Storing sized/lube boolits

[rugerp89ipsc]

Sorry, I feel like this is a dumb question; however, I have started producing enough boolits that I have to ask.

How are you guys storing your boolits once they are sized and lubed? Up until recently, all mine got loaded almost immediately once they were ready. I recently got a 4-20 Lee melter and my production has gone way up and tossing them all on top of each other in a tupperware doesn't seem right. . . In addition, the lube I am making is pretty soft and I am concerned that it will not stay in the bands as it should.

Advice, suggestions, pictures are all welcome and appreciated. Thank you.

[Bwana]

All of mine are placed in cartridge trays, generally the speer 40/45 trays.

[zxcvbob]

I use peanut butter jars, or sometimes plastic mayonnaise jars. But are really tough clear plastic.

[rugerp89ipsc]

All of mine are placed in cartridge trays, generally the speer 40/45 trays.

Is this something midway would carry? Is this something that's intended purpose is storing bullets, or is this just another use and I should search for some sort of storage box?

Thanks for the fast replies guys.

[HeavyMetal]

Cigar box's are the "traditional" boolit storage systems!

You can usually get these at most smoke shops, I prefer all wood to the cardboard ones but they usually go for a few xtra dollars.

Thankfully my boss got hung up on being a "gentleman" cigar smoker, came right after his dabbling in fly fishing, and I now get some real nice wood box's after he empties them.

Generally I stack the bottom full then use a thick piece of construction paper on the first layer to form another "floor" then fill that level.

Some times I can get three layes in a good sized box depnding on the length of the boolit of course!

Check out a local smoke shiop and you'll see what I mean!

[rugerp89ipsc]

Thank you so much. There happens to be one in my district that I work. Gonna go check that out. Trying to get my reloading room, I mean garage, better organized and stackable is what I am looking for.

Can you give me a rough price idea?

[JIMinPHX]

If the boolits are lubed with a hard lube, then I just bulk pack them & don't worry about it. If they are lubed with a soft lube, then I try to pack them so that they are all standing on end & not bumping into each other. If they are lubed with Lyman Super Moly lube, then I pack them in an air tight container, otherwise the Moly lube dries out & shrinks a lot.

[Dale53]

I stack mine on their base in rows in plastic boxes. The particular box shown is my favorite size. The lid has a latch on each of the four sides and is air tight (no dust or insects). I use Carnauba Red lube so it is not bothered by high or low temps normally encountered. The boxes are purchased from my local super market.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/BulletBoxes-3721.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/BulletBoxes-3722.jpg

Dale53 (from Utah on a borrowed computer)

[steg]

Just recentley I found a plastic bag of .38 caliber boolits, they were placed on an odd shelf in the cellar next to the coal bin, These were lubed with straight Bees Wax, and except for the 1/4 inch of dust and grit on the bag they were perfect, must have been placed there 30 years ago, for reasons unknown.............................steg

[x101airborne]

i stand mine on their base in a beer flat, then keep stacking flats on top for every layer of boolits. works ok and the price is right.

[Bret4207]

Zip locks, coffee cans.

[curiousgeorge]

I have a basement full of "cookie tins", round metal containers with lids. I find them at yard sales, generally around .25, or you can buy them new at Wally World. The best time of year to get them for free is around Christmas. Lots of cookies and candies given away in these and after the goodies are gone the tins go in the garbage.

I stand up all my bullets after sizing and once the bottom layer is full, cut a circular cardboad divider from something like a cereal box and start the next layer. The 6" to 8" diameter tins are really handy and a whole lot easier to move than the 12" to 14" ones. I have two of the larger ones that are designated for H&G wadcutters that hold approx 2500 bullets each (stacked in 3 layers). When one gets empty, it is time to cast, size, and fill the other one. Keeps me from running out.

Also, I store these on the bottom shelf of my reloading benches. With severl hundred pounds of sized and lubed bullets down there, I don't have to worry about my bench moving or wobbling even when doing re-sizing or swaging.

Steve

[onesonek]

+1 on the coffee containers

[alamogunr]

I use peanut butter jars, or sometimes plastic mayonnaise jars. But are really tough clear plastic.

Apparently great minds think alike. My wife is always ready with the comments when I wash out a peanut butter jar or another clear plastic container to take to the shop, but they are the most convenient containers for me.

I learned the hard way that lubed boolets don't need to set exposed to the air for a long period of time. I've got some boughten boolets that I got several years ago and the hard lube has dried even harder and shrunk to where I need to relube or tumble lube.

John
W.TN

[Artful]

used coffee cans, ziplock bags, USPS free mailing boxes even used candy boxes.

[WILCO]

Any type of glass jars and zip lock baggies too.

[RayinNH]

I use the Dillon storage boxes, small size. Perfect for single layer rifle boolits, double layer pistol boolits. I've been using them about 8-9 years now with no failure of the hinge.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/24018/catid/10/Dillon_Utility_Boxes__small_

[Jaybird62]

USPS small flat rate box is perfect.

[white eagle]

they usually don't last that long :Fire:

[Moonie]

white eagle, I was thinking the same thing, shoot more :Fire:

[HeavyMetal]

Last time I bough a cigr box it was 2 bucks. Been a few years but I think that might still be about right.

I figure after the guy sells all the cigars in them he has no cost in the box itself so if he try's to get to much for them they'll just get thrown out.

[timkelley]

One more for peanut butter jars.

[theperfessor]

Plastic coffee cans - tough, durable, and air tight.

[Char-Gar]

Just dump them in whatever container suits your fancy. It you use soft lube like a do, a dusting of powder mica in the box will keep them from sticking together, and keep the lube in place.

