How to store Ammo?

[pwall]

How would you guys recommend storing rifle or handgun ammunition for long term? Does ammo go bad after a while? Does a warm/cool environment make a difference? Thanks

[moulton]

place in 50 cal ammo can with a few oxogen disectant (sp?) packs and your good to go

[viras]

How would you guys recommend storing rifle or handgun ammunition for long term? Does ammo go bad after a while? Does a warm/cool environment make a difference? Thanks

I've been told that ammo will keep for 20+ years if kept in a cool and dry location. By cool, it was implied that room temperature was fine (although room temperature can vary depending on location), but anywhere less than 85 degrees should be OK. By dry, I mean DRY, as in no moisture, no humidity.

I buy boxed ammo, usually by the case. I store all my ammo in their original boxes, enclosed within ziplock bags, and then I put the ziplock bag into various ammo cans. I usually go through a case of 9mm ammo and a case of .308 ammo over a period of 6 months, and I've never had any issues with "expired" ammo.

I've never kept ammo longer than 1 year, so my knowledge is limited to that.

[odysseus]

Lot of threads on this out there, a search will yield you a lot on this.

Suffice it to say, clean and dry inside a milspec ammo can with a good working seal will do you fine for a long long time.

[EricCartmann]

20 years is an estimate if it were stored outside or in a damp basement. ammo can pretty much last forever as long as you store it in a dry place. It does not even have to be cool.

Now if we are talking MRE's then yes you need it cool and dry, because heat kills MRE's.

[milsurpshooter]

i just bought some great mosin ammo from 1952 and its fine, also have some 8mm ammo from 1954 no misfires at all. just keep it dry,and U.S. ammo cans have a rubber seal so that helps plus they are really cheap. +1 on the oxygen things. if you don't know what those are, there the little packets that come with new shoes

[SemiAutoSam]

That reminds me I need to bake my Desiccant bags.



I bought about 10 of the 5 LB bags about 3 years ago and reuse them by putting them in the oven for a few hours at the ovens lowest setting or right about 125-150 degrees Fahrenheit.


Here are some on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-LB-Desiccant-Humidity-Control-Moisture-Removal_W0QQitemZ290170174728QQihZ019QQcategoryZ121836QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[guimus]

I've been told that corrosive ammo will last forever, while properly stored non-corrosive will go about 30 years. Of course, this is third hand info, and you're not paying for it, and that's exactly what it's worth.

[courteousgavin]

I've been told that corrosive ammo will last forever, while properly stored non-corrosive will go about 30 years. Of course, this is third hand info, and you're not paying for it, and that's exactly what it's worth.

I think the idea that non-corrosive primers go bad after 30 years comes from the fact the the very first non-corrosive primers had stability problems. But they fixed that problem back in the 1930's with a different chemical mixture. Corrosive primers might still last longer than non-corrosive primers, but I've been shooting non-corrosive USGI ammo that is 55 years old and it is all still sure fire.

[aplinker]

place in 50 cal ammo can with a few oxogen disectant (sp?) packs and your good to go

FYI:

Desiccant removes WATER, not oxygen.

[pwall]

perfect. Thanks for all the great info everyone!