Anyone else hate non-efficient ammo packaging?

I've been told that Federal's primers are quite a bit softer than some of their competitors, which could possibly be the reason for most of their ammunition and primer boxes being significantly larger than most of their competition. That seems to go along with my experience, but I've no proof thereof.

As far as Remington's boxes, part of it likely goes toward the one-size-fits-all box that they try to get away with-- fewer box sizes means bigger orders of the one box size, meaning better price (in general) from the cardboard guys. The other reason I could see is some claim about protecting the bullet from getting knocked around in the neck of the case-- much less of a thing with pistol cartridges, but has a bit more relevance in rifle rounds. Not much relevance, but a little.

The worst packaging by far that I've seen is the russian 7.62x39, with the brown paper inside separating each layer. The boxes themselves are flimsy enough, but with those little papers flying all over.... I'll be filling a .30 cal ammo can of loose rounds for that one.

I normally stack up my 9mm reloads in the old factory boxes (and a smattering of MTM cases), so I can keep easy track of how many rounds there are and how many I fire in a sitting, but I'm fast moving toward the notion of loose-in-a-can for that one too. Something about opening the top and seeing all those shiny cartridges makes me smile

I think it is Federal rifle ammo that comes in the plastic sleeves of ten, two of them in a box? Those sleeves have slots on the end that can be attached to your belt, like a holster. That's kind of nice when in the woods.

I save the thick Remington plastic pistol box inserts for use as reloading trays. Very sturdy, stable, and if they get damaged I toss them. The 9mm size works great for 223, and the 45 size works great for 308.

I save the PMC and Fiocchi ammo 9mm boxes for repacking reloads; they are the most efficient form factor for 9mm.

I've found the larger packaging mildy annoying, but not enough to worry much about it. Most of my ammo is handloaded anyways - factory is just what I shoot when I either run out of brass or just have been lazy regarding the reloading for a while. All my reloads go into small plastic hinged boxes that are fairly efficient size-wise.



The ones I use are by Smart Reloader. Plano makes some good ones too. I like both better than the MTM boxes as they have actual hinges rather than a flexing piece of plastic that will eventually wear out.

Boy, i am glad i followed my instinct not to lock! Turns out this is an interesting thread!

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I'd support a system similar to the one used for water at my local grocery store. You buy the container, take it home, empty it, and bring it back for a refill. Should work well for ammo, and allows you to keep a container for transport or storage if you so choose.

Something about opening the top and seeing all those shiny cartridges makes me smile

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Tru dat!

Yeah, I agree - Buffalo Bore is ridiculously overpackaged. However, most Buffalo Bore ammo isn't exactly range fodder anyway. At any rate, I like plastic inserts. I use them to store soon-to-be-shot ammo or cleaned, inspected, deprimed brass.

~D

HGUNHNTR said:

I'd support a system similar to the one used for water at my local grocery store. You buy the container, take it home, empty it, and bring it back for a refill. Should work well for ammo, and allows you to keep a container for transport or storage if you so choose.

Tru dat!

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How would that work? How would the ammo ship to the retail outlet? What would it be transferred to when you bought it, how, and how would it be counted?

^ Yeah dude, just ship it in bulk to the retail outlet and buy it by the pound or ton.

ChefJeff1 said:

the CCI plastic containers annoy me. The ones with the sliding lid. The bullets are hard to pull out without dumping it out.

Now, I mostly use ziploc bags too.

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I like those cci containers. Want 5 rounds? slide the lid back so one row is exposed and turn it over into your hand. Want 10? Slide it back a littler further.
I suppose if you are firing 1 round at a time it would be annoying picking them out.

Warp said:

How would that work? How would the ammo ship to the retail outlet? What would it be transferred to when you bought it, how, and how would it be counted?

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It would be shipped in a 55 gallon drum the way God intended. Bring your own container, measure by weight. As mentioned before, think about being able to walk up to a deli counter and say "I'll take 5 pounds of 9mm ball, please." That would be awesome.

I like the CCI 22LR boxes. I like them so much I put bullets from bulk packs in them. Most of my 22 firearms have ten round magazines, so, just like DoubleTapDrew has mentioned, you slide the lid the right length, flip the box over, and dump exactly your selected multiple of 5 right in your hand.

