Cardboard or Plastic?

[Charlie98]

Generally, I keep my pistol ammos in 50rd Midway (Frankford) boxes. Luckly, the 50rd pistol boxes set right down inside a 50cal ammo can for transport. On some bulk ammo, 45ACP for example, I have some smaller cardboard boxes I get from work that hold 300-500rds each, save a lot of space vs the plastic boxes, and fit in the 50cal ammo can, too. I'm not a big cardboard box and tray... particularly those styro trays... fan (i.e. factory ammo.)

Rifle cartridges are a little different. I shoot bigger cartridges... .45-70 and .348WCF namely, and the 100rd MTM boxes work well enough; I did find, however, they are not water resistant at all... I got caught in a rainstorm on the way home last weekend and one of the MTM's had a 1/4" of water in it... it leaked in at the handles. I do store my smaller rifle cartridges in 50rd plastic boxes, those do not fit in a 50cal can, but I have a Belgian 7.62mm ammo crate/can that I can stack 12 of those boxes in, it's heavy, but it works. Bulk 5.56mm goes in bulk cardboard boxes like my bulk pistol ammos. Bulk 7.62mm goes in 50cal ammo cans either in bulk, in bandoliers and/or strippers, or in said cardboard boxes.

MTM is kicking out some pretty neat looking ammo storage containers and container systems. I'm not a big fan of plastic, per se... meaning the can itself. I have an MTM mag can (that holds ~15 AR mags) and it's OK, but when I have 15 fully loaded mags in it, I'm skeptical of it's long-term strength... the plastic is just too flimsy for me.

 

[Axis II]

Generally, I keep my pistol ammos in 50rd Midway (Frankford) boxes. Luckly, the 50rd pistol boxes set right down inside a 50cal ammo can for transport. On some bulk ammo, 45ACP for example, I have some smaller cardboard boxes I get from work that hold 300-500rds each, save a lot of space vs the plastic boxes, and fit in the 50cal ammo can, too. I'm not a big cardboard box and tray... particularly those styro trays... fan (i.e. factory ammo.)

Rifle cartridges are a little different. I shoot bigger cartridges... .45-70 and .348WCF namely, and the 100rd MTM boxes work well enough; I did find, however, they are not water resistant at all... I got caught in a rainstorm on the way home last weekend and one of the MTM's had a 1/4" of water in it... it leaked in at the handles. I do store my smaller rifle cartridges in 50rd plastic boxes, those do not fit in a 50cal can, but I have a Belgian 7.62mm ammo crate/can that I can stack 12 of those boxes in, it's heavy, but it works. Bulk 5.56mm goes in bulk cardboard boxes like my bulk pistol ammos. Bulk 7.62mm goes in 50cal ammo cans either in bulk, in bandoliers and/or strippers, or in said cardboard boxes.

MTM is kicking out some pretty neat looking ammo storage containers and container systems. I'm not a big fan of plastic, per se... meaning the can itself. I have an MTM mag can (that holds ~15 AR mags) and it's OK, but when I have 15 fully loaded mags in it, I'm skeptical of it's long-term strength... the plastic is just too flimsy for me.

I hear ya. I switched from the Frankford and MTM to the cabelas brand because they were cheaper. I wont buy the cabelas ones anymore because I had about 50rds of 223rem I was going to do load workup testing with and dropped it in the gravel parking lot of the range. The box shattered and the rounds everywhere. I didn't know what was what, so I ended up pulling all 50rds and started over. I now use the MTM or frankford ones because they plastic seems better for drops. I switched to the metal cans too because the smaller HF and Walmart special ones you get for $3-5 feel as if they are going to bust open when carrying them.

 

[Rule3]

I have so many damn plastic ammo boxes I think they breed like Tribbles!
I just as soon use Zip Lock Bags. I don't store reloads, I shoot what I reload then start over again.

 

[luzyfuerza]

I use USGI cans in the shop for long-term storage. Bulk ammo comes off the reloaders, gets QC'd, and is stored loose in the cans. Small quantities of hunting or precision rifle rounds are stored in boxes inside GI cans.

I transfer ammo from bulk storage to plastic bags or MTM boxes to go to the range. If I'm heading to a training class or to a long practice session, I might take a GI can with me.

