Running out of cigar boxes! Now what?

[FN in MT]

My casting during the past thirty years or so was fairly LOW volume. Only casting for a few revolvers. I'd size/lube with ALOX, then stack them neatly in cigar boxes. When I was turning out a few thousand boolits annually this worked out fine.

Now I'm casting for a dozen + different handguns, five calibers with different bullet designs within each caliber. And casting for a few friends as well.
What I'm trying to say is... I'm running out of cigar boxes!! Since I used to lube with relatively soft ALOX simply dumping boolits in a box resulted in a lot of lost lube.

Now I'm using the White Label BAC lube, a Beeswax/Xlox/Carnuba formula that seems to stick a bit better. Also have some Carnuba Red , but haven't tried it yet.

As a borderline Obsessive Compulsive when it comes to storing my boolits I DO like stacking them in cigar boxes. I've thought of making some wooden boxes to accomodate specific pistol boolits in one or two sizes. This would allow easy stacking and storage.

What do the rest of You do?? Simply drop them in a box? Or are there other OCD casters who make boxes, and stack their little soldiers one at a time.

FN in MT

[454PB]

Buy the plastic storage boxes with lids at Walmart or Target. They are stackable and come with lids, plus you can see what's inside. They are surprisingly strong, I have some stacked 4 deep that are full of lubed boolits.

[docone31]

Whenever we go out to a Chinese Resteraunt, I always ask for a couple of quart plastic containers extra.
I store my castings both with lube and without in them. They stack pretty well for me, are easy to label.
They also hold liquids and have great sealable tops.

[shooting on a shoestring]

I buy the cardboard school boxes. My wife's a school teacher and we frequent the teacher supply stores. Most of mine are plain brown wrapper type, but a couple have polk-a-dots. They cost about a buck and a half. I use paper or thin pasteboard as seperators for layers. I usually get three layers of .358 boolits, only two layers of rifle boolits.

[FN in MT]

454pb......what size , color or brand?? headed to Gt Falls tommorow so I can check at Target. That would be an easy way out.

FN in MT

[madcaster]

5 gallon buckets-WITH lids!
Funny I know,but a good friend does use them,and he keeps them pretty much filled-organized with the same mould number bullets.

[ktw]

I'm a stacker of lubed boolits. I use the blue midway boxes, the one pictured below and a deeper version of the same size.
http://media.midwayusa.com/productImages/Thumbnail/454993.jpg

I don't size/lube way ahead. My bulk bullets are stored as cast in the coffee containers (loose or ziplocked bagged by batch). I try to keep a couple hundred ahead on the sizing and lubing with each boolit that I use regularly and then they go into the blue boxes.

-ktw

[2Tite]

I like pipe tobacco canisters and shoe boxes. Shoe boxes are especially good if you get them all the same. They stack well

[wills]

Smoke Faster!

[mooman76]

I use those disposable but reuseable plastic tubs(like glad but a cheaper brand) that are also microwaveable and freezer safe. They are cheap and tight enough to keep out elements and reuseable or cheap to discard if they get messed up. They come in all different sizes to suit your needs.

[FN in MT]

Smoke Faster!

If Only You knew!!

I used to have a good cigar to commemorate the end of another work week without me killing the moron SGT I used to work for. Now I smoke two or three a day...EVERY day. And in the summer months...four or five.

What the hell...Ya gotta die of something!

FN in MT

[Dean D.]

I'd send you some FN but I'm sure the shipping would be more than it would cost you for store bought boxes...

If you or someone you know happen to make it over to the Spokane area I could hook you up with some though.

[454PB]

I think the ones I'm using are made by Ziploc. They are about 8" square, 2" deep, and have a snap-on blue lid. They come in 3 or 4 packs and are cheap.....about 50 cents each. I cast a lot of the Lyman 452651 .45 boolits, and they are about 3/4" long. As I recall, I can get about 120 in a layer, then I put a piece of cardboard on the first layer and stack on a second layer. When full, they weigh about 12 pounds. I've never had a problem with the box breaking, and the lids are very secure.

[mtgrs737]

I use metal film cans, 16mm works good for pistol boolits and 35mm works good for rifle boolits. You can get them in different diameters but I don't go much over 8" on the 16mm and I like the smaller 3" in 35mm. I also use cookie or fruit cake tins that I get at the local thrift store for a quarter (the little old lady at the register comments that I must bake a lot of cookies!). These tins come in different sizes and are stout enough to take the weight of a lot of boolits, and stack well. I keep my bulk plinking boolits in the large tins and my match or high quality hard alloy boolits in the film cans. My avitar has a picture of the film can in it. I use Lar's BAC with about an 3/8" slice off of a carnuba red stick melted in for a little extra firmness which helps keep the lube from transfering to the other bullets in the tins. Good luck!

