[bryanbrescia]

Alright, so I have been doing some research, and to me, it is clear that storing ammo in ammo cans is the best way to store mass amounts of ammo.

Now, in each ammo box, I plan to put large silica gel packs in to keep down humidity, and keep the ammo in their original boxes, and stack up the boxes in the cans.

I have seen some people throw loose rounds in an ammo can, and personally, I dont think it's a smart idea because of the wear and tear that your ammo can take.

And also, labeling everything should be considered too... lol

Thoughts/ comment/ suggestions on this topic?

 

[Happysniper1]

If you wipe some vaseline on the rubber gasket of the ammo can lid, it will help keep the rubber compound supple and last longer against drying out and cracking, breaking the seal. Just a thought.

Here's another: since I reload, I pack loaded ammo in heavy duty plastic bags, and put those into the ammo cans, with dessicant packs I have collected from medicine bottles and such. For rifle (.223) ammo, I pack 500 rounds at a time into a bag, and in they go into the metal ammo cans.

 

[bryanbrescia]

^ yeah the vaseline is a good idea, didnt think of that

 

[Happysniper1]

I've been stockpiling my own reloads for years. I now have enough 9mm, .40SW, .38SPL and .223 to fight a small war, and enough .45ACP to clean up after it!

And all of the ammo goes into ammo cans....yep, sounds right to me!

 

[glock_dude]

What about having them already loaded in Magazines?

I've heard pros and cons about leaving ammo in magazines for long periods of time but i do know that the design of springs to always go back to original length. When they compress they will always spring back to original legth/height.

What are your takes on that?

This would also go to leaving loaded magazines in a bug out bag.

 

[MySafetyMyFinger]

What about having them already loaded in Magazines?

I've heard pros and cons about leaving ammo in magazines for long periods of time but i do know that the design of springs to always go back to original length. When they compress they will always spring back to original legth/height.

You can cause spring failure, next round want load/cycle properly for the pickup to get it, if you leave them fully loaded for a long period of time like a few years. But it still wouldn't happen often. Best idea if your worried about the spring is....if you want some mags loaded is simply to short them by one round. This takes a lot of the compression stress off the spring.

 

[MySafetyMyFinger]

Summery: springs will be fine but better if you short'em a round.

 

[Happysniper1]

Over time, any magazine's spring will loose its tension if left loaded, resulting in anything from refusal to feed the last round to erratic feed issues.

Loading less than the maximum number of rounds will certainly help.

Have spare magazines in storage will also help, really long-term. You can even load a couple mags to full cap now, carry them around a coupla months, then swap those out with a couple mags in storgae, eventually rotating thru your magazines. Just a thought...

 

[mlawrence]

Over time, any magazine's spring will loose its tension if left loaded, resulting in anything from refusal to feed the last round to erratic feed issues.

Loading less than the maximum number of rounds will certainly help.

Have spare magazines in storage will also help, really long-term. You can even load a couple mags to full cap now, carry them around a coupla months, then swap those out with a couple mags in storgae, eventually rotating thru your magazines. Just a thought...

Very true. Magazines will last a long time loaded, as I saw in my experiences in the armory for six years, but every once in awhile a magazine just has a bad spring. You most certainly want to rotate them though. Also many people neglect to clean their magazines. Keep that in mind as well.

 

[BORIS]

If you wipe some vaseline on the rubber gasket of the ammo can lid, it will help keep the rubber compound supple and last longer against drying out and cracking, breaking the seal. Just a thought.

Here's another: since I reload, I pack loaded ammo in heavy duty plastic bags, and put those into the ammo cans, with dessicant packs I have collected from medicine bottles and such. For rifle (.223) ammo, I pack 500 rounds at a time into a bag, and in they go into the metal ammo cans.

Vaseline deteriorates rubber.

 

[Happysniper1]

Hmm...I haven't had any problems so far using vaseline for this.

Can you recommend something else?

 

[BORIS]

Hmm...I haven't had any problems so far using vaseline for this.

Can you recommend something else?

Silicon grease and Dielectric grease will be rubber safe.

 

[bryanbrescia]

Well, I wouldnt worry about keeping loaded mags around too long... I would rotate them out every 6 months or so anyways

 

[Kmurray96]

For long-term SHTF ammo, I put 50 rounds in a bag and vacuum seal it with my Food Saver. Put some in ammo cans and others in PVC bury tubes. Stuff will last till the next ice age.

 

[bhale187]

I use ammo cans, started using them after a flood and having 10s of thousands of rounds get wet

I loose pack ammo in the cans, and I use desicant packs that you can get cheap on Ebay or plenty of online stores.

KY jelly is perfect for keeping the rubber in good shape

 

[rivalarrival]

KY jelly is a bad idea - it gets sticky as it dries out, ends up acting like an adhesive. Plus it's water-based, and isn't the idea of an ammo can to keep water *away* from your ammunition?

Vaseline does indeed deteriorate rubber, but it's more of a concern for latex gloves or condoms than it is for o-rings and the like. I'd be comfortable using petroleum jelly for this application.

But, as BORIS suggests, A silicone-based grease is probably the best bet for preserving rubber seals.

I just read (what I believe to be) an excellent suggestion for long-term air-tight storage... Disposable handwarmers consume oxygen. I haven't tried them yet, and I'm not sure I'd use them inside an ammo can, but I can think of quite a few circumstances where oxygen depletion would be a good thing.

 

[bhale187]

The KY was a joke, forgot my green font, I'll go back to add that now

 

[bryanbrescia]

SO best thing to seal the can is gonna be petroleum jelly then right?

 

[Happysniper1]

I've been using vaseline lightly on the rubber weather gaskets of all my car doors for at least 10 years now. Keeps them from freezing to the body in the winter. All my stashes in ammo cans (cases for mgun ammo as well as mortar rounds) have vaseline on the gaskets. Even the ones I stash in the crawl space under the house, and my buried stash out in the desert. Seems to work fine. Argh! I am not looking forward to my next "maintenance" to replace 'em with petroleum jelly or some other such.

 

[rivalarrival]

The KY was a joke, forgot my green font, I'll go back to add that now

Aww, now I feel like a jackass for calling you out on it!