When it comes to storing reloads (specifically pistol ammo, 9mm) is there any one way that's better than another? For example I recently made several hundred rounds and I have them in 50 round plastic trays but I'm debating dumping them into an ammo can for space reasons. Is there a negative aspect of storing ammo loose?
Storing Reloaded Ammo
- Thread starter TroyUT
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jwrowland77
Member
My 9mm is saved in 100's in the WWB, then those neatly placed in ammo cans. I had family and friends save their boxes and give them to me so I can just put them in there. I do it this way just because I want to know exactly how much I have on hand at any one time.
USSR
Member
Negatory. Other options are: ziplock bags, large coffee containers, and large peanut butter jars.
Don
When I run out of plastic storage boxes, I use Zip-Loc style bags, then store them in metal ammunition cans.
I used plastic bags last summer when I went on a prairie dog hunt. I was able to put 700 rounds in one box making it more efficient to carry.
I used plastic bags last summer when I went on a prairie dog hunt. I was able to put 700 rounds in one box making it more efficient to carry.
Jesse Heywood
Member
Disadvantage to loose in an ammo can is getting out a set amount. That's where the bags or boxes come in. Also you have to eat your wheaties to got to the range. 
If you want something to stack on the shelves I use the 100 round boxes. Also the clear plastic kitchen containers, they can hold a usable amount of ammo.
If you want something to stack on the shelves I use the 100 round boxes. Also the clear plastic kitchen containers, they can hold a usable amount of ammo.
DeadFlies
Member
Look at most any bulk ammo packaging: it's loose.
I keep lots of ammo in Zip-Lock bags. I used to write the load info on the outside with a sharpie but found it tends to wear/wipe off. So now I write the load info on a piece of paper and enclose it in the bag with the ammo.
Ammo trays, boxes and whatnot where each round has it's own "cell" look nice, keep things neat and take up lots of space.
I keep lots of ammo in Zip-Lock bags. I used to write the load info on the outside with a sharpie but found it tends to wear/wipe off. So now I write the load info on a piece of paper and enclose it in the bag with the ammo.
Ammo trays, boxes and whatnot where each round has it's own "cell" look nice, keep things neat and take up lots of space.
W.E.G.
Member
Always store in ammo cans.
Leave in original packaging if space permits.
If removed from original packaging, then 100 rds each in ziplock bags - in the ammo cans.
Be cautions with some ammo (.22 LR and most pistol ammo) that full cans of loose ammo can be excessively heavy.
Leave in original packaging if space permits.
If removed from original packaging, then 100 rds each in ziplock bags - in the ammo cans.
Be cautions with some ammo (.22 LR and most pistol ammo) that full cans of loose ammo can be excessively heavy.
mdm
Member
With rounds that I shoot a lot of, I would find trying to pack them nice and pretty in small boxes too anal. I use small zip lock storage bags which I'll then pack in small ammo cans. I pack the bags as I reload so there is going to be a known quanity in each bag. I really don't care about keeping exact counts on high volume rounds. The ammo can will hold approx xxx rounds of yy caliber. Full can = xxx rounds. 1/2 can - xxx/2. Close enough for my needs.
Rifle rounds I don't shoot many of get stored in 50 round plastic boxes.
Rifle rounds I don't shoot many of get stored in 50 round plastic boxes.
gahunter12
Member
I use the clear (store brand) ziplock plastic containers. They stack nicely on my shelves. The ones I buy will hold 200 rnds of .40s&w which is what I carry to a monthly IDPA match. I have a stack of index cards on my bench. I take a index card, and wright doen my load info, and place it on top before closing the lid. I have two 100 rnd plastic ammo boxes I transfer my ammo too before going to a match. This also gives me a chance to give them one last look over.
I just counted my 9mm. I can put 1,800+- rounds in quart baggies in a 50 cal ammo can. I put 100 rounds in each bag along with a top off the box so I know what ammo is in the bag. This helps because I have a couple of guns that don't run well on certain ammo.
In the same can I can put 1,000 rounds of 50 ct boxes. I don't know how many 100 ct boxes I could store in the can.
This does make for VERY heavy ammo cans.
In the same can I can put 1,000 rounds of 50 ct boxes. I don't know how many 100 ct boxes I could store in the can.
