Many use surplus ammo cans with no problems and have stored them for years. I have a couple of them myself but for the most part I use the plastic ammo cans obtained from Cabela's (have 8 of them).

The only issue using steel cans is in case of fire, they then can become ruptured if the ammo should become supper heated and send shrapnel all over the place. It is unlikely but still a possibility.

Most of my ammo is stored in wooden cabinets locked to keep the kids from playing with it. It is kept up and dry away from everyone but myself.

What is the best method, I can not say. I can only go by the requirement to store smokeless gun powder in a wooden box with walls 1 inch thick to protect it from fire for a one hour period. If it works for bottles of smokeless gun powder it should work for your ammo as well, but then again I do not store primers with my gun powder for reloading.

Whichever method you use just be sure to keep it up and dry and away from any open flames such as furnaces or gas clothes dryers.

Good luck and stay safe.
Jim
 
Many of mine are like you would find in gun shops, just stored on open shelves, not the best idea but try to use them up rapidly. But space permitting, most are stored in enclosed wooden cabinets. This seems to be satisfactory even in the rather damp California coastal climate. It's really the loading tools and guns that can be affected most by the moisture. I do find myself being rather careless. But ammunition not a problem.
 
I store mine in G-I ammo cans that seal airtightl. For long term storage, (over 6 months) I also throw in a packet of silica gel dessicant.

the cans are stored on the floor of my cool, dry basement.

A good rule of thumb: Keep them dry, and store under 60 degrees F.
 
I use a Coleman ice chest, it is water tight and since I keep it in the garage on a slab floor it is up on 2x4's so condensate won't form underneath. I've been using that method for 20(?) years with both commercial and reloads in the factory box and have never had any crinkling of the paper, the cases remain shiny and I have not had any ammo failures.

1st Marine division, 3rd Marines
 
I have a twist on storing ammo,
But depends on the ammo.

I use ammo cans, GI issue,
Use food grade silicone grease on the gasket, cheap from any restruent supply store, used to lubricate food processing equipment.
Petrolum grease will attack the rubber seal, food grade silicone won't.
This solves the moisture migration issues.

I buy rolls of 'No Corrosion' (brown, slick on one side) paper to line the cans for long term storage.
This stuff is fairly cheap, doesn't take much, and it won't matter if the ammo is stored for 20 years, it will come out looking like the day it went in.

Short term storage I simply line the can with what ever cardboard I have laying around.

The idea here is something between brass/copper ammo and steel box will stop the electrical process called the 'Galvonic Response'.
When dis-similar metals come into contact with each other (chip or rub in the paint) the two metals form a weak battery that causes corrosion.

You can also use the gas from a MIG welder, chases out the oxygen/moisture replacing it with neutral/non-reactive argon gas, both clean, neutral & dry.

The last resort is cooking a desiccant pack in the oven for two or three hours to dry it completely, then putting it in the can.
Cardboard, protective paper (removes oxygen and electrically insulates the can from the brass/copper) and argon from a MIG welder are all cheaper than the commercially available desiccant packs, not to mention faster...

If you are worried about the house/garage burning down,
'Fire Brick' is actually called 'Refractory Brick' is cheap.
Its the stuff they line fireplaces & chimneys with.
Line your storage place with refractories, and close up the space with refractories to give you several hours of fire protection.

This is the same stuff found in 'Fire Safes'.
When I remdeled the house, a large closet got refractories in the walls and a fire rated security door.
Before the remodel, it was just a steel copier cabinet lined with refractories & gun safes, now its an entire room, space between metal wall studs is filled with refractories, fire rated wall board inside the room,
Invisible, you can't tell it from the drywall in the rest of the house.
(Good idea for a safe room also, bricks will stop a sign post or 2x4 in a tornado.)
 
I have it in my "shop" heated, dry...so I just stack it in original boxes..or plastic ammo boxes...on a shelf.

Depends on the environment...
 
I keep all mine in a craftsman 6 drawer rolling tool box in my closet. Most are in original boxes, 223 are all on stripper clips separated by powder type, bullet type,brass, times reloaded etc.
 
I use the cheap plastic ammo cans with the rubber seal. I place a desiccant pack in each one. But my ammo doesn't last long in them. They don't stay full for long.
 
GI ammo cans in a metal locker in the shop.

I re-use my empty commercial ammo boxes for reloads, they stack nicely in the GI cans, for as long as they last, anyway.
 
A mixture of GI ammo cans and Plano plastic ammo cans. The bullets are stored inside the cans inside zip lock baggies with all of the load data on a card inside the baggies. I store them in a cabinet. My powder is in a Pelican case on one shelf and the primers are stored in a metal ammo can on another shelf.
 
My reloads go into factory 50 round boxes and trays that I dug out of garbage cans at ranges. I have enough boxes to hold a good 5,000 rounds. I make labels at work for free that I slap on the side of the box with the load info. I then stack those in plastic or steel GI ammo cans that I keep in my hunting/shooting room in my basement.
 
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