how do you store ammo?

I don't have space for 50 ammo cans.

Click to expand...

Then how do you have space for a large trunk or tool box to hold it all?

Hard to beat the .30 caliber cans, I can store 800 .45ACP or 1200 9mm reloads in one can. They seal and keep the ammo fresh for years, I just opened one that had sat on the floor of my garage for 15+ years. Ammo good as new. IMHO anything else is an inferior solution.

ohihunter2014 said:

Im trying to stay away from multiple things laying all around. a large box or trunk would be better this way its one container and all in the same area. I don't have space for 50 ammo cans.

Click to expand...

Ammo cans. Inside the largest salt-water cooler(s) you can find, depending on how much you have.
Works like a charm. I've been storing mine like that for 30+ years.

I use the boxes the bullet heads come in. Shotgun ammo I load is in the big plastic coffee containers. Everything is loose bulk. I see no need for 25 or 50 round boxes.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/stack-on-14-gun-security-cabinet-black
in a pair of these. can be had for $99 on sale periodically.

I've been using 3 sets of this: (https://www.amazon.com/Bottle-Buddy-3-Tier-Floor-Protection/dp/B001I0KGZ0) for years. Works great! Very flexible since you can expand or contract your ammo storage as needed, as long as you have enough space for more racks.

So I have 9 bays (3 sets horizontally X 3 bays tall). Instead of water bottles, I use BIG clear plastic food containers that had once been used for cheese balls, pretzels etc from Sam's Club (my wife brought the empty containers home from her office over time - free to me). The mouths on the containers are wide, so it's easy to get into them. Since the containers are clear, I can easily see which caliber is in each. Plus, I label each one as to contents.

If I use a lot of a particular caliber that I load, I just expand to multiple containers for that caliber.

These racks have never had a problem supporting the weight of the ammunition. Since the big plastic containers are lying on their sides in each bay, they are never truly full either.

Works for me anyway.

Got a big, excellent-condition, 4-drawer Fire King file cabinet from my work for $10. They'd lost one of the keys and didn't want to use it with just one key. A little research, a call to Fire King, and $35, and I had another two keys. And a fire-resistant ammo storage unit. Even empty that thing is heavier than hell.

ohihunter2014 said:

Im trying to stay away from multiple things laying all around. a large box or trunk would be better this way its one container and all in the same area. I don't have space for 50 ammo cans.

Click to expand...

And you're just getting into reloading? Better make space.
Ammo cans have always worked for me; I keep them by caliber/gauge, and I also keep a SAW can with the calibers I use at the range most as my range ammo can. The best thing about ammo cans vs. a single large container; they are much easier to move if need be.

ohihunter2014 said:

Im trying to stay away from multiple things laying all around. a large box or trunk would be better this way its one container and all in the same area. I don't have space for 50 ammo cans.

Click to expand...

If you put all the ammo that would fit in 50 ammo cans in one container you'd need a forklift to move it. Are you saying you're able to take all of the ammo you want to store and lift it off the floor yourself? If so you'll only need maybe 4-6 ammo cans at the most, not 50.

I keep 60 cartridges of shotgun 80 cartridges of rifle plus 100 cartridges of handgun ammo in one of my walk in closets. I do not want to spend more in case something were to happen to me. The ammo is very expensive just one box of rifle ammo is almost 40 bucks.

I keep my ammo in 50 cal. ammo cans one for each caliber I use. Each caliber is in individual plastic boxes of 50 rnds. Used all my plastic boxes so now storing them loose in the ammo cans. All stacked in a closet in the A/C .

I struggled with this too

I use the MTM and Berrys boxes to store my ammo. I keep those in the shallower MTM Ammo crates. 100 round 223 boxes on the bottom and 100 round 9mm on top. Them 50 round ones on the end to fill in space.

I also use a deep MTM ammo crate to store primers powder and bullets

The bullets are sorted and stored in plastic HF divided boxes

I've used the typical ammo cans before but to me they're just to small for ammo in the plastic boxes.

Like OP I wish there was a better way but I haven't seen the "perfect" setup yet

I guess the question is do you want neat an organized or easy to transport. Then figure out a budget and plan. Mine is evolving and I'm adjusting as I grow and learn

On shelves in the spare bedroom(gun/reloading room) in plastic ammo boxes clearly marked with what they contain. Shelf standards are easy to install, just make sure they are heavy enough for the weight of the ammo. You can also put them up high enough to be outta the way and inaccessible to little ones.

ohihunter2014 said:

If i got a trunk of some sort it would be easier because everything is in one place and i could stick it in a corner or something. I'm very discreet when it comes to this stuff and ammo cans would scream there are a lot of bullets in here. instead of having my shells and primers and what not all over the place i could stick in a large trunk in one spot and be done. when i shoot its 100 rounds here or there so i wont need ammo cans to haul to the range that's 10min away.

just trying to hide the ammo and be able to lock everything up and keep people out. it would be for binos, rangefinder, etc also with a couple thousand rounds of ammo.

