[Garand]

Just curious how everyone stores their ammo. I've been in the position where my basement flooded so now i like to ensure that my ammo is really easy to move quickly. My factory ammo is left in its original packaging, my reloads are stored in MTM Cases, then stored in M2A1 (.50 cal) boxes. The M2A1 box has the rubber "O" ring intact then I spray paint it with Rustex paint and stencil the caliber ammo on the box. This way I'm not looking through a dozen or more boxes when I need a specific caliber. The M2A1 can even when filled can still be picked up and carried by even the weakest. I've seen .50 cal cans double wrapped in plastic for over 3 years, then buried. When it was extracted it was as good as the day it was made.

 

[RIKA]

The boxed ammo is stored in 50cal cans. The milsurp 308 stays in the sealed plastic sleeves until needed. All ammo is stored in a cool dry spot. I like the idea of being able to move it quickly.

RIKA

 

[mrostov]

I keep most of my centerfire ammo, both rifle and pistol ammo, loose packed in 7.62mm ammo cans. A 7.62mm ammo can will hold about 720 rounds of 5.56mm.

The smaller 7.62mm ammo cans are easier to store and to move, especially if a female or a kid has to pick one up. It's also easier to disperse the ammo, so all of your ammo isn't in one place.

Some of my 5.56mm I have packed in bandoliers. I take a conventional USGI bandolier that has 7 pockets designed for 20 rounds per pocket in strippers and cardboard. I put 3 - 10 rnd strippers in each pocket, ditch the cardboard, and bind the 3 clip bundles together with cellophane wrap.

If you have to start loading magazines, loose packed in a can is a lot faster than the factory boxes and they take up a LOT less space.

Of my .22LR stockpile, about 25,000 rounds of it are still in the original factory cases (5000 rnd cases).

 

[andy]

since nobody is ever going to effectively FIRE more than a couple of hundred rds of centerfire rifle, before he gets killed, and very little more than that of .22, especially if he doesn't have a suppressor,and since you can't CARRY that much ammo, there's no reason to stockpile much of it. 1000 rds of 223 is a year's practice with the CAR, along with a 5000 rd case of .22's for the conversion unit. 2000 rds of 9mm is a year's practice with the lw Commander, along with another case of 22's. No particular storage method is necessary, for any reason, really. if sthf, it'd be advisable to stick the "spare" .22's in a good ammo can, before burying them. The shtf .22CARRY- stash SHOULD of course be sealed around the case mouth, but nobody but me is THAT serious about it.

 

[RIKA]

Just stick your one bullet in your shirt pocket GK. It'll be safe there. The rest of us just like to have plenty of ammo on hand.

RIKA

 

[Garand]

Well you see gunkid, those of us that are actually allowed to own firearms, practice once in a while. In an average year, I shoot about 8,000 rds in assorted calibers. So obviously I need to keep some handy for when a match or whatever shows up. How many rds a year do you shoot??????

If the balloon ever goes up, it will be come as you are! If you think your just going to take over the nearest Wally World or Target store, 6 million people will have thought about it before you. Boy, are you slow on the uptake.

 

[John in AR]

I use some of both ammo can sizes, but I like the .50 cal cans, simply because they stack better. By that I mean 7 or 8 or the .50-caliber cans stacked straight up don't "teeter" the way 7 or 8 of the narrow ones do.

I used to mark the cans with caliber, etc, in marker to avoid having to open them, but since I use from the cans and not just "stockpile" in them, that turned into a maintenance nightmare. Permanent marker limited flexibility.

Then I switched, and numbered the cans themselves; and kept a database of what was in each can by number. Kept a printout with the cans for convenience. Very flexible, but a worse maintenance nightmare; having to crank up the pc, update the database, and re-print the list every time something changed. That didn't last long at all.

Now I store & stack the same way, but mark differently. On the front of each can is a 2" wide by 3-4" long masking tape; contents are listed on the masking tape. This is easy to see when they're stacked, "permanent" until intentionally removed, and allows flexibility when removing, changing, adding, etc, contents.


