How long can I store boolits?

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I try to cast up as much lead as I can. I was thinking that I would rather have cast boolits sitting around than WW or ingots. I was wondering if the lead boolits will oxidize over time. I have some old 12 ga. slug shells that the tips of the lead are covered with something white. So, if I put the cast boolits in something like .... Old Folgers cans, will it keep for years?

[Fixxah]

I have some that were cast 25 years ago that look fine. Not shiny but otherwise fine.

All that I cast are stored in airtight cans. Can't hurt.

[theperfessor]

Store mine in plastic coffee cans. Lids are relatively air tight.

[beagle]

I store some 22-55-SPHPs in a Hodgdon powder bottle/jar for about 5 years. They were slightly oxidized when I opened it. Not to bad to ruin them but just a bit of oxidization. This was in my partially heated garage.

I stored some loaded cast .45 ACP in my dad's attic for about 20 years once before I found them and noted very little oxidization on the bullets. This was in a cardboard box and in military cardboard cartons.

From these instances, I think if stored in a warm, dry place in a airtight container, they should last for years. Desiccant packages may be a help also./beagle

[geargnasher]

I didn't know they had an expiration date.

Gear

[runfiverun]

i know moisture accelerates oxidation.
oxidation is super hard i don't recall just how hard it is 35,55,75 bhn
but harder than any alloy i know of.
i'd bet a quick trip through the tumbler would remove it though.
i also wonder if a tin content of 3% or so would help mitigate the oxidation.

[zomby woof]

I've got some commercial Carrol cast boolits that are over tens years old and they look fine, I still keep them in the original open cardboard box.

[44man]

The more pure lead in the boolit, the more it will oxidize with pure the worst.
Spray the boolits with Birchwood-Casey Barricade or Sheath and they will be good forever.
I do that with all my round balls.

[MT Gianni]

When they start to yell "Shoot me" and you hear the revolution coming on it's time to load and shoot them.
Seriously I have some well over 20 years old that seem in good shape. The key is airtite containers.

[Doby45]

Foodsaver bags work great for my long term storage. I can put 500 rounds of 40 in a foodsaver bag and suck the air out and it is hard enough I could beat someone with it if need be. When my ammo can runs low, I cut open a new bag and pour it in the can. They look just like they did the day I loaded them. Foodsaver can be found at Wal-Mart for the cheap and can even be "explained" to the wife. The bags can also be reused.

[geargnasher]

If you water-drop, do what Waksupi suggested to me once and put a little dish soap in the water. The boolits get a very light film of soap on them when they dry and won't corrode. When I put away sized/lubed boolits in rows in cigar boxes, I take a can of spray oil and lightly mist the noses on each layer before putting in a cardboard spacer and starting a new row. That keeps the fingerprints from corroding onto the noses. After loading, I clean all my cartridged in a fluffy towel spritzed with Ed's Red, that cuts the boolit lube/sizing lube but leaves a little film of oil to keep things from corroding. For long-term storage, I clean with paint thinner and a towel, dry, and wax with a towel sprinkled with liquid car wax. After drying, I "buff" the cartridges with a clean towel and put away.

Gear

[geargnasher]

Foodsaver bags work great for my long term storage. I can put 500 rounds of 40 in a foodsaver bag and suck the air out and it is hard enough I could beat someone with it if need be. When my ammo can runs low, I cut open a new bag and pour it in the can. They look just like they did the day I loaded them. Foodsaver can be found at Wal-Mart for the cheap and can even be "explained" to the wife. The bags can also be reused.

I thought about that, but I was always concerned with sucking out the boolits or primers, or affecting the burn rate if the pressures didn't equalize completely after opening a fresh pack and before firing. I guess you haven't had any trouble with this so far.

Gear

[Doby45]

Nope, no problems at all. They make great little packs and nothing but the air gets sucked out. I could also store my ammo on the bottom of a lake if I wanted to. (Where is my tinfoil hat emoticon?)

[LabGuy]

I have been reloading the boolets I cast in the late 1980s, with no problems or visible oxidation. Wheel weight alloy with a pinch of Sn, as best I can remember.
They were stored in plastic boxes in a non climate controlled garage in South West Florida.

[troy_mclure]

if you are really paranoid about it tumble lube them with nufinish just like you would with lla. it seals it up into i nice smooth finish.

[casterofboolits]

I helped a friend of mine dispose (sell) about 10,000 44 and 45 Colt boolits he purchased about 30 years ago and were stored in 100 round cardboard boxes. The boolits were quite hard and appeared to be cast with a high tin content. No oxidation at at all and I actually used a couple hundred as flux and alloy sweetner. The lube was a soft yellow and still a bit tacky. They had been stored in an attic room that was not heated or air conditioned. He is a horder of the first water for shooting supplies!

None of the boolits were close to the weight stated on the boxes. As much as 15 to 20 grains more than the weight on the boxes.

The boxes were falling apart and we had to retape the boxes.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

thanks guys. I didn't want to cast up a boat load and find out much later that it was a mistake.

[gon2shoot]

Cast away, I still use some I ran in the early 70's.

I dont think they shoot as straight now though. :groner:

[10x]

A warm dry place with zero humidity helps.
I have some lee 150 grain bullets cast in the mid 1970s that have taken on a dark cast. They are stored in paper bullet boxes and old coffee tins.

I still have these because in 1977 my wife spend a month working out of town and I cast up several hundred pounds of these bullets.
Storage became an issue as well. Some plastic containers get brittle and will disintegrate after twenty years on a shelf.
I put my cast bullets in zip lock bags in lots of 100. The bags go in ziplock food saver containers. They can stand a surprising amount of weight.
I used to use one of those vacuum baggers but the wire that does the heat seal broke. and the bags did not stand up to the weight and handling.

I also suffer from M.A.S. (Mold acquisition syndrome). I find my self purchasing seconds and thirds of molds that I already have and like.

[sqlbullet]

I had been thinking of the foodsaver too. Primarily for my M1 Garand enbloc clips. Load em up, seal them and put them in a 50 cal can.

[BAGTIC]

I have .222 Remington ammo that I loaded in 1960. Still functions reliably.

[prs]

H377'a fire! Go ahead and cast a train load while ya have time and then, if they oxeedies, ya can cast them up again! Twice the fun.

prs

[mpmarty]

Cast, tumble in LLA or Xlox and store. Lube covers boolit so no oxidation.