 

[lordpaxman]

I'm an ecumenical hoarder.
For morning shoots:

For shoots where I need an energy drink:

For shoots when I need to know how many are left, or load workups: (and I agree with @Rule3, they breed like tribbles)

And finally, I like metal cans as well. I really like the fat 50 cans, since the MTM large pistol boxes sit nicely in them:

 

[ATLDave]

Most of my ammo goes in MTM or similar plastic boxes. High volume stuff gets stored in ammo cans, then dispensed into MTM boxes to take to the range.

 

[otisrush]

Most of my ammo goes in MTM or similar plastic boxes. High volume stuff gets stored in ammo cans, then dispensed into MTM boxes to take to the range.

I'm heading this way.

Great timing on this thread. I used to load only when I had empty plastic ammo boxes available. However just within the last two weeks I decided for .223 and 9mm I was going to keep loading - even though all of those boxes are currently full. I'm going to start putting stuff in bulk into 50 cal surplus ammo cans. I'll fill plastic ammo boxes from the bulk surplus cans as I shoot stuff and those plastic boxes become empties.

I have sort of a "window" for the next few months. This summer I'm going to be involved in load development and shooting high precision rifle - which won't leave me time to load plinking .223 and 9mm. So I really want to stock up since I can now. I figured I could either buy more plastic boxes or store stuff in bulk. I like the space efficiency of storing anything beyond what can be put in boxes in ammo cans.

 

[Axis II]

Well after all the responses on here I think I have a plan. I found puncture resistant bags on amazon and I think I will stick with my $10 50 cal cans and just put my handgun rounds in the baggies and store in the ammo cans. After cleaning up my bench last night and my very small workspace I realized I don't have a lot of room for a bunch of ammo cans and MTM boxes. Ill stick with the MTM boxes for rifle rounds but Ill just make a bunch of pistol rounds and store in the baggies and in the cans. I also realized last night that its slightly a PITA to get the 9mm rounds in and out of a few of the MTM boxes because its too tight.

I am really OCD when it comes to reloading and have to have things just so, so. Rounds loose kind of bothers me but after thinking about all the cans and boxes sitting around its just too much. I think I'll shove 8-10 baggies in an ammo can first.

 

[otisrush]

^^^^ I like this. As a result I think I'm going to modify my plan a bit.

I really like to load in 50 rnd (.223) and 100 rnd (9mm) batches because those are the sizes of my ammo boxes. I put batch number for each batch in my log book and I also place that batch number on the ammo box - so I can trace back exactly when I made a specific batch. I hesitated to throw hundreds of rounds into an ammo can because then the batch identification gets lost. But by putting those batches in plastic bags I can 1/ keep very easy count of how much I have ; 2/ maintain batch identification and 3/ grab a known quantity out of the ammo can when filling a plastic ammo box.

 

[George P]

I have both plastic and steel ammo cans; for basic storage and transport, the plastic ones are lighter and will melt in case of a fire reducing the possibility of creating a bomb. They are also cheaper. As to individual boxes; if the bulk amount if great, use whatever size zip-loc baggie works best.

 

[Series70]

I use the 50 round plastic boxes and store them in either size military ammo cans. Also use post-it style notes with the adhesive on the back for date and load info. Fits nicely inside the lid of plastic box when folded back on itself.

 

[lightman]

I store most of my bulk pistol ammo in ammo cans except for special loads for hunting or defense.Those loads go in MTM plastic boxes. Rifle ammo is stored in plastic MTM boxes.

 

[lightman]

I don't care for loose bulk ammo. I have access to cardboard pistol ammo boxes and use them to box up my reloads. I use military steel ammo cans to store my ammo. I like the 50 and 30 cal cans.
I don't care for the plastic ammo cans for two reasons. Have you ever dropped one that was full of ammo, they break.
The other reason is that they do not seal. Back in 2016 it flooded down here. More then 80% of the homes in my town were flooded. More then 40% had more then 3 feet of water. It took 3 to 5 days for the water to go down in most places. I was one of the lucky ones that didn't flood, I was just trapped at my house for three days.
I have friends that lost ammo stored in MTM plastic ammo cans. When they got home and opened their cans, the MTM cans were full of water. The military steel cans were dry.

I saw a test on ammo cans but I don't remember where it was. Their results mirrored yours, with the contents of the military cans being dry and the plastic cans leaking. I have a large MTM dry box that I use to store my bullet molds in. I'm not particularly worried about it leaking because I'm not in a flood prone area and its stored indoors. But it works to keep them all together and its sturdy enough for me to sit or stand on.