Long term storage

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I am loading up 1,000 rounds of .357 using new Starline brass, H-110, Tula mag primers, WW for the alloy and Carnuba Red for the lube. This has worked quite well for me. I am going to put these 1,000 rounds into long term storage in an Army ammo can. I shouldn't think that there is anything else I need to do but I'm not sure so I'd thought I'd ask. I just want to have these for later in life when money might be tight and ................ well, you never know.

[williamwaco]

Charlie.

In 1972, I loaded a batch of freshly cast 158 grain SWCS into .38 special cases with 3 grains Bullseye. I stored them in a military surplus Ammo can. There were about 800 of them. They have been stored in my garage in Dallas Texas ever since. There are still about 300 of them in the can and they will shoot one inch groups at 25 yards from my Thompson contender.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND STORING AMMO IN A TEXAS GARAGE.
Do as I say, not as I do.

[edler7]

You might throw a bag of silica gel (also called dry pack)in the can to absorb any moisture. You can usually pick up a handful at any pharmacy for the asking- they are put in large bottles of pills to keep them dry.

Never hurts to be a little cautious on long term stuff.

[Kraschenbirn]

Charlie...

Earlier this evening, I emptied the last rounds from a .50 cal. ammo can of ball-equivalent .45 ACPs that were loaded in 1996 and stored under my basement reloading bench (fairly constant temp/humidity) ever since. Last week I ran a couple hundred of these through my old "Standard" class Gov't Model without so much as a hiccough. If you believe that your storage area might have any kind of humidity issue, the previously suggested silica gel packet might be a good idea.

Bill

[MtGun44]

Good ammo can to keep the water out, silica gel to absorb any that is already in the can
in the air - both great ideas.

I'd say keep it in a basement or other place where it is cool and constant temp. If your
basement could possibly ever flood, keep it up on a high shelf.

Ammo lasts a long, long time when properly stored.

Bill

Addendum: I have no experience with the Rooskie primers, they might be the issue if
there is a problem. THE WORST ammo for age is British .303 ammo. I have purchased
a bunch from various sources, and some Pakistani .303 too, and misfires, hangfires or
no fires are extremely common. Pull some down and the cordite seems fine, just the
primers die. I have fired US ammo that was 90 yrs old and had it work just fine.

[Cherokee]

I'm still shooting ammo I loaded in the 1970's. Still performs great. GI Ammo can and silica gel for storage, and keep in cool environment.

[runfiverun]

aren't ammo cans designed to store ammo??
check their rubber seal.

[fredj338]

I stopped loading led bullets for long term storage awhile ago. I found the revolver brass would split @ the mouth upon firing w/ ammo 10-12 yrs old. I ahve my theories but never the less, it happens. So I load lead bullets for short term use & save moy brass.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Thanks for the answers guys. I just wanted to check. That is interesting fredj338. I never heard of that.

[shooter93]

Interesting Fred....can't say I've ever had that problem and I've shot ammo loaded 30 yrs ago with cast bullets. Stored in coffee cans.

[MtGun44]

Make sure nothing with ammonia in it (includes mouse or rat urine) can get to the brass. It
will cause stress corrosion cracking which is a corrosion that only occurrs where the brass
is under stress - like where the boolit is tight in the case neck. I have seen this in some
wartime FN 7x57 ammo made in Belgium. 95% cracked necks. My theory is that some Belgian
in the factory was peeing on the packing material to sabotage the ammo. Wouldn't show
up immediately, so he wouldn't be caught.

Bill

[ColColt]

Two weeks ago I was rummaging through some tings in my gun room and found two boxes of loaded 200 gr SWC's I had loaded back in 1978(had the date on the boxes). Last week, I took about 20 to the range to see how they'd do after being stored that long. They shot like I made them the day before and there were no cracks or splits before or after shooting. I don't usually store that long but these got overlooked.

[Lizard333]

Do your boo lets turn Black? The only reason I ask is my dad gave me a box of boolits that were really old, can't tell you how old, as I was born 1980, and they were commercially lubed. They had some gas checks but the lead was black. Was this jus that lube? I melted them down as they were undersized for my pistols. They put off some smoke from the lube, but still melted like normal.....

[1Shirt]

Many years ago, I shot some 30-40 Krag ammo that had been loaded prior to WWI. This was in the early 50's. As I recall it was 220gr blts, and don't recall having any missfires. (Memory however can play tricks with age) Don't know where or how it was stored. Have shot ammo that I loaded 15-18 years prior with no problems. Ammo can storage is a plus in my opinion.
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[milprileb]

Temperature is a huge issue in ammo storage.

I think more so when you store lubed cast bullet loaded ammo.

A ammo can of cast bullet reloads stored in a cool dry place
should store just fine. Store it where heat and cold extremes
hit it and expect some drama.

YMMV.

[pdawg_shooter]

I bought 1000 45ACP mil. rounds a few years ago. All were head stamped 42, & 43. No idea how they were stored, but some of them looked real nasty. I had 3 hang fires and one no fire out of the lot.