"Hating" bulk packaging sounds like a bit much hyperbole, but I will say volumetrically inefficient packaging annoys me. I reuse factory boxes for my reloads, and I like PMC boxes. They are very dense. I use 9mm boxes for .40 rounds. It takes a gentle push to get the rounds in, and they grip just tightly enough they are easily pulled out, but not rattling loosely. I wish I could find an ammo box like that for .45

BeerSleeper said:

I like the CCI 22LR boxes. I like them so much I put bullets from bulk packs in them. Most of my 22 firearms have ten round magazines, so, just like DoubleTapDrew has mentioned, you slide the lid the right length, flip the box over, and dump exactly your selected multiple of 5 right in your hand.

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I do the same thing. I label them with the brand. The wife's gun likes Golden, mine likes Federal.

One thing on the bulk ammo bin idea: would there be significant issue with the wrong ammo getting intermingled? Someone decided aganist a half pound of .380 and dumps it in the wrong bin, say into the 9mm bucket, or vice versa. Could cause issues. Otherwise, not a bad idea for cheap bulk ammo.

ThePenguinKnight said:

One thing on the bulk ammo bin idea: would there be significant issue with the wrong ammo getting intermingled? Someone decided aganist a half pound of .380 and dumps it in the wrong bin, say into the 9mm bucket, or vice versa. Could cause issues. Otherwise, not a bad idea for cheap bulk ammo.

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You would not want customers freely handling the ammo.

I have to wonder how much of any potential savings is made up for in the extra manpower required to handle everything at the point of sale.

Not to mention that people want very much to know how many rounds they are getting.

holdencm9 said:

Interesting that my little vent about over-packaged ammo has kind of evolved into some great ideas to revolutionize the way we think about buying ammunition!

I agree the bulk bin idea could have a hiccup with inter-mingling of similarly-sized ammo. If customers did handle the ammo directly it would have to be a 1-way operation, kind of like the cereal containers at continental breakfasts in hotels. They could open the container and let the ammo spill out into their bag, but most definitely NOT put ammo back in the hopper.

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Mix some rounds of .44 mag in with the rest of your less expensive ammo, weigh it all out as the less expensive...yeah.

I see nothing but problems with this.

^
Vending machines. For heaven's sake, they sell/vend Krugerands out of vending machines.

holdencm9 said:

You can already cheat retailers by opening a box of blazer or UMC and replacing all the cheapo rounds with some high end defensive ammo of your choice. Heck if I wanted I could do that and get 30 rounds of practice ammo and 20 rounds of Cor Bon DPX for $11!

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That is a lot more time consuming and obvious than pouring your rounds into a bag, I suspect.

holdencm9 said:

I think the odds of getting caught and being prosecuted for stealing would outweigh someone trying to steal a few rounds of .44 mag (which would stick out like a sore thumb). I think this idea is just kind of hypothetical and "what if?" and just for fun at this stage.

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Yet people shoplift all kind of stuff all the time. A lot of the time they don't get caught. The value of stolen merchandise in this country on an annual basis is staggering.

I re-use it for handloads.. I prefer it might have started off in use for plinking ammo, but its now holding match ammo.

BeerSleeper said:

"Hating" bulk packaging sounds like a bit much hyperbole, but I will say volumetrically inefficient packaging annoys me. I reuse factory boxes for my reloads, and I like PMC boxes. They are very dense. I use 9mm boxes for .40 rounds. It takes a gentle push to get the rounds in, and they grip just tightly enough they are easily pulled out, but not rattling loosely. I wish I could find an ammo box like that for .45

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Have you tried using the .40 boxes?

Should be the same size difference.

Not to mention that people want very much to know how many rounds they are getting.

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A simple calculation would tell you exactly how many rounds you were getting. People are just used to buying ammo by the 50 ct., that paradigm could be shifted toward buying it by the pound or kilogram. It would be great to have an ammo vending machine. I'd love to see a vending machine for firearms. Just scan your passport and receive your G17. Paperwork is automatically filed. This works well in my own utopia, and will be my first order of business when I can afford to purchase my own small country. Of course you're all invited.

HGUNHNTR said:

A simple calculation would tell you exactly how many rounds you were getting. People are just used to buying ammo by the 50 ct., that paradigm could be shifted toward buying it by the pound or kilogram. It would be great to have an ammo vending machine. I'd love to see a vending machine for firearms. Just scan your passport and receive your G17. Paperwork is automatically filed. This works well in my own utopia, and will be my first order of business when I can afford to purchase my own small country. Of course you're all invited.

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I would think that might make each firearms purchase less special though.

I like to think of each one like recieving a sword or finely crafted tool that either has lots of history in which you get to contribute to clean slate that you get to carve yourself.