[rugerp89ipsc]

thanks for all the ideas guys. Unfortunately, I have more time to cast or reload than i do to shoot currently.

Thank you again for the replies, very helpful.

[bigjake]

Why do some of you guys stack your boolits neatly into boxes as opposed to pouring them into jars or cans?
Do you think the boolits will deform? I'm nervous now, I have 100's of lbs. of cast projectiles stored in various jars and cans.

[Dale53]

My reason is simple. The base of the bullet is critical. I don't want ANY dings on the bullets base.

I want the lube to stay in place. Stacking does all of that for me.

I size and lube my bullets shortly after casting. I want them READY when I need them. I have about ten thousand ready to load (.32's, .38/.357's, .44's, and .45's. When they are split amongst the various calibers, it is really not so many.

Further, I LIKE the looks of all of those bullets lined up like soldiers ready to perform.

Dale53

[HeavyMetal]

I have seen boolits nicked and dented from rough handling so prefer the stack sized and lubed boolits.
Raw castings on the other hand can stay in coffee cans until processed further.

[curiousgeorge]

I use a fairly soft lube. I think the company is out of business. Was called "Micro-LUbe" I think. Still have over a hundred sticks.

If you stack them in the neat little layers after sizing and lubing, no lube on the noses to get in your dies. When running a progressive with "messy" bullets I don't want to have to worry about seating depth changes.

And besides, as Dale53 said, all those tins with the little bullet soldiers in them ready to go looks pretty neat.

Steve

[qajaq59]

I use 4 x 4 plastic boxes and stack them nose up.

[cajun shooter]

Springfield Slim sells bullets and he has a neat way of packing them. He puts them in the Styrofoam ammo carriers that may be purchased at Midway or picked up at most ranges. He then wraps them in the clear plastic wrap for storing foods. Lube stays fresh and bullets don't deform. Now that I've told you about a neat way to store them I just toss them all together in cigar boxes. I don't stand them up like little soldiers but toss them like a salad.

[geargnasher]

I use cigar boxes, my FIL smokes like a train. The local smoke shop will give you the box if you buy the last cigar, so I've gotten a few nice wooden ones that way, too.

I stack the boolits in rows and layer with heavy, waxed posterboard found on the backing of shrink-wrap automotive gasket packages cut to fit the cigar boxes.

My reasons for stacking in neat rows and layering are many, and have mostly been covered: Plain-based boolits get nicks and dings in the bases when piled in a jar/can, and that does affect accuracy some. I use fairly soft lubes, and they get smeared or make a mess in Texas heat if not stacked neatly. I can flip the lid on a box and count how many are there quickly by adding up the columns and rows. Also, if I'm running a bunch on the progressive, I can keep track of how many I've loaded by precounting the boolits in the box and determining a stopping point. One more thing, they are really easy to place in the box when sizing, and even easier to remove for loading, as they are all pointing up and I can grab the next one in the row without looking, which gives me more focus on the press and reloading process rather than digging for a boolit in a can.

Gear

[gray wolf]

USPS small flat rate box is perfect.

YUP

[mpmarty]

I have a wooden plank shelf above my loading bench. I have screwed many peanut butter jar lids to the bottom of the shelf and store my boolits in the jars that fit the lids. I can look up and see what I've got to work with.

[zomby woof]

Zip locks, coffee cans.

+1
This is how I do it.

[PacMan]

Ihave to be diffrent. I only lube what i think i will need in the near future.I store my sized bullets (i size after casting)in mayo and 1lb butter tubs.
There are a couple of reasons for this.
1. I water drop most everything i cast.Have not been doing this long enough to know for sure but have been told that after time the bullets will become softer.If they actually do i can heat treat to the desired hardness.
2. I had a rifle that i had cast a bunch of bullets for that i sold(buyer wanted it way more than me) I was left with over 400 lubed and gas checked bullets that i remelted.Lot of lube up in smoke and trying to clean the gas checks was not worth the effort.
3. If i want to experment with diffrent lubes or hardness for the same gun or a diffrent one the door is still open.
4. If i stumble across a better bullet i can remelt the bullets without any loss.I currently have about 200 lubed and gas checked bullets that shoot good enough for most things but found a better load/bullet combination and as usuall the two bullets do not shoot to same point of impact.
Dwight

[Tom W.]

The raw bullets go into the boxes that my brass was sent in, and the lubed bullets go into old Speer bullet boxes that my son buys the J-word bullets in. I also have some of the white boxes that Midway sells to put a few into, but I really don't keep too many sized and lubed boolits laying around for any length of time before they get loaded...

[63 Shiloh]

Go into your local blood collection clinic and ask for the Styrofoam tube holders that they store their vacu tubes in.

They are Styrofoam and in blocks of 100, they have holes big enough to hold my .460" boolits.

Free and work very well, just what I look for:cbpour:


Mike

[John Guedry]

The little tin boxes Altoid mints come in. About 50 .38's in one.

[rugerp89ipsc]

Found some cigar boxes that are both plentiful, and cheap. They should hold appx 1800 lubed 38 148 grn WC for me and look great. Cost me a dollar a box, they fit in my reloading cabinets and shouldn't be too heavy when full. They will also stack well.

Pic posted shortly after I finish lubing and sizing another 1k or so.

I have the next 8 days off from work and plan to spend 90% of my time casting and getting my garage/reloading set up better organized and ready to rock!

SO excited. Thank you all for everything. More coming soon. Dang I am stoked.

[Arkansas Paul]

Plastic coffee cans for me.
I also use empty 1# gunpowder containers. I'm sure someone will give me reasons not tO do that but I rinse them and let dry and have had no issues.

[Arkansas Paul]

Just realized this thread was 2 years old. Oops.