Click to expand...

Lockable storage trunks are not expensive and can be readily found at home improvement stores. Get one a little bigger than your current needs so there is room for the future without immediately needed another one.

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Sterilite-Footlocker-Storage-Box-18429001/204303284

ohihunter2014 said:

how do you store ammo?

Click to expand...

I figure that perhaps 45% of my ammo I have left sealed in their original cases. And, perhaps, an equal amount I have stored in USGI .30/.50/20mm ammo boxes (I have over 100 used in this way, mostly .50s).

The remainder, mostly pistol hand-/re-loads, I have stored in a LOT (mostly 100-rounders) of the old-type MTM Case-Gard boxes that I purchased prior to them ruining the product by replacing the REAL hinges with those stupid molded-in "plastic hinges".

BIG basement.

Sauer Grapes said:

I use the boxes the bullet heads come in.

Click to expand...

Bullet heads? Really? <chuckle>

Puh-leeeeease tell us that you were just being Silly when you typed that.

I reload and either use "recycled" factory ammo boxes (and they wonder why I dumpster dive at the range) or plastic clam shell ammo storage cases. These I store in a few ammo cans and a few Pelican cases. If they get too big, they get too heavy.

I keep my empty shotshell boxes to pack my rifle handloads in, as well as some of the boxes of factory pistol ammo and boxes that reload bullets come in. Then those go in 50BMG cans according to caliber. I have a couple of 80mm mortar cans that I store shotshells in. You can get 30 boxes (25 shells/box) of 12 ga shells in one can.

I have "a gun room" it is actually a spare bedroom where I keep all my firearms in three vaults, in the closet I keep my reloading supplies, primers, bullets and powder. I keep all my ammo in 50mm steel cans, on shelves. Note I reload for about 25 different calibers, so I keep a supply on hand for each and every caliber, all separated and labeled. Note my grandkids never go in there without a responsible adult present, and the door has a lock on it to prevent unauthorized entry. My garage has all my reloading equipment and spent brass, and lead for casting. Note my garage is also air conditioned.

loose noose said:

I have "a gun room" it is actually a spare bedroom where I keep all my firearms in three vaults, ....... Note my garage is also air conditioned.

Click to expand...

Note, I am envious.
My garage is where I reload, too. Unfortunately, it's cool when it should be warm, and hot when it should be cool.

Processed brass and loaded ammunition are stored in plastic boxes where each cartridge or piece of brass has its own individual compartment. The plastic boxes are stored inside a military-style ammunition can with a dessicant bag to control moisture.

From past experience, I know that brass and ammunition stored this way will lose some of its shine after about a decade, but will not corrode for more than twenty years.

I am currently only storing ammo in the house for the guns in the corners I keep handy for quick use. The large amount of the hoard is stored in ammo cans inside plastic totes buried just below the frost line here which is just 18 inches. Ive found that with the constant temp. of the earth condensation of moisture is not a problem. I am currently shooting up the old and rotating stock but shortages in the past seem to have created another hoarder in my case anyway. I live in a rural area and the range begins at the treshold of the doors but my wife gets angry about ejected brass flying around the rooms with doors to outside the house. Really angry about several hundred at once but to get rid of spiders first you must spray for bugs lol I suppose I should hoard food to prep but with plenty of ammo those with food will just have to share it when the wild game in the area has been depleted.I say that as in a SHTF scenario there will be no order so law will be a moot point. Currently the observance of law is first in importance if one enjoys the freedom our forefathers fought for.

From financial standpoint it makes zero sense to buy thousands or rounds and store them for decades. If one dies they will leave their family members with headache of disposal and loss of cash used to buy said ammo which could have been used for something more useful.

I don`t have a lot but what I do have "lives" on the top shelf of my closet.......................

Sav .250 said:

I don`t have a lot but what I do have "lives" on the top shelf of my closet.......................

Click to expand...

No, what you have is real money pit. Read account of battle of Frisco (December 1st of 1884) where single Latino or Mex held eighty angry cowhands armed with rifles and handguns for long hours armed with two single action revolvers and couple dozen of cartridges. They fired estimated 4000 rounds into the structure he was in w/o even scratching him. I laugh when modern civilian needs 15 round capacity with at least one refill.

I got for free,an old steel business cabinet in the utility/ laundry room . It is huge 4' wide, 7' high, 2' deep. Fitted it wth 2 locks.
Sturdy shelves.


Ammo cans are inexpensive.

Www.the-armory.com has them and some good ammo deals

FULL DISCLOSURE!
I WORK PART TIME FOR THEM AND DERIVE NO FINANCIAL BENEFIT FROM SALES OTHER THAN AN HOURLY WAGE.