Different cartridge sizes, and ammo cans.

[SomeKid]

First off, this is not another caliber war thread. We have enough of them already.

I just got in some .30-06 for my Garand, and I looked at it, and was surprised. I hadn't expected it to be larger than the 7.62x54r for my Mosin. Then, just for fun I pulled some .223 out. The size difference was astounding. My Mom is former army, and I decided to let her guess which went where. After 25 years of being out, she had forgotten. She immediatly set aside the .223 as being not for an M16/AR15. We got a bit of chuckle when I told her what went where. She was quite surprised that the size of the .223 was just so, small. (The other two cartridges dwarfed it.)

I have a few ammo cans, and I left most of them sealed up. If they were stored in a humid environment, say a basement, would I have to worry about the ammo going bad? (I wanted to store them in the safe, but room was just not there for all the cans.)

 

[dakotasin]

i wouldn't worry about it too much - especially if the cans are sealed.

if you really want to have fun w/ size comparisons, compare: 17 rem, 223, 30-06, 300 win mag, and 300 rum. makes the 223 look very insignificant, and the 17 useless.

 

[BigFatKen]

no

I bought a very old US ammo can. It was very hard to open because of a pressure diference.

I fired 1933 .50 BMG ammo in 1968. It had been to two wars and sat around on untold docks and cargo holds. About one misfire in seven with this crap. But it was good training ammo.

Your basement will be sooooooo much better, it should be fine.

 

[Freddymac]

If they are US military cans they are fine.

My friend and I wanted to see how good these cans were, and one very board day we filled them with paper, closed them up good and tight and threw them in the pond with a rope tied to the handle. We pulled them out about a month later. The outside was nasty, but when we opened them, the paper was bone dry.

Fred

 

[SomeKid]

The cans...

Three are us mil cans containing ammo for the Garand. 1 can is 7.62x54r, but it is also milsurp. Sounds good guys, thanks for that. I hope to have them all used by the end of the summer, but I didn't want them ruined before then.

 

[Futuristic]

US Cans are Great

I would recommend a couple of simple steps to prep the cans:

1. Make sure they are completely dry inside. This mostly applies if you have just cleaned 20 year old funk out of them prior to inserting your ammo.

2. Check the seals. A quick visual check of the seal in the bottom of the lid to make sure it is not cut/cracked/missing. If it looks dry a very light coat of some light oil (I use TetraLube Gun oil) will help it rebound and seal. If you plan to store it underwater (or say in the hatch of a sailboat) use a light grease on the seal, pretty liberally.

3. Finally, add a small desiccant pack to the can before sealing it. This will absorb the leftover humidity in the can and leave your ammo breathing nothing but dry, dry air until you next open the can. Should last many, many years like that.

Futuristic

 

[SomeKid]

Just to clarify my cans, these are not the ammo cans you simply flip the top back and pop them open, and when done re-use them.

These ammo cans all came to me filled and sealed, I can best describe them as similar to a soup can. I don't re-use these, I use a can opener and rip them apart. I just want to make sure these are good in wet conditions.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

The mil-surp sardine can packs?

Man, there ain't nuthin' you can do to those between now and the end of the summer that hasn't already been done to them. They're probably good for a hundred years, give or take a decade.

 

[SomeKid]

Sardine,

Thanks man! I knew there was a term for them, but I forgot the sardine part.

Why did they stop using them? You make these sounds like the armored personal ammo carrier.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Even loose ammo will hold up surprisingly well in poor conditions.

I found a 30.06 reload on my range that had to be in the dirt for at least two years. I hadn't shot the type bullet, it was loaded with, in over two years. No telling how many, rains, freezes and plus hundred degree days it had gone through.

I was shooting a 30.06 and I made a bet with a friend whether or not the round would fire. I said no.
After giving it a good cleaning I shot it and the bullet hit the target like it had just been loaded.