Handguns and Ammunition Forum banner

Ammunition Storage

5K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  Leighton 
#1 ·
This information is designed to save you some money over the long haul.

I will address here what should be common knowledge on proper storage of ammunition in the home. It seems from reading various forums that some folks have been given the wrong information, or haven't given much thought as to how to store their ammunition. This will also give some ideas about proper rotation of ammunition that is used on an everyday basis.

OK, before I get started, a little about my background. I have served as a military and civilian Quality Assurance and Surviellance specialist for ammunition and explosives. I have over 15+ years in this field. I don't claim to be the worlds expert at this, but feel that the knowledge I have may benefit some here.

First we will start off with classification of small arms, powders, and components.
1. Small arms ammunition using smokeless powders are classed as a 1.4 fire hazard, which means that even contained inside a ammo can will be very unlikely to explode when exposed to fire. Proper storage inside a home should be someplace away from direct heat, yet stored in such a way to provide air to circulate, one inch or so around large containers is deemed sufficiant. Try not to dogpile your stock.
2. Powder. Smokeless powder that is lose(not loaded) is classed as a 1.3 class. Usually it will not explode but burn. Try to store it seperate from all other components, primers, heat source, and such. If your powders can be contained inside of ammocans ensure you place dessicant bags in the can to help with humidity issues.
2a. BlackPowder. I don't care what you've been told, it is and always has been classed as an explosive, doesn't matter the amount. Its classed as a Low Explosive, and carries the hazard class of 1.1. This if possible should be stored outside of the home. If not possible try to store it somewhere its the least likely to come into contact with a heat source, and where its the least likely to do the most damage to the home(like your garage, place it near the farthest wall from the inside of the home). It should be stored in its own container, in some type of ammocan and should have some type of barracade around it. As little as five pounds can do alot of damage to a house.
3. Primers. Primers rate a 1.4 class as do small arms. Storage should be the same as your ammo, and use dessicant if possible.

Rotation! OK, the majority of your ammunition doesn't need to be rotated every month, or six months Remember these companies for the most part produce ammunition for the military. This ammo sits for years before use, and its always the policy to use the oldest first. The military doesn't store their ammo in nice warm/air conditioned homes, its sits in warehouses, magazines, and outdoor storage, or issued to troops where its exposed to some of the worst extreams known, and it works! So your ammo is going to last along time, even what you have in your carrygun/HD gun, at the worst, unless your standing outside everyday allday, is only going to be in the element for a very short period. Its not going to go bad over night, or in sixmonths. At the least rotate every year, yet you could go longer. I've seen and inspected ammunition/small arms thats been sitting in bunkers/magazines and other places thats older than most people on this board, and its still looks like the day it left the factory. Remember too this was made on the lowest bid, not your top dollar defensive ammo.

Dessicant really isn't needed for loaded components unless your ammo is to be stored outside of your home in a shed or other outbuilding where there is no heat or air. Then it really only needs to be stacked and stored where it can breath. If your storing in MilSpec type cans all you need to do is put a couple of small boards on top of each can so air can circulate, and make sure your cans are off the floor as well if there is a possibility of flooding.

When dessicant is used with military ammunition its more for items such as guided munitions, and its there for the hardware not the explosive. Its very hard to damage selfcontained ammunition such as small arms with the effects of weather.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Absolutely dynamite information, L! Thank you, sir. I store most of my ammo and components in the garage (referred to by SWMBO as the bunker). Brass is sorted, decapped, sized, polished and stored in those big old kitty litter buckets. You simply cannot have too much. Powder is stored in 20mm ammo cans. The primers are stored separately in wooden ammo crates. My loaded ammo (store bought or reloaded) is mainly all stored in 50 caliber ammo cans. The dumb bombs (projectiles) just weigh down the bench until loaded.

In 28 years, one month and one days service (only about 10 full time and not counting my years as a cadet) pretty much all over the world, I cannot ever remember having a click when I expected a bang. My first 20 years were all spent in combat arms battalions but I probably expended more of the governments ammo detailed as a small arms analyst in my last eight years with the intel folks.

The stuff is right hardy when I think of it. I found that the bags of desiccant were mainly used with fuses and missiles but they also do right well in the gun safe and tool boxes. Even the little bitty ones! You can nuke the water out of them and use them nearly indefinitely.

My first military ammo was for a Garand and I think was headstamped 1959. That matched the C Rations but I ate them anyway. Over the years the headstamps got closer and closer to the date it was fired. I remember a few years when we even shot Israeli 45 ACP.

I forget where I heard it but I always recommend buying it cheap and stacking it deep. It generally does not go bad.
 
#4 ·
Back when I first started shooting competitive HiPower I used a lot of WWII vintage ammo.

As an example of how tough military ammo is, I had only one batch that ever gave any problems; it had been stored in a building with a rather leaky roof, in cardboard boxes. Seriously crusted up with green gunk. I tumbled them <koff> and it hardly did anything, so I tossed a handfull of lathe chips into the drum. _That_ worked.

After that I sorted it based on whether the powder was free and loose or if it sounded dull. The ones where the powder didn't move at all went into a third pile. The only ones that failed to fire were rounds that had been badly attacked by verdigris around the primer. The ones with a crisp sound to the powder shot as well as any mil ammo I had used. This was SL43 AP as I recall.

The oldest stuff I fired was some FA39 National Match, but only as a test, and stopped because the brass was developing hairline longitudinal cracks.

Us younglings traded ammo back and forth a lot. Some guys liked ball (mostly because they were using M1's or lightweight bolt guns) whilst others like me preferred AP out to 300 yards.

One boatload of DEN43 ball got retrieved from the Gulf after the AF decided it was too old to use and dumped it. Anytime one of the airsea rescue boats went out and wasn't hurrying to a crash site, folks would follow to see what they were deep-sixing. Until they got wise, you could herd them towards a shoal area.


Them were the days..............


Regards,

Pat
 
#8 ·
Having just read this post referenced from another more recent one, I am most grateful for this excellent information. Don't know how I missed it the first time around. I do have a question about 'desicant' or however you spell it. Just how is this material used and where can it be purchased? Is this the little beads in the plastic or fabric bags that always come in scope packages? The wonderful thing about this forum is that I am always finding stuff I know nothing about despite the fact that I probably ought to. Also, I am not ashamed to say I don't know anything about it here, and for that I am also grateful. It sounds like you can just put the stuff in an ammo can to address moisture issues, right?
--Ray
 
#9 ·
Having just read this post referenced from another more recent one, I am most grateful for this excellent information. Don't know how I missed it the first time around. I do have a question about 'desicant' or however you spell it. Just how is this material used and where can it be purchased? Is this the little beads in the plastic or fabric bags that always come in scope packages? The wonderful thing about this forum is that I am always finding stuff I know nothing about despite the fact that I probably ought to. Also, I am not ashamed to say I don't know anything about it here, and for that I am also grateful. It sounds like you can just put the stuff in an ammo can to address moisture issues, right?
--Ray
Ray, I just go by my local furniture store an ask for it. Seems they get it in with their shipments all the time. I always keep three to four large bags in the safe, an the medium sized one's go in my ammo cans. Plus if your ammocan still has the black rubber ring inside run a thin layer of petroleum jelly with a Q-tip around the lip of this before you close.
 
#11 ·
Heya Jer,

The LC63 Match in question was 7.62; finally used up most of the bullets but dunno where the primed brass went to, as I use very little 308.

Pulling it was no problem with the Forster collet puller. Unlike the RCBS and others, it got tighter the more you pulled rather than looser.

Ed Forster did a lot of things right, including retirement. :D


Regards,

Pat
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top