Desiccant or not in storing reloads?

Atavar said:

Just place the desiccant in an open container capable of containing water equal to the volume of the desiccant with the open side up in respect to gravity.

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Why?

The container is for water that sublimes from the desiccant.

I would have to live in a very humid climate and reload ammo that I didn't plan to shoot for a long time. I don't qualify on either point so no I don't use it.

I do. Not really because I think I need it, but those desiccant packs accumulate and I feel like I'm re-using them at least. I do the same for the small inline dryers on my air compressor & HVLP sprayers - some use for the stuff.

Yes, I do use desiccant in ammo cans with a good rubber seal, in climate controlled "living environments" for long-term storage. I do the same for reloads and new factory ammo.

Why? Because we really can't be sure how good the seals are on some ammo cans. Some are MIL-SPEC and others are questionable. Another reason is if you store the ammo inside individual cardboard boxes, cardboard has already absorbed a level of moisture before you put it in the can.

The effect of moisture in the air over long term is not likely to ruin your ammo. It will go bang, however that bang may be less than it was when the ammo was new if you're careless with storage. Desiccant along with other good storage practices can mitigate subtle powder deterioration over time. Desiccant is cheap, and it can't hurt, so why not?

You can restore desiccant to like-new by putting it in a food dehydrator overnight, maximizing its usefulness.

All my components are stored in the living room. I load in the living room. My loaded ammo is stored in the living room. The wife has an iron grip on the thermostat and it never strays more than 5* from 72* year round so there is no need for desiccant here.

rabid wombat said:

Do you store your bulk reloads with a desiccant?

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I live in the Deep South where humidity is regularly over 80% .... so yes, yes I do. And yes, I use milspec ammo cans with good rubber seal rings but still, when I am mass reloading, running a progressive with the intent to fill an ammo can or mortar cannister or bucket with a wonder lid .... yes, I use a desiccant.

I make my own using old panty hose and a bulk bucket of silicate I bought some years ago and I'll run each bag through my dehydrator overnight timing it just right to drop the freshly charged hosiery bag into the ammo can with the freshly reloaded ammo ... and then I move-on to the next project.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think some people worry way too much about the way climate affects ammunition and components. Of course, reloading is a hobby where a little over-cautiuosness is necessary, so I don't blame anyone for taking this or that measure to ensure everything goes off without a hitch - can't hurt, that's for sure.

What I can say is that I've fired reloads from the '70s that were kept in cardboard boxes in a garage that fluctuated between extreme heat and humidity and extreme cold and dryness (so it goes here in the heartland) for their entire existence, and aside from a little discoloration of the cases, there was no difference to speak of between those and something I would load today. I keep all of my components and ammo in a similar garage and I have never had an issue with them. I wouldn't store ammo I intend to use for self defense long term in this way probably, but then again I wouldn't use old ammo for that anyway. Everything else, I wouldn't think twice about. But to each their own, like I said it definitely can't hurt.

Considering each round of ammo is individually hermetically sealed I’ll have to agree with you.

I shoot it up to fast to worry about moisture

I get so many desiccant packs that arrive in various packages that there's no reason not to throw them in my ammo cans. Once they clump or feel hard, I swap them out.