How much is too much ?

[billt]

I have bricks of Winchester Super-X that I purchased back in the 80's. I just shot over 400 rounds of the stuff the other day. Not a single misfire or FTF or FTE. And the stuff is every bit as bright and shiny as the day it was made. How you store ammunition has a great deal to do with how long it will last, and how reliable it will remain. Cool and dry is very important. Humidity and heat are the worst enemy of ammunition of any kind.

[DennisCA]

Too much ammo?
Is there such a thing?
It's like Big Foot or Sasquatch (take your pick) it just doesn't exist!

[crufflers]

Picked up another 10krounds of MiniMag HPs yesterday, $975.77 OTD. I have four grandkids and can shoot in the backyard, so I'm buying while I can. It used to be a brick was too much, but it was plentiful and cheap. Now it is neither, and the future looks bleaker.

I used to splurge at Walmart once in a while before going to the range... and buy TWO range trips worth of .22 on the same day! Those were the good ole days for sure. Spending $45 or so on 2300 rounds and feeling like I overspent.

[Teachu2]

Four months ago, the same LGS was $17.99/100 on the same ammo. Then they started getting their backorders shipped, and dropped it to $9.09.

WalMart here gets rare shipments of CCI, and it lasts about five minutes at $8.99, limit 3 boxes. I'll gladly pay $1/k more to be able to buy all I want in a single trip and not wait years to get it.

With the new CA laws, I suspect WalMart will quit selling ammo in CA. Just like they did with guns. The fines for not doing the paperwork properly eat up all the profit.

[RawHP]

Some of my 1990's Remington .22LR had some white stuff coming out between the lead and brass. It affected feeding, gumed it all up. I tried a revolver but extracting cases was also tough.

I try not to have more than a couple year's worth these days.

If you have some patience, you could clean them and re-lube them. There are a LOT of bullet lube recipes out on the net. Good 22LR (Eley, etc.) usually use either beeswax in their formulas. There's a simple one that uses beeswax and vaseline. I have a couple of hunks of beeswax that I bought a while back for that purpose, but haven't got around it doing anything with it.

[oktavist]

(A) Amount of ammo you realistically use per year.
(B) Number of years you expect to live.

A x B = Amount you 'need'.

Crap, so I need about another 300,000 rounds or so...

[Jimi Jah]

If you have some patience, you could clean them and re-lube them. There are a LOT of bullet lube recipes out on the net. Good 22LR (Eley, etc.) usually use either beeswax in their formulas. There's a simple one that uses beeswax and vaseline. I have a couple of hunks of beeswax that I bought a while back for that purpose, but haven't got around it doing anything with it.

I tried cleaning that stuff off, it was tough. Takes way too much effort for a 5 cent round. I shot them through a revolver and used a firing pin to push those sticky cases out.

[John Joseph]

If you're a serious competitor, anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 rounds per year---and that's not including match ammo.
Changes in hunting (non-tox) laws have forced my out of hunting with the .22, so that leaves plinking (airguns are more cost effective, IMHO) and instructing, so outside of serious competition I just don't burn through .22s like I used to. Three or four bricks should hold me a good long time plus a case per year if I take up bullseye again (but since there is no bullseye competition around these parts, that's a moot point.)

[crufflers]

I tried cleaning that stuff off, it was tough. Takes way too much effort for a 5 cent round. I shot them through a revolver and used a firing pin to push those sticky cases out.

There's got to be some kind of automated way to clean those with corn cob media or similar without being too hard on those rim primers or unseating the bullets. I'd try cleaning them like brass for a few hours in the garage. I don't expect to have that issue, but who knows. I would never keep any ammo in a hot or humid garage. I have 8mm from the 1950's that I bought maybe 15+ years ago that fire just fine. I know rimfire can be different and some have a ton of wax coating, different primer compounds, etc... but I haven't seen any issues with many years old old stuff I've eventually shot, mostly Fed Bulk packs.

[RawHP]

There's got to be some kind of automated way to clean those with corn cob media or similar without being too hard on those rim primers or unseating the bullets. I'd try cleaning them like brass for a few hours in the garage.

Great idea! I only have a box or two of bulk ammo that has small signs of corrosion, and I have to get my brass cleaner and reloading bench up and running again anyway (plus inventorying all of my supplies), so I may give this a try, starting with small lots.

[RawHP]

Here's a first. I saw Palmetto running a Daily Deal on 50 cal ammo cans, so I decided to pick up a couple for storing more MiniMags in. Put them in the cart, went to calculate shipping, and got this message:

"In order to comply with our purchasing agreement, sales to California are restricted for SKU 881261. Any inquiries into this restriction should be directed towards the supplier, Vista Outdoors."

[Squidward]

Here's a first. I saw Palmetto running a Daily Deal on 50 cal ammo cans, so I decided to pick up a couple for storing more MiniMags in. Put them in the cart, went to calculate shipping, and got this message:

"In order to comply with our purchasing agreement, sales to California are restricted for SKU 881261. Any inquiries into this restriction should be directed towards the supplier, Vista Outdoors."

Coscto has metal ammo cans on their shelves. IIRC, $20 gets you a .50 cal and a .30 cal box.

[bryantech]

Coscto has metal ammo cans on their shelves. IIRC, $20 gets you a .50 cal and a .30 cal box.

Walmart has some ammo cans too last week.

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[Socalman]

If you have 500 more than I have you would be in good stock. If you have 1,000 more than I do you are hoarding. <jk>

Seriously some of the various math works just fine. If you are just buying as much as you can at anytime you find it and not shooting, that may be hoarding.

FWIW, I have about 4,500 rounds now, down from what I had a few years ago. I shoot some, buy some. My problem is that I have not totally accepted the concept that cheap .22LR is a thing of the past.

[5.56]

How long will .22lr store in a box inside a cabinet in the garage? .22lr seems to be more likely to be effected by changes in weather, even with no exposure to direct moisture other than humidity? I have my premium .22lr in ammo cans but I also have it by the case which I don't really care to unbox it and put in ammo cans. Will it be bad in 30 years? I retire in 26 years and plan on moving out of state. I shoot my .22lr conversion weekly in my backyard range and I'm trying to calculate how much .22lr I need to last me another 26 years. I'm being forced into learning how to reload now since I can't afford to stock up 26 years worth of practice ammunition.