(?) Long Term Storage - Ammo

[necchi]

 Well, while the quest continues for the best load with different bullets for my guns, (does it ever end?) I've found a few loads that work really well and I'd like to stock pile some.
 I don't expect any long-long term storage, maybe a year and maybe 50-100 rounds (a box) of each favored loading. As I expect to rotate stock on a regular basis.

 What kind of things do I need to do, or What precautions should I take to ensure the viability of stored ammo down the road ?  
 I'm not going to kid anyone about the doom sayers and extreme survivalist's out there stocking 1000's of rounds for every gun they have, I simply don't believe THAT level of prepairedness is neccessary, but I don't want to be caught at my loading press if something (SHTF) does happen.

My one concern is I don't crimp, I've found better accuracy in my single shot's without crimping,,,?

Anybody have a few tips?

[spinafish]

get a 50 cal ammo can (military surplus) and a silicate anti-moisture package..store ammo in can with silicate..should last 15 years or so in a relatively dry place..

[dickttx]

I am currently shooting on a box of 45 ACP I loaded with 185 gr. Sierra JHP and Unique, in WCC 71 brass in 1972.  They have been stored wherever in at least a dozen different places during that time.  The temperature range was probably from a -10 to 120.  They still go bang and make a hole when they hit.

[wncchester]

"My one concern is I don't crimp, I've found better accuracy in my single shot's without crimping,,,?"

Not sure I get a connection about your one concern; accuracy is where we find it so are you asking if a crimp will hurt or help stored ammo?  

The military crimps both bullets and primers with no effects at all.  And they have stored ammo decades old that works fine.  So do I.  I have some uncrimped ammo at least 35 years old and nothing special was done with it, it sits in my loading room in an unheated/uncooled garage.  Heat causes chemicals to break down, keep ammo below a high temp you can stand and it can too.

[necchi]

Guess I was worried moisture might be able to sneek in, but If I just follow the tips here I should be OK.

A good Ammo can, desecant packs an keep'er from gettin too hot,,sounds like the plan, 

[LaOtto222]

Store your ammo in a cool, dry place. You can help the process by putting into sealed containers with a desiccant and keeping it in a place where the temperature does not go above 90 degrees, but best below 80 degrees, as has been suggested. High temperatures can and will break down gun powders and maybe even primer compound. If you are still concerned about moisture, you can use a primer sealer like this

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=954332

put it around the primer and around where the bullet meets the neck. It is the same stuff the military uses for their ammo. Military ammo if stored properly will last for decades, if not forever.

BTW I have run uncrimped (but good neck tension) rounds through the wash and they fired OK, so unless they are exposed to a high moisture environment for long periods of time, they should be OK.

Good Luck and Good Shooting

[Siskiyou]

In 1973 I loaded two boxes of 130-grain CL, using CCI 200 primers, Surplus 4831, and Remington cases.  I do not recall if I crimped the bullets.

In 2007 and later I fired the rounds over my Chrony using my Savage 110CL.  This is my fast barrel 270 Winchester.  Velocity runs about 30 fps fast then the Remington 700.  The average velocity ran over 3000 fps.  In did not have a Chrony in 1973 so I have no field data for the load.

I lived in five different houses during that period of time, depending on location summer temperatures up to 110˚ and lows to +10˚.  The ammunition was normally stored in an army footlocker in the garage.  Normally the locker was 3-6” above floor level.  Interior floor level temperatures never reach the high.  Trees and the structure provide shaded in the summer and some protection from the cold during the winter. 

This summer I fired some Remington 7MM Magnum rounds that I loaded in 1979.  Again I used surplus 4831 powder, Viht large magnum rifle primers, and 160-grain Speer Mag-T bullets.  Velocity average 3000 fps over the Chrony and the load was very accurate.  (In 1979 I paid $4.00 a thousand for the Viht primers on sale.  Oh, how I wish I would have bought ten cartons at that price.  The only time I have seen Viht primers for sale.)

During the same period of time I stored commercial ammunition without negative effects in the same footlocker.

Normally the locker was stored in what I consider to be the coolest location in the garage and away from where the sun hit the garage.  Every time we bought something with a desiccant pack it went into the footlocker.  Now days I buy large bags of desiccant.

The only time I have had a moisture issue in one of my garages was during a major flood period where I got at most ¼ of moisture on the garage floor.  I quickly dealt with it and the floor was dry in a few hours. 

Over the years my reloading and storage needs have expanded.  I use G.I. 50 and .30 caliber ammo cans.  I also use a metal container designed for 2.5 inch rockets.  Last winter I loaded a lot of 30-30 Winchester ammunition.  I used factory boxes to store the reloads, and wrapped the boxes with Costco version of plastic food wrap.  If I was in a wetter environment I would take advantage of the wife’s seal-a-meal machine.

“IF” my loading room was in a damp basement I would use the seal-a-meal machine, and do my sealing in a dry part of the house to avoid sealing in excess moisture.

Ten years ago a brother gave me a couple hundred mixed shotgun shells.  Included in this was rifle slugs that Dad had dating back to the mid 1950’s, and duck loads manufactured with the card board over the shot wad.  One of these days I need to see if this stuff will still go bang.