Is my ammo safe?

[Glock19Fan]

Hello.

Becuase of recent events, I am storing two firearms and a little over 2000 rounds of ammunition in a storage room.

I have several boxes of my self defense ammo in the storage room, and becuase of the temperatures we have been having lately, im worried about whether or not the ammo will still be reliable or effected in any way, becuase I plan on keeping some of it for self defense.

The temperatures lately have been anywhere from 5-20 degrees F outside, but im not sure about inside (its not heated, and for almost $100, it should!).

Would this be cold enough to effect the ammo in any way?

Thanks!

 

[musher]

Cold is better than hot, but relatively constant temperatures is best. Over the short term I don't think you need to worry too much.

 

[stealthmode]

hope the cold doesnt make it implode

just kidding

 

[borderguy]

I wouldn't worry about it. I keep most of my ammo in the garage and it's about 40 degrees out there right now.

 

[Stand_Watie]

What about the other extreme? How hot can ammo get before it will cook off? I'm pretty sure at least 140 or 150 because I haven't had any go off in my glovebox yet.

 

[Bandit01]

Dude, where the hell do you live, the North Pole?
I keep all of my ammo in my laundry room.

 

[musher]

What about the other extreme? How hot can ammo get before it will cook off? I'm pretty sure at least 140 or 150 because I haven't had any go off in my glovebox yet.

400-770 F or thereabouts is when the powder will ignite, depends on the powder.

Dude, where the hell do you live, the North Pole?

Not sure about Glock19Fan, but I do.

 

[Glock19Fan]

I live in Kansas City. The temperatures this year have been really weird. Over the summer, the average temperature was the high 70s and low 80s. The temps only reached 90 8 times this year, and so far, the winter has been pretty cold.

I might be running out to the storage room today, so I might grab a few boxes of ammo just to be sure it is ok.

 

[larryf1952]

I also live in KC...with the temps we've had this winter so far, you don't need to worry. From what I've read, temps have to be way down in the -20 range or below before ignition can become a bit dicey. Hunters who know they'll be shooting in those temps use magnum primers and faster burning powders.

I store my ammo in my basement, where it's pretty much the same temp all year long...around 65 degrees. All of my reloading gear is down there, too. I have a dehumidifier that runs in the summer. As one poster has already said, cooler temps are much better than hot ones as far as ammo storage is concerned.

 

[Al Thompson]

In the late 80's we were issued training ammo from WWII (.50 Cal). It ran just fine and was stored in Germany. The extremes were probably worse than what you have.

We also used to store our "go to war" ammo on the vehicles, once again much worse temperatures, and when we shot it for training ammo, no problems.

I stored ammo in my Dad's garage when I was overseas - 3 years of Tennesse winters and summers - no problems when shot.

I think you worry too much.