Storing Cast loads?

[chaos]

I have been into reloading for a good bit and know that loaded ammo will store for an indefinite amount of time under the proper conditions.

I have some Ammo from 1939 that I shoot in my 8mm mauser. I purchased a pile of it cheaper than I could buy the slugs for components way back when. It fires just fine.

My question is about storing loaded rounds that contain cast slugs. I use a soft lube (javelina 50/50). This lube gets a bit messy in the Texas heat. If I stored them indoors in a climate controlled environment, will they last as long as standard bullets? Will the neck tension keep the lube in its place if it gets exposed to heat riding around in my pickup all summer? I keep a box in the glove box at all times, this a bad idea?

I found my pet load and have cranked out a pile of them for reserve. Not going to shoot those specific ones up until components are common in the stores again.

[Echo]

Probably a good idea to shoot up that box in the GB every month or so - the continuous shake, rattle, & roll of PU driving on Texas roads will grind up the powder, or so I've heard, making it burn a lot faster than before, due to smaller grain size. Or so I've heard. Anyway, it gives you an excuse to shoot more...

As for the heat - IDK - AZ heat equals or betters Texas heat, but I don't carry stuff around in my truck... But I have had no trouble with reloads from many years back, and the boolits are lubed with 50/50.

[par0thead151]

i would be more concerned about the impact of the heat on the powder than the vibrations from driving with it.
a few reloaders have done tests of their own with modern powders, and left reloads in a tumbler for hours, days and weeks. no adverse affect on the load. granted certain powders will react differently. and age and heat can also play a huge role. maybe after age and temp swings will vibrations have more of a pronounced affect. that being said i rotate out my self defense ammo annually.

[GabbyM]

You'll want to box up those rounds and set the boxes with bullet down orientation. At least that's what I've heard. Theory being the lube will run out instead of down into the powder. Midway sells white boxes at a reasonable price.

I've thought about making ammo coolers by using two Styrofoam box inserts holes facing one another then wrapped up in heavy paper. Figured it may keep the rounds cool for a few hours. Wrapped in a peice of blanket or anything to slow down heat transfer.

[high standard 40]

Sounds like an opportunity for a test. Load 4 boxes of identical loads. Two in the glove box, one with bullets up, one with bullets down. The other two boxes in a safe enviornment for a control group, one up, one down. After a year, shoot over the chrono and get back to us. Hey it's a great excuse to do more shooting.

[farmerfish77]

What about vacuum sealing? I have been doing this with primers for some time now, and have been wondering about ammo. Does anyone know if this is a good idea or not?

[Tom Herman]

What about vacuum sealing? I have been doing this with primers for some time now, and have been wondering about ammo. Does anyone know if this is a good idea or not?

Welcome aboard! The more barriers you put up to humidity, water, and dirt, the longer the ammo should last.

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[Shiloh]

Mine ammo is stored in the basement. It is cool in the summer and can be downright cold in the winter. Cool, dry, consistent is best for ammo storage. Add dark for powders and primers.
My basement has subdued light unless I'm working down there but the powders are in a dark closet. Heat is what deteriorates ammo.

I have some of the same Turkish ammo. I goes bang every time. It is loaded hot.
Not say I agree with the practice of keeping ammo in the truck all summer. Shoot it and replace.

Already mentioned above that there is a chance of breaking grains, speeding up burn rate and therefore pressure.

Shiloh

[KYCaster]

I had some 45 ACP that had the lube melted when I left them in the truck. It made quite a mess. They were in MTM 50 round boxes and the ones that were laying bullet down were glued in the box pretty good when they cooled. The ones laying bullet up had the powder contaminated by the lube...misfires and hang fires.

I also tried tumbling 45 ACP loaded with WW231. The velocity increased slightly and the ES and SD tightened up a bit. The change wasn't enough to be concerned about, but it was enough of a change to measure with the chrono I had at the time.

Jerry

[Jack Stanley]

I still have some ammo that I loaded in 1992 that I store down in the dungeon . It still fires fine and it is stored in bulk in a thirty caliber ammo can . I haven't tried keeping it heated for any duration of time , if heat much of the time was an issue I'd try a harder lube .

Jack

[Dale53]

I've had the same experience that KyCaster had with hot weather melting NRA 50/50 Alox/Beeswax and spoiling ammo.

In hot weather with cast bullets, I carry my ammo in a cooler. This for shooting over a period of days at a match. The cooler gets cool at night and doesn't get warm enough during the day to melt the lube. I use NO ice or electric cooling just the insulation of the cooler is enough (but it DOES work).

Dale53

[jdgabbard]

About a year and a half ago I loaded up about 1000rds with commercial boolits. Granted they were in the air conditioning, and away from light, all while being stored in a air tight ammo can. They all went bang. No real difference between them and newer stuff. But that was only about a year and a half of storage.

[armyrat1970]

About 13 years ago I managed to buy several boxes of Remington 185gr. JHP in 45ACP for a very good price. On a whim I stopped at a hardware store and the boxes were on the shelf covered with dust. Can't remember what I paid for them now but I still have a couple of boxes left. This is not the Gold Sabre. It is the old R45AP2. Don't shoot them that often and have stored them in ammo cans in my safe for all that time. They still go bang and are still one of my main personal defense rounds along with the Federal Premium Personal Defense 165gr. JHP. I shoot a few of each now and then and practice with the Winchester White box 230gr. hardball. Will be practicing with my 228gr. cast soon.

[wildwes]

I'm still shooting cast boolits in the Garand and the 1911A1 that my grandaddy loaded sometime or another before I was born, don't know how long before, but they are 20+ years old. They show no pressure signs, and they group as good as freshly loaded stuff. They have been stored in ammo cans on the dirt floor of the old smokehouse, underneath a wooden loading bench that was built in it. Not the dryest place, but cool and dark, and the ammo cans protected them. The '06 brass is a bunch of old never fired military brass, mostly SL, TW and LC from the 40's and 50's, still with the original primers. They were blanks, but had the little cardboard piece and the powder removed so that they could be loaded. Oh yeah, and all of the ammo, 45 and '06 is lubed with 50/50. I think as long as it stays in a cool place it'll be fine. Don't know about the glovebox though.