[mikenbarb]

I use the heavy cardboard business card boxes for my unlubed ones and reinforce the outside with gorilla tape. I just go to the local print shops and ask them to buy a few and they almost always come out with a bunch and say take them. I make sure I go back one morning that week with donuts and ask casually if they would by chance have any old lino type they want to get rid of or sell. I scored 300 pounds last month that way and it only cost me 20 bucks and a box of donuts. Its great how one thing can lead to another.;)
And +1 for the fruit cake and cookie tins. Got a bunch of them also I use for my lubed boolits.

[27judge]

i smoked cigars for 48 years and cast/handloaded for the same 48 years .all ive saved are the cedar wood boxes from south american cigars wow i got a pile of them. but woe is me the man said no more smoking , i sure take good care of my boxes now. tks for your time ken

[beagle]

Look for the fruitcake and cookie tins at flea markets and yard sales. They're available in summer but dry up at Christmas. Usually, they're pretty cheap and you can always paint over them. The Dollar General stored have good stuff of that nature as well./beagle

[FN in MT]

As always...Appreciate the good input Gentlemen.

FN in MT

[Crash_Corrigan]

Before I put my boolits in a container they get a heaping tablespoonfull of corn starch. I have a dedicated large plastic container with a tight fitting lid.

Dump a couple of cups of lubed boolits and a spoon of CS, attach lid and jiggle a bunch. I do not add CS every time as only a small amount adheres to the boolits.

No problems with sticcky boolits anymore and no problems when assembly is done either.

[Marc2]

With the price of lead these days Im thinking of storing them in the gun safe an tossing the guns out in the garage.

Marc

[Russel Nash]

I like .30 cal ammo cans myself.

The handles fold flat and if you stack another .30 cal ammo can on top of that one they kinda interlock like leggos.

The other benefit is that when you lift one full of boolits it let's ya know if you need to go to the gym or if you need to work on your grip strength. wink wink.... LOL!

They do stack nicely too on a hand truck/dolly. And they are great at adding weight err... ballast to my reloading bench which is not attached to the wall. It's freestanding.

[wonderwolf]

I live right across from a good cigar shop and stop in every once in awhile to pick up some things. They have cardboard boxes $1 each and the fancy wood ones $2+ depending on size and just how fancy they are. For the long rifle bullets I'll use them but gotta watch how you stack cuz the lub can stick to other bullets if you don't alter them. For paper patched bullets I just use .45ACP plastic inserts in factory boxes

[Bret4207]

Wow, I feel like a real slacker. Coffee cans! Lots and lots of coffee cans full of boolits. Plus there are Zip Loc bags full of boolits, cardboard boxes full, ammo cans full, plastic boxes full..... you get the idea.

I do the same as Crash- A little corn starch or Motor Mica (graphite) gets dusted on lubed boolits. No more sticky problems.

[BillDan]

My local cigar store sells their empty boxes. Anywhere from $1 for the hard carboard to $4 for wood boxes.

[cajun shooter]

+ 1 on the post by 454pb. I use the same containers. Wally World sells a generic brand (China) that you get 12 containers for about $4.50. Much cheaper than the zip locks brand. I'm mailing some bullets out today in these very containers. I tape them good and they fit in a PM box. Only had one break so far.

[Airweight38]

Wow, I feel like a real slacker. Coffee cans! Lots and lots of coffee cans full of boolits....

^+1. I have a metal cabinet full of jars and tubs.

Canning jars for brass

Those big plastic Folgers tubs for my cast bullets.

And my personal favorite - those plastic Miracle Whip jars for my bulk factory bullets.

[jahela]

Empty Pringles chips-pipes!

[Newtire]

Used to use Peanut cans and make up fancy labels with picture of the boolit on it on the computer. The coffee creamer plastic bottles are great too. Old powder bottles, anything that is strong & has a lid.

[mtgrs737]

For brass I use 5 gallon plastic buckets with lids, but first I put them in ziplock style gallon bags. A friend gets me the buckets from where he works for free and they stack nicely, I put lables on them to tell the contents, but they do get heavy when full. Loaded ammo goes into 30 and 50 cal. ammo cans with stickon lables.

[KCSO]

I handle mine kind of different as I su=ometimes use the same bullet in 3 or more guns. For example we have in the family several 7.65 Argentine rifles and all have different bores. So I cast my bullets and sort and place them in plastic drawer units I get from Menard's. Each drawer is marked with the bullet number. Then when I load I size and lube up enough bullets for that particular gun at that time. This saves me from going to lload and finding that I have 1000 31141's all sized to 310 and I need them 311 for Dad's gun or 309 for my Brothers. This also keeps me from having 6 bullets left from one batch and 11 from another, and another plus is that I have fresh lube on all my BP bullets.

[Gohon]

http://i43.tinypic.com/j79fg1.jpg
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=522545
I get these from Midway for $4.63 each.

Would add these hold a total of 286, 300 grain 45 caliber or 429, 250 grain, sized, lubed and ready to do. stacked double/triple layer base down with wax paper in between the layers.

[Dean D.]