Have to think about how many rounds a year I shoot... Probably 4000-5000 .22LR, and 1500-2000 centerfire total; both rifle and pistol.

Latest thing is balloons. Small ones; probably 3" diameter, thumbtacked to a backer board. Usually use CAR with .22 kit and subsonics; quite a bit of fun. Makes for a "reactive" target, without being so hard on the local bird population. :dgrin:

(If I eliminate the birds, the bugs get out of control; and that's a very real issue in Arkansas...)

 

[andy]

840 rd 223 can holds nearly 1500 rds of loose .45 ACP, so why bother with lots of .50cal cans,hmm?

 

[41mag]

As I'm not a reloader yet the ammo is still stored in the factory boxes.It's all on a steel wire rack in an unused room.
Brass storage is in plastic grocery bags.The pile is getting pretty big!

 

[Garand]

Don't know about the US Army lately but the Canadian and British Armies have been packing 5.56mm in M2A1 (.50 cal) Metal Ammunition Cans for over a dozen years now.

 

[John in AR]

840 rd 223 can holds nearly 1500 rds of loose .45 ACP, so why bother with lots of .50cal cans,hmm?

The only ammo I have "loose" in cans is .38 special 158 SWC that I loaded up probably 7 or 8 years ago, and don't often use anymore. Maybe 50 rounds or so at Christmas when a bunch of us go shooting down at the pond, but even then we're using mostly .22's and military-caliber stuff (cheaper that way if you don't want to mess with reloading).

I doubt I have 1,500 rounds of .45acp anyway. I have one can (iirc) and it's a combination of 225-grain flatpoints (my loads) or factory stuff. Don't know what you assume I have on hand, but it's not like I have rooms full of these cans.

One issue is the fact that I shoot 14 different calibers, so if I want to keep things organized (not mixing multiple calibers in any one can), it obviously takes a number of cans to do so; even if I rarely or almost never shoot that caliber.

One can for .30carbine, one for 12-gauge, one for .45acp, etc; it adds up. Before you say there's no need for all those calibers, let me say it. There's no need for all those calibers. There's no "need" for a radio in my truck, or a dvd player in the house. But there's no harm in it, either.

One "30-cal" can will hold 2,700 rounds (54 boxes) of .22LR. Just filled one up with Rem-subs this past weekend, is how I know.

One "50-cal" can will hold 1,040 rounds of 5.56/.223, either in the USA Q3131A boxes or the 40-round USA .223 boxes; as I have one of each. Don't know how many rounds it would hold "loose" as I have no desire to store my ammo as if it were M&M's. :eatpointe


FWIW, one double-30-round AR magzine pocket (on the rifle case) will hold the Ciener unit, the Ciener magazine, and three 50-round boxes of .22LR. Second pocket holds two 30-rounders of .223 softpoint. Third pocket holds suppressor, suppressor holster, and copy of suppressor's ATF paperwork. Now THAT's handy storage.

 

[andy]

I see quite a few guys playing with cans and a bit of full auto at the ranges, and have never seen anyone question anybody about anything, but then SW CO really IS still pretty "wild west". I still see a fair amount of open carry, rifles in p/u back window racks, etc, all year round.

 

[Garand]

I find that I really disagree with having ammo loose in an ammo can. If packed in clips, bandoleers, boxes inside the metal box, it is easy to get an accurate count. In times of crisis, like getting ready for a match, etc........ you might only need a box for immediate use. Carrying the M2A1(.50 cal) can is inconvienent at times where just grabbing 50 or 100 rds isn't. Plus if you store your ammo that way, in time of crisis, you also notify everybody around you exactly how much ammo you have at that moment.

 

[John in AR]

My problem with loose-packed cans is two-fold.

First, is the potential damage of the cartridges rolling/sliding/smacking around in there. Potentially dented brass, bullets being stressed "out of line" with the brass, etc.

