Proper long term ammo storage?????

[jeeptim]

Gentalman Merry Christmas!!!
So here' my deal.
I live in California (yeah I know move).
So we got this ammo deal starting in Jan.
No online ammo gotta buy through FFL limit on amount and so on I see the price going way up unfortunately components are going to be in with this.
I have planned for the past year I have about 10 50cal ammo cans full of reloads just tossed in the cans and latched. I will be digging some out every few weeks or so.
I live on the beach never gets below upper 30/low 40s never above 85. I have used this method for years but this will be longer. Some cans i dont see opening for a few years. Descent? Am i over thinking this? Should i just stay on the same path?
I have stocked up on powder, primers, and .223 & 308 bullets and lead I cast for all my bolt and pistols.
Primers also in ammo cans.

 

[dgod]

That is where I keep most of mine, he remainder are in the Big Gun Safe

 

[Hondo 60]

You definitely are overthinking.
I store my ammo in the basement in regular MTM style plastic boxes.

The old ammo shoots & chronographs exactly the same as ammo that was made yesterday.

 

[Sofie007]

Gentalman Merry Christmas!!!
So here' my deal.
I live in California (yeah I know move).
So we got this ammo deal starting in Jan.
No online ammo gotta buy through FFL limit on amount and so on I see the price going way up unfortunately components are going to be in with this.
I have planned for the past year I have about 10 50cal ammo cans full of reloads just tossed in the cans and latched. I will be digging some out every few weeks or so.
I live on the beach never gets below upper 30/low 40s never above 85. I have used this method for years but this will be longer. Some cans i dont see opening for a few years. Descent? Am i over thinking this? Should i just stay on the same path?
I have stocked up on powder, primers, and .223 & 308 bullets and lead I cast for all my bolt and pistols.
Primers also in ammo cans.

Preference is in ammo can with rubber seal and dessicant inside. Moisture is the enemy for primers and powder. Remember, plastic (e.g. used for MTM or Plano ammo cans) is not absolutely impervious to water migration in the long term. For long term storage, the ideal would be in a metal-lined (e.g. aluminum) bag, like those used for coffee beans, then inside the sealed ammo can. Alternatively, could put sealant around primer, but lot of extra work and materials unless you'll be in the field in humid conditions.

 

[LiveLife]

I live on the beach

I also live at the coast and constantly battle rust and corrosion. Heck, even 18-8 and 18-10 NSF stainless steel rust and I found surface rust on stainless steel gun slides and parts.

I tumble brass in Harbor Freight fine grit walnut media treated with NuFinish polish and found residual polymer on brass surface prevent tarnishing and brass remain shiny for many months exposed to often 80-100% humidity air.

My reloaded rounds are kept in plastic Folger coffee containers for short-term storage. For longer-term storage, I use plastic ammo cans with rubber seals (Yes, metal ammo cans rust where I live and I suggest using plastic bags inside metal ammo cans). For even longer storage, I vacuum pack and store them in 5-gallon buckets.

These brass polishing and storage methods have kept my reloaded rounds tarnish and corrosion free for decades.

 

[Slamfire]

The lifetime of ammunition is determined primarily by the lifetime of gunpowder. Gunpowder is a high energy compound breaking down to a low energy compound. Its lifetime is "indeterminate" not "indefinite". Indeterminate means you can't predict it exactly.



This might give you an idea of what we are discussing:

Army Not Producing Enough Ammunition

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2003/May/Pages/Army_Not3866.aspx


Regardless of what the Army decides to do with its industrial base, the fundamental issue does not change: the Army needs to produce more war reserve ammunition, Naughton said. Time is running out, he said. “Most of the ammunition in the stockpile today was built 20 years ago during the Cold War buildup.” Most rounds are designed to have a shelf life of 20 years. “We are outside the envelope of the shelf life on 40 percent or more of our existing ammunition. The rest is rapidly approaching the end of its shelf life.”

Ammunition does not “go bad” overnight, after it reaches a certain age, but “once it’s over 20 years old, the reliability rapidly degrades,” said Naughton. Within a few years, it will become increasingly difficult to shoot it. “You can predict that you’ll lose 7-8 percent of the ammo after the 20-year mark.”*

To replace the obsolete rounds, the Army would have to produce 100,000 tons of war reserve ammunition a year for the next seven years. Past that point, it would need 50,000 tons to 60,000 tons a year to sustain the stockpile. That represents about “half the level of the Cold War buildup,” he said.

* I think what is meant, 7-8 percent per year after 20 years.

Keep your ammunition dry, and most importantly, keep your ammunition cool. Gunpowder deteriorates exponentially faster the higher the temperatures. Keep it below 86 F and the service life should be what the manufacturer intended.



Humidity will accelerate the break down of gunpowder, any ionic compound, such as rust, will accelerate the break down of gunpowder. Still, the primary enemy of gunpowder is heat.

