Long term storage of Ammo

over the years I've heard a lot of crazy... s hi t.. on how to do this properly...

Ammo makers, OLIN, Winchester, Remington other's design their ammo to be stored indefinitely... For the military that means said ammo is stored in wooden crates and inside each crate you would find either ammo cans or metal foil packages... to keep that Ammo clean and dry

the rules are pretty simple keep it cool and dry, if you handle a cartridge wipe it clean before putting it back with the rest. It's perfectly fine to leave in the cardboard boxes ...Some go so far to vacuum seal (Seal-a-meal) smaller packages for clean carry use... Honestly I don't know I would ever go that far unless I lived in a place with very high humidity or it was going into a basement or other place where a burst pipe could flood your precious stocks...

Storing Ammo in Mag's
Look I'm going to tell you its okay and I know there will be some out there who will scream about compressing the spring in the mag.... that may have been true back in the 1940's but this is the twenty first century... modern springs don't sag unless Straightened out or over compressed... loaded correctly I've kept Mag's loaded for years before I remembered where I last put them,,, they were fine...

same rules apply for storing loaded mags... keep them clean and dry.. don't Tap (Seat the rounds) in your Mags that tends to bend the feed lips... Its not a bad idea to wipe your Mag's after handling. if you see a little corrosion it can be cleaned up with steel or brass wool.

You should make a habit of inspecting, cleaning if needed, your mags and ammo every couple of months... most likely there will be nothing to do but if there is a problem you want to catch it early, rather than too late...

Well that's it from me... now I open the board for other's to add their comments tips and tricks...

Thanks for the information. I will clean mine today. I only have 25 rounds in the 30 round clips so not to "squish" the spring.
Also with the general tension , I think it wise to have more than normal clips loaded....won't have time in fire fight to reload to much.

s&f

Thanks-
I keep my stock still inside the factory box, I then tag each box with a date of purchase.

I then store all the boxes inside a rubermaid or sterlite tub(fairly cheap now).

I Finally have what I call my ready ammo in multiple clips stored in soft cases with each firearm, as well as one highgrade box of ammo for the ready.

And yes everything is secure-

Originally posted by Grayelf2009
Thanks for the information. I will clean mine today. I only have 25 rounds in the 30 round clips so not to "squish" the spring.
Also with the general tension , I think it wise to have more than normal clips loaded....won't have time in fire fight to reload to much.

s&f

Good advice and in the shooting community we have this old saying... the fastest reload is a second gun....

reply to post by TwoTechnics


My in a lock box, in the bed side dresser is my Dan Wesson 44 mag.
Living in an a Adobe home I don't worry about over penetration but this is not the weapon for folks living in a stick build house...

if you are worried about long term storage of a Magazine then go with a revolver

I don't have a weapon at the moment, but I think it might also make sense to use some of that ammo for target practice, rotating your stock as you do it. While you don't have to make a big deal about it, it's a good idea to keep your skills honed. You don't know when you'll need them, and if you're in a fire fight that's a hell of a time to get back into practice.

The only ammo I have had a problem with is some of my .22 rounds
Specifically "elley" subsonic hollow point target rounds, the head "bullet" is loosely seated in the brass, "for allignment purposes" and does not seal off %100 you can spin the bullet in the brass.

The other problem I have had in the past is, my guns are tight "all SAMMY specs or better" and any tarnish of brass is really, a kind of rust, just not really iron rust, I do not like or want that in my chambers!
Its ok in a survival, or a dashboard "user" gun but not in my 400-600 yrd right or left eye shooters...Saturday is right eye day, and Sunday I shoot the left eyes out of my target.

But yes a revolver is good for long term, I love my .45 LC "uberti" 7-1/4" barrel...
Great user gun!
Thanks again for great knowledge, that many overlook!
250 grain HP 1050 FPS and if using a steady rest 3" groups @ 50 yds

reply to post by Doc Holiday


you brought up a good point...
Tarnished brass is an indicator of too much moisture/humidity... any more there's always a little acid in the air and that can degrade brass cases... Also the acid from your fingers can do it too....

You can clean tarnished cases with a little 00 steel or brass wool, give them a good scrubbing then wipe clean... but if it looks like the corrosion is deep enough to thin the shell casing your better off throwing that round away.

My choice of ammo for my wheel gun (Another name for revolvers) is the 225-Grain FTX LEVERevolution... I've taken deer out to 100 yards with a scoped 8 inch revolver (Ruger Super redhawk) See here

In a 30 Round 5.56 Mag I find it easier if you load 28 out of 30. Even in the army I would load them this way. The reason behind it was it jamed or double feed a few times. I currently have 20 Magazines loaded and ready for use, all 30 round mags with 28 Bullets in it. Also when loading your rounds into the Mags I have found that wiping each bullet first then loading them with a latex glove helps keep oils off the bullets. I also have each Mag Wrapped in a towel and check them every month to see if there is a moisture buildup. In case of a moisture buildup I take the mags apart clean them as well as the bullets, and but in a dehumidfer by the mags.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
over the years I've heard a lot of crazy... s hi t..

uh oh... The mods won't like that

For long term storage, you might need a dessicant. Depending on how much ammo you want to store, you will need more than just a few little packs. The neat thing about silica gel dessicant, is that it can be re-used. and here's a tip from another buddy on how to get all the dessicant you'll ever need!!!!

Mac said:
Go to a japanese motorcycle dealership and find the builder. He's the guy who assembles the new bikes when they arrive in the crates. Each one of those crates has a five pound bag of silica gel inside. They're thrown away with the crate. I ususally trade a case of beer for all the silica gel I can carry away. Cut the bag open and spread it out on a cookie sheet. Bake it at about 200 degrees. Break the lumps up as it dries but be carefull of the steam coming out of it. When it first comes out of the bag (Used) it's kind of gray and lumpy. As it dries, it will turn back into white crystals. Store it in airtight jars until you use it.

Was a great tip Big thanks to Mac

reply to post by DaddyBare


I read someone from an engineer that springs are design for two things: 1) rest with no tension; 2) full compression. Anything between causes wear-n-tear on the springs "springy" trait. Can anyone (preferrably an engineer) confirm this?

As for the magazine's reliability, not fully loading a magazines is a good thing for older magazines. But newer magazines like Magpul's PMags (polymer) have been reliable when fully loaded.

For ammo, store them in a dry, cool place. Using latex to load magazines is a good idea to keep off body oils and other undesirables.

In general, you're going to want to take your items out once in a while and dust them off, even while they are in areas with low humidity. The likelihood of moisture and other mould forming on your ammo is pretty high because the organisms are microscopic. If you don't intend to use your firearms frequently, you can consider putting them into climate controlled storage, similar to camera storage units or even professionally at self storage facilities.