Besides cigar boxes I also use boxes from "Fargo" brand electrical connectors. These boxes are heavy duty cardboard, 2 piece (top and bottom) with reinforced corners like the old style bullet boxes used to use. I work in the Electric Utility industry, as a Lineman first and as a Dispatcher/System Operator now.

If you know anyone who works for a power company or can stop in and talk to their warehouseman you might ask them if they use "Fargo's", if so maybe they can cadge some boxes for you as most warehousemen throw them away after emptying them. They come in two sizes, 4X6X3(deep) and 6X6X3(deep), a guesstimate but close.

[454PB]

I use some to most of the suggestions posted, but FN is talking about sized and lubed boolits......not fresh cast. Do you guys really store sized and lubed boolits by just dumping them into buckets and cans?

Mine are gently placed side by side on their bases and cardboard between the layers for protection. The same with my loaded ammo, no dumping them loose in a can or bag.

[Dean D.]

454PB, I do the same as you, each one gently snuggled next to it's kin. =) I might have to try out the corn starch idea to keep them from sticking together. That darned Lyman Ideal lube is sticky stuff.

[Bret4207]

I use some to most of the suggestions posted, but FN is talking about sized and lubed boolits......not fresh cast. Do you guys really store sized and lubed boolits by just dumping them into buckets and cans?

Mine are gently placed side by side on their bases and cardboard between the layers for protection. The same with my loaded ammo, no dumping them loose in a can or bag.

Yup. Dust 'em to keep them from sticking and into any convenient container they go. Same for ammo. If I have an ammo box, great. If not whatever I can find does the job.

[The Dove]

I use old plastics boxes like the yellow one shown below but I like the clear plastic tupperware for my bulk pistol ammo. I usually keep at least 1,500 rounds on hand though.

The Dove

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff150/BOOMERCOMETS/BoolitsbyDove.jpg

[jnovotny]

I use the new coffe cans they're plastic and will hold about 2000 .357 bollits.

[Jon K]

Yep, used to use cigar boxes..........too hard to get now, and the stores want too much for it.
Then went to blue platic boxes. Can't ever keep track of current inventory.

Now I check out the trash cans at the range, pickup the plastic & styrofoam inserts from Factory Ammo, I don't have to count, or wonder how many I have of each, I can see at a glance how many I have of each.

I don't do real large volume of any, usually enough to keep me for 6 months, maybe a year. I can plan ahead at a glance to see if I have enough for big shoots coming up or estimate when I'll have to cast, so this works for me.

Jon

[NSP64]

FN this may seem obvious...................Shoot more:Fire:

[Texasflyboy]

For pistol bullets, I've scavenged about 100 40 S&W, 45ACP and other similar caliber plastic trays and cardboard boxed from the local range.

45LC's sized and lubed placed nose down in the tray segregate the bullets and hold them nicely. They also stack neatly in stacks of 10 or so when stacked without the original cardboard box. When I load, I take the tray and quickly flip it over and voila! 50 lubed bullets neatly arranged in a square if I am Rock Chucking them.

If I need to ship them or move the plastic trays, I place them back in their OEM cardboard box and slide a couple sheets of thick cardboard over the top of the tray to take up the extra space. These will travel cross country without problem.

I have a Glad Force flex garbage bag full of these trays. They come in real handy. The trays will also stack neatly in .30 and .50 ammo cans for transport (like if you have have to move, like I did recently).

For bulk storage, hard to beat old metal coffee cans with the plastic lid. Or .30 ammo cans.

[afish4570]

Cookie tins are ok. But I really like the plastic VCR tape boxes.....I take may glue gun and seal up the back seam to make a solid box. Getting harder to find them since VCR tapes are fading over the horizon.afish4570:roll::roll:

[FN in MT]

I may still cobble together some shallow wooden boxes to keep lubed and sized slugs in order under my loading bench. Then again I like woodworking.

Took a look at the ULINE site they sell all sorts of 4x4x4 etc, cardboard boxes for 16-20 cents a box. Unfold them, tape them up and uniformity reigns!

And......today I snagged a dozen PERFECTLY sized wooden cigar boxes from a fellow cigar addict so I'm SET for the near future.

FN in MT

[yodar]

I'm a stacker of lubed boolits. I use the blue midway boxes, the one pictured below and a deeper version of the same size.
http://media.midwayusa.com/productImages/Thumbnail/454993.jpg

I don't size/lube way ahead. My bulk bullets are stored as cast in the coffee containers (loose or ziplocked bagged by batch). I try to keep a couple hundred ahead on the sizing and lubing with each boolit that I use regularly and then they go into the blue boxes.

-ktw

the BIG Midway boxes , about 3" square, were on sale very recently for 99 cents each. I ordered a dozen along with the .30 cal. FCD they had on sale for $8.00

Recently I 'sperimented with a vacuum sealer for laoded cartridges. It only works if you hold your mouf JUST right (' bout 30% vacuum failure )

yodar