I recommend to buy new ammunition, or better yet, new cases and primers, and load the stuff up when you need it. I have been going through my older reloads, stuff that I loaded in the late 1980's, through the 1990's, and I am having lots of case neck cracks. I shot up all my 1970's ammunition long ago. The gunpowder has been out gassing nitric acid gas in the case and that is ruining the brass. I don't recommend loading up brass and having it sit around. I am having to toss ammo cans of fired brass because I loaded the stuff over 20 years ago, not knowing gunpowder deteriorated, and now that I do, it is too late for that older ammunition. Ammunition with cracked case necks can shoot well, but always, you are going to get a flyer.



I am shooting up my older factory ammunition. Remember when a box of 30-06 was $8.97 and on sale, $4.71? Its been a while. I have been blasting this stuff down range primarily to save the brass.

 

[Big7]

Military ammo cans with intact seal are designed for that purpose.

I have thousands of loaded rounds and thousands more primers, powder, etc.. (no joke)
Some are loose like you described and some stacked in boxes for maximum usable space.

Then, I take those and put them inside large salt-water coolers then off to the storage area.
Unopened cans of milsurp get the same treatment.

Here it gets hot and cold, wet and dry and I have had zero issues storing this way.
Try this. It works. Bet the egg money on it.

 

[9mmepiphany]

unfortunately components are going to be in with this.

Actually they're not included in the laws taking effect in January

 

[FROGO207]

In the not too distant past there was a thread on here about storing ammo. One of the points was a person found what had been a bomb shelter that was full of water (thought it was a well at first) that had USGI ammo cans full of supplies such as food and paper products that had been submerged and rusting for decades. Everything in every ammo can was still intact with no water damage when cut open (rusted closed). Those USGI ammo cans were made for safe secure storage of ammo under many adverse conditions by the military. Keep the ammo in a lower temp environment (not in attic etc.) and the shelf life will be a really long time. You are definitely overthinking this. It is also my understanding that reloading components are not going to be restricted like finished ammo will be----they have not figured that part out yet.

 

[hdwhit]

I have the perhaps unique experience of having 500 rounds of brass in various stages of being processed 9in 50 round batches) when I was stricken with a neurologic condition that caused me to leave then for just over 20 years. You can search for a detailed post on the results of how cases were stored, but the best results came from storing it in plastic boxes where each case had it its own compartment and then storing them in a GI ammo box with a desiccant.

My experience suggest you should expect to lose between 2% and 5% of your stored ammunition when stored this way, so factor that into your purchases.

I use desucant bags from this seller: http://silicagelpackets.com/

 

[gifbohane]

hdwhit

which packets do you buy on that site?

 

[sourdough44]

There are places now that have various ammo cans in sale, plastic or G.I. metal types. For just sitting in the basement the plastic ones seem fine.

Once one has a good workable ammo supply I usually like to just store supplies as 'components', that is don't load everything I have. What one needs and then shoots can change I've time. If in the powder, primer & bullet format you can easily adjust towards that desired loading.

 

[SamT1]

I keep my loaded ammo in milsurp ammo cans with a desiccant pack.
Primers the same way, don’t buy federal the box is too dang big.
Brass in coffee cans.
Keep it in a climate controlled area with no temp swings.
I’ve seen brass go bad before powder and primers several times. I’ve bought several reloading stashes from old timers who passed on. I have a good bit of 30-06 left that i believe was loaded in the 70’s. Stored in plastic cases in a very dry basement (sw Kansas) it’s 1940’s milsup brass and half the necks are cracked. Shoots fine still. The 45acp from the same guy is good still of the same vintage brass. I’ve loaded most of it so many times between me and the PO it has too many extractor marks and won’t go into the shell holder anymore.

I think the vac pack idea is golden. Probably way over kill to put that in an ammo can. I’m not sure if that would help brass life. I bet you get 20 years out of it almost no matter how you store it within reason. 40 years really easy just by keeping it in your home (assuming you use AC) 1 lifetime should be easy if stored carefully.
1. Dry
2. Constant moderate temp
3. Out of the sun.

 

[GBExpat]

... Am i over thinking this? Should i just stay on the same path? ...

IMO, you are "on the right path" ... and I think that anything that may suggest "overthinking" is just the result of healthy prudence.

Good Luck!

 

[Reloadron]

I have bulk packed ammunition that I placed or got in ammo cans over 25 years ago with descant and it shoots as well today as it did 25 years ago. Some likely more than 25 years ago. Was the descant really necessary? I doubt it but it certainly didn't hurt having it in there. Overall it saw cool and dry storage and the stuff is just fine.

Ron

 

[Schwing]

I've got a case of 7.62x54R ammo that has a production year of 1938 on it. I have no idea how or where it was stored for all of those decades as I just purchased it a couple of years ago. The wood crate they came in stunk really bad so I opened it to extract the ammo. It was full of mildew and was encrusted in what looked like salt crystals (probably from sitting in salt water for who knows how long). Inside the crate they were stored in the lead sealed sardine type cans. They still shoot reliably and accurately.