How to preserve ammo?

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Gunman21

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I have a few thousand rounds of .223 and 7.62 that I want to preserve the ammo the best I can. It is wolf ammo that is in boxes and not sealed in a metal tin. I know that moisture is the problem.

My idea is to use a shrink wrap machine that people use to preserve foods. Would this work or is it silly? What are thoughts on this? I also thought about putting a light coating of oil on the loose rounds, just like preserving the metal on a firearm.

What about primers going bad? About 1 out of 2 of the WWII surplus ammo I have (in bad shape) will not fire...
 
Buy some surplus GI .50 cal steel ammo cans.

They are waterproof, air tight, and designed to contain fragments in the event of a fire.
A gazillion dollars were spent designing them to do exactly what you want to do!

Ammo stored in resonably mild conditions in your house in GI ammo cans will stay in perfect condition longer then you will!

rc
 
But the shrink wrap will work too, just not as well (it punctures and tears).

In all fairness, ammo keeps pretty long just on its own in a cool dry place.... but if you are tucking it away for 50 years or the next generations a little extra care can't hurt....

I have used really old ammo (older than 40 years) that was stored in a paper bag and never had a problem.... heck even the paper shotgun shells my buddies dad gave us to shoot off from 40 years ago worked fine....
 
They also make a primer sealer. You are supposed to put it in the primer pocket before you insert the primer but I just take the brush and go over the primer and let dry. Its basically just like nail polish but its made for primers. Available for Cabelas for about 6-7 bucks
 
Your wolf ammo already has sealed primers and the steel cases are already coated, so you're fine there.

Just put it in a 30 or 50 cal GI ammo can that has a good seal on the lid with a small bag of dessicant. Then it will outlive you.:D

DO NOT get oil anywhere near them! Very bad idea. That's just asking for oil to seep in and wreck primers or powder over time.
 
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Put them in the green ammo can as suggested and put some silica desicant packs in there as well and then LEAVE IT ALONE. Don't keep opening and closing the box - you'll just let more moisture in. Tuck the can in the back of a closet somewhere and "fugedabout" it
 
Oil? OIL!

I missed that part!!!!

Read Ben Shepherd's post where he said:
DO NOT get oil anywhere near them! Very bad idea. That's just asking for oil to seep in and wreck primers or powder over time.
Click to expand...

That is very sound advice right there!

rc
 
As a note-

If it's ammo that you intend on taking to the range and shooting in the next couple years, use 30 cal cans, and don't worry about the dessicant. 30 cal cans are easier to pack around when they're full than the heavier 50 cal cans.

If it's stuff you intend to store long term? Take it out of the boxes(paper/cardboard can hold moisture) put them in 50 cal cans with a GOOD rubber seal on the lid, put in a bag of dessicant. Then close 'em, label 'em, and forget 'em.

Avoid the temptation to "check it". Every time you open it, you'll let in air with moisture, and the desicant will have to start over.........
 
In addition to the above, you ideally want something that will keep the ammo at a cool, stable temperature; cycling it through hot and cold can cause the powder to degrade over time.
 
not trying to hijack the thread, just adding a question :)

my ammo is all stored in gi ammo cans- but i store it in the garage... how safe is that? i live in an arid climate and the garage is insulated well but not heated- it can get up to 85 in there during summer... maybe 90/5 degrees for a few extreme days. it usually never drops below freezing unless the door is left open for an extended period of time-
all the ammo cans are kept up high, packed together, in a wood cabinet.

i like the dessicate pack idea- im gonna get some!

but do you all think the garrage environment would be ok?
 
I have a system for long term ammo storage that has worked perfectly for hot/wet dry and hot/cold wet climates for many years.

Get several ammo cans...enough for all of the ammo you want to store. Make sure the seals are in good condition and you can even use some silicone lube on them. Get a large quanity of silica gel. I get silica gel at japanese motorcyle shops. When they pack a new bike up for shipping to the dealer, they put a few five pound bags of the stuff in the crate. (They throw it out with the trash) Open the bag, spread it out on a cookie sheet and bake it at a couple of hundred degrees until it turns white. (Stir it around) Store it in air tight jars. Make up fist sized bags of the silica gel with old stockings. (Just play ignorant when she asks about her stockings)

Set the ammo cans in the sun until they're warm. (Not the ammo, just the cans) Put the ammo in the cans with a bag of silica gel. As they cool, it creats a slight vacum seal inside the can. (If the seal was good)

I've stored lots of ammo this way for many years and it always shoots fine. Yeah, it's a little extra work but for long term storage (years), it works really well. I have never noticed any degrading of the shot, even .22 rimfire. (Based on sound) Keep yer powder dry, Mac. (No pun intended. That's just my signature!!)
Tuff-Gun Finishes. The Name Says It All.
Mac's Shootin' Irons
http://www.shootiniron.com
 
I still contend that if the lid seals are good, no desiccant is needed.

The military doesn't use it when they pack ammo in ammo cans for long term storage, or use in all climatic conditions world wide.
If it was needed, they would use it.
But they don't.

If the lid seal is good, no moisture can get inside an ammo can unless it was already there before you closed the lid!

rc
 
The 1st rule in preserving ammunition----------- DON"T SHOOT IT :D

But that is a very hard concept for most of us:evil:
 
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