Secondly is the potential danger, especially with the fmj rifle ammo that often gets "stashed". All that jumbling/smacking around in there would be too disconcerting for me; too much potential for one round's bullet hitting another round's primer. Same reason you don't use fmj ammo in a tube-fed rifle; although at an admittedly lower risk level than the tube-fed would be. Not "likely" to happen, but even if it's a one-in-a-million chance, I see no reason to take such an unnecessary risk.


Now I've gotta go check on my .45acp; you've got me wondering if I have one or two cans...

 

[Magnum88C]

I store most of my .308 FMJ ammo in bandoleers in .30 cal boxes. The rest of the ammo, is in factory boxes, or the plastic boxes for my handloads, themselves stored in 50 cal cans. Surplus .308 that came in battlepacks stay in the battlepacks in wooden crates I've built for them. All ammo storage has a Desi-pak in the box.

 

[RIKA]

That Desi-pak is an excellent idea. Thank you.

RIKA

 

[andy]

so do ALL your ammo cans ride in the vehicle, at demolition derbys, or WHAT? SITTING in the basement, WHAT movement of ammo cans? Sheesh.

 

[Garand]

Fair question actually. When I go to a match like the Canadian Championships of CAS, that I attended last weekend, I grabbed an M2A1 can of 12 gauge, an M2A1 can of .44 Mag pistol and an M2A1 can for .44 Mag Rifle. That was for my primary firearms. I had an additional can for the ammo for my backup & long range guns. The match was about 300 miles from home. Plus my basement has leaked twice in the last 6 years, making me move all my ammo while heaters were brought in.

When I need ammo its ready, at hand immediately so it makes getting to the range easier with less hassles. I've never been short of ammo at matches and if a shooter comes up short, I've been able to help out.

 

[John in AR]

so do ALL your ammo cans ride in the vehicle, at demolition derbys, or WHAT? SITTING in the basement, WHAT movement of ammo cans? Sheesh.

This is where (if I wanted to be a prick), I'd say, "Can't you read?" But I won't say that; that would be rude.

As I said in my original post:

...but since I use from the cans and not just "stockpile" in them..."


They're not just "sitting in my basement"; you're making assumptions that could be avoided if you'd noticed what I'd posted. (For that matter, you're assuming I have a basement.)

"Using" from them on a regular basis means moving, opening, re-stacking, etc. It sounds like you're assuming I've got hundreds of these cans "stashed away", and that's not the case at all. Don't have twenty in all, I don't believe.

If I want some .223 (which I did just a week or so ago), I open up a can and get some. If I come across a deal on something (which happened this past weekend with some .22 shells), I get the appropriate can and put the stuff in there. Both of those things mean unstacking, opening, closing, and re-stacking; no real way around it.

The perpetual process of buying, storing, cooking, and eating groceries means getting into, and rummaging around in, the pantry. Same thing here.


Do I think "loose-packing" presents a huge, high-risk problem? No; as I also said:

...Not "likely" to happen, but even if it's a one-in-a-million chance, I see no reason to take such an unnecessary risk.

Much like shooting straight up, or shooting at a house 200 yards away with birdshot. Probably could do it a million times with no ill effects, but since there's no benefit, what would be the point?

 

[andy]

no benefit? Ha, like the time boxing that ammo,and stacking it in the can AINT worth something? time is the ONE thing that you DEFINITELY can't get more of. It's the most precious thing in the world, man. I try REAL hard to not let one damned minute get spent that I either don't HAVE to spend, or WANT to spend.

If had one 840 rd 223 can in each of the "main" 2 calibers, ,223, 9mm, ., and a couple of same in .22lr, and a couple of hundred rds each of . 45 ACP, 460 and 356,would be well-stocked indeed. Far beyond what would ever be called-for. As long as there's molds and components for making a few thousand more rds of each of the main calibers, and you keep your ear to the ground about any need to run out and buy a case or 2 of .22lr, you will be fine. If Big Brothe shuts off the ammo supply, it will be time to be KILLING people, and that just doesn't take a lot of centerfire ammo, and plenty of those you kill will have guns and ammo to pick up. So there's really no point in having a lot of money tied up in a bulky, heavy fire hazard, that a flood can ruin, etc.