This does make for VERY heavy ammo cans.
As posted, ammo cans are the very best way to store ammo. How you store it inside is only limited by space restraints and the number of cans you are willing to buy.
A 50 cal full of loose .45 ACP is heavy, and since I can get around 750 rounds in a 30 cal can, that is the road I went. The 50s are better for ammo in boxes IMO, unless you like lifting heavy objects of course. A 50 of .223 isn't that bad, but a 30 is easier to manage.
Going to be moving them around a lot? Intend them for a grab and go scenario? Just going to sit there while you grab ammo from them to shoot?
A 50 cal full of loose .45 ACP is heavy, and since I can get around 750 rounds in a 30 cal can, that is the road I went. The 50s are better for ammo in boxes IMO, unless you like lifting heavy objects of course. A 50 of .223 isn't that bad, but a 30 is easier to manage.
Going to be moving them around a lot? Intend them for a grab and go scenario? Just going to sit there while you grab ammo from them to shoot?
oneounceload
member
As do I and each bag has a card with the load data inside as I might have three or four different loads I worked up to try
RetiredUSNChief
Member
Storing ammo is a matter of convenience for YOU. Loose/bulk storage or individual boxes is OK.
Loose bulk storage in ammo cans is great. Not so great when you want to grab a set amount to go shooting. Or to inventory in terms of precise quantities (unless you put a set amount in your ammo cans for bulk storage).
You can also use different sized ammo cans (.50 cal and .30 cal).
Fortunately, it's really easy to remedy this bulk storage issue by re-using empty ammo boxes and packing them in the ammo cans OR using ziplock baggies.
If you use ziplock baggies, I would recommend buying the freezer baggies. They're more expensive, but they're thicker, tougher, and less prone to tearing. And baggies take up virtually no extra space in ammo cans.
Loose bulk storage in ammo cans is great. Not so great when you want to grab a set amount to go shooting. Or to inventory in terms of precise quantities (unless you put a set amount in your ammo cans for bulk storage).
You can also use different sized ammo cans (.50 cal and .30 cal).
Fortunately, it's really easy to remedy this bulk storage issue by re-using empty ammo boxes and packing them in the ammo cans OR using ziplock baggies.
If you use ziplock baggies, I would recommend buying the freezer baggies. They're more expensive, but they're thicker, tougher, and less prone to tearing. And baggies take up virtually no extra space in ammo cans.
FROGO207
Member
I find that the most convenient way is to use quart sized ZIP-LOC freezer bags each filled with a managable amount of ammo and the air squeezed out before sealing them. The bulk boxes of quart bags (4/box--72 count) from Sams Club are the best way I have found to buy them locally. I use freezer bags because the lighter weight ones would tear and spill the contents. Others have had rounds go off when a bag is dropped or spilled and this is what I want to avoid. I also put a piece of scrap paper with the load info inside for ID purposes. Then those go into GI ammo cans that still have good seals. YMMV
FWIW I put the bulk of my ammo in 40 MM ammo cans that stay stationary and transfer what I want out to smaller cans that are easier to lug to the range.
FWIW I put the bulk of my ammo in 40 MM ammo cans that stay stationary and transfer what I want out to smaller cans that are easier to lug to the range.
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Like others said before, zip lock baggies! I write the powder load and bullet weight along with how many are in each bag [usually 200]. When I load a couple thousand rounds they are put in bags and then put in an ammo can. When a few back to back matches come around I just grab a few bags and go.
I know the plastic ammo box set up works for some of my fellow shooters. They can look right away at the empty boxes and know exactly how many rounds they shot!
I know the plastic ammo box set up works for some of my fellow shooters. They can look right away at the empty boxes and know exactly how many rounds they shot!
I also put a note with the load number and main data in any container with ammo stored in it, large or small. If it is factory ammo out of the box, such as .22 LR in a blue Midway box, the box top goes in with it.
I agree, the name brand freezer bags are more durable than the other bags.
But, I have found with pint or quart size, the cheap bags will last one or two cycles. Good and economical if you think you will dispose of the bag in short order. I have pretty much stopped using gallon sized bags, I like the pint size best although sometimes they are too small.
I have freezer bags that I have cycled through many cycles. They hold new ammunition, the empties coming home from the range and the clean prepped cases waiting for reloading. When they get too grungy, then I use them for the fired cases only.
Like others, I put a paper label in the bag describing the load and lot in the bag. I package my bags with 50 rounds so that I know how many cartridges that I have grabbed.
Yes, 50 cal ammunition cans can get heavy when filled with pistol ammunition. But mine generally remain at home, I draw out what I think I may shoot at that session. Somewhat self limiting and I do not over shoot even with my range just 100 yards or so from the ammunition magazine.
As my inventories of ammunition have increased, I have trended to 50 cal cans over 30 cal cans..
Old cartons or baggies inside locked 50cal ammo cans with dessicant. You really need to write the lot numbers on your ammo. Some day (for example) you'll get a lot of bad primers which crack and put pits in your breach face, and you'll want to know which batches used them...
BTW, with a drill, a 1/4" padlock and an oil drain bolt for a 95 Toyota Camry makes a perfect locking 50-cal box.
--edfardos
BTW, with a drill, a 1/4" padlock and an oil drain bolt for a 95 Toyota Camry makes a perfect locking 50-cal box.
--edfardos
Yes there is.
One risk is the cartridge primer hitting something hard. Primers are not 100% predictable and have gone off with very little contact energy:
Primer goes off in a Purse!
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sidesho...ide-woman-purse-shoots-her-leg-232052308.html
By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | The Sideshow – Tue, Jun 12, 2012
A Pennsylvania woman was shot in the leg while shopping at a local department store on Tuesday. But in a nearly unbelievable twist, no gun was involved. Apparently, the woman was carrying the bullet in her purse, when it mysteriously exploded.
"She did not have a gun in her purse or on her," Montoursville Deputy Police Chief Jason Bentley told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Bentley said the woman, whose name has not been released to the public, "was not aware" she was carrying two or three bullets inside her purse at the time of the accident.
The 56-year-old woman was taken to a local hospital and was eventually discharged. In fact, the woman initially declined medical treatment, only heading to the Williamsport Regional Medical Center after her son reportedly encouraged her to do so.
"Something must of hit the primer of one of the bullets," Bentley said. "The bullet stayed in the purse, but its casing put a hole in the purse and caused a minor leg wound."
Bullets exploding outside of a gun are a rare occurrence but are not entirely unprecedented. In March, a bullet being used as evidence in a court case exploded in a bag and shot 20 feet across a courtroom. No one was hurt in the incident. It was surmised that the bullet exploded after its tip bounced against another bullet tip in the same evidence bag, according to the Telegram & Gazette.
If you notice, factory and military ammunition is carefully boxed so that the primers don't touch anything. Without a doubt enough freight trains full of loose ammunition were shipped that someone figured out a pattern to the explosions!
Another risk is that ammunition is packaged to reduce the chance of inadvertent propagation. One round, one primer may go off, but the packaging is designed to help muffle it. There are limits to what cardboard can do, but still, it is better than loose.
So, I know everyone, myself included, is going to ignore this, but maybe you will remember not to toss around l ammo boxes loaded with loose ammunition. A sensitive primer could get hit and "bang"!
45lcshooter
Member
I dig through the trash at the range, and find boxes and empty trays. I fill my plastic boxes first then go to the cardboard boxes with trays. Then I go to 100 rounds in zip lock bags in the ammo can. I don't shoot like I used to so I haven't been reloading.
When I worked in retail we would get several hundred thousand rounds of bulk ammo, it was in a heavy plastic bag inside of a box. It would be a freak occurrence to have one go off without a lot of energy being imparted to the primer.
RetiredUSNChief
Member
Even though the metal ammo cans are more expensive than they used to be, they're still quite a bargain...well worth having a couple extra beyond what you use for storage.
I have one labeled "Range", which is what I use to pack out the ammo I intend to take to the range for whatever guns I intend to shoot. A couple boxes or baggies of each caliber from my bulk ammo cans and I'm good to go.
I have one labeled "Range", which is what I use to pack out the ammo I intend to take to the range for whatever guns I intend to shoot. A couple boxes or baggies of each caliber from my bulk ammo cans and I'm good to go.
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