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Post by missj on Aug 15, 2012 18:00:23 GMT -7
So I'm going through and inventorying my ammo.
It's quite an ordeal because it is in ammo cans tucked away out of sight which means me crouching down into awkward positions in low light situations etc. underneath cabinets, beds, under book cases yada yada yada
anyways the bulk of my ammo storage is in a central location and I'm wondering if it is "protected" enough.
it is in ammo cans. The cans are sitting on top of a laminate floor on top of concrete. They are in a back closet where it is dark 98% of the time and temperature and humidity controlled the same as the rest of my house.
Should I get the cans up off the floor? If so, I'll need to construct something to do that because there is no way that pallets or the like will fit down there.
If so, how would you recommend I do that? With scrap wood? pieces of pallets? Or should the just be Ok on the floor like that?
Also, does anybody have any tips for how they rotate through their ammo storage and how important is that? For instance I rarely shoot my shotgun and when I do, I usually shoot bird shot even though the bulk of my shot-shell storage is 00 buckshot. Since this is much more expensive than birdshot I am hesitant to just go out and "waste it" blowing up watermelons and the like....
any advice is greatly appreciated!
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Post by graf on Aug 15, 2012 18:33:39 GMT -7
I have taken my ammo and sealed them with my food saver to protect agains't the possibility of getting wet and being damaged. I also have seperated my stock and have in multiple areas and cache's. Yes in a hurry situation all ammo in one area would be convienant however if someone breaks into your home and rips you off or your home is damaged and your stock is in one area your out of luck.
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Post by alex on Aug 15, 2012 18:35:43 GMT -7
Not sure if this helps...but I've shot ammo that was NOT properly stored that was over 20 years old without a hitch or hick-up. I also store my bulk ammo in ammo cans but I am also on a crawlspace and not a concrete floor. The only problem I could see is condensation. Now if your ammo is centrally located in the home the concrete is less likely to have a high temperature fluctuation to cause the condensation in the first place.
One thing I do is when I do purchase factory ammo I date the box or slip the receipt in the box for date reference. Keep in mind the only ammo I buy factory loaded is 12ga. and .22lr. I reload all the others.
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Post by missj on Aug 15, 2012 18:47:03 GMT -7
thanks!
yes, I started dating all my ammo boxes in July of 2011. Prior to that I just marked it all as June 2011 even though some of it may be up to 5 years older than that....but I figure it is better to have SOME kind of idea about when the ammo was new from the factory.
Considering I am now shooting greek .30-06 surplus ammo in my M1 Garand that I am told is about 30+ years old and it fires perfectly I am not overly worried about rotation (as long as it stays dry and cool) But I just figure whenever possible I'll grab the oldest box of ammo for target practice.
Does that system sound good enough for rotating through indoors ammo storage?
Keep in mind that for some of the ammo I stock it may well take me 30 years to get through it all for example hollow points or 00 buckshot I rarely if ever choose those for target practice....
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Post by ncguy on Aug 15, 2012 18:52:24 GMT -7
Double zip lock bag, put it in a ammo can with a good seal and put it away. I store it all over the house and every now and then the wife finds some and yells at me ;D
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Post by wtrfwlr on Aug 15, 2012 19:58:44 GMT -7
Store ammo for 30 years?
In thirty years no one will ever even remember that I was on this earth.
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jamiboy
Starting to settle in
Posts: 29
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Post by jamiboy on Aug 15, 2012 21:59:22 GMT -7
I cut a 4" PVC pipe in about 3' lengths, stuff a trash bag in it, pour the ammo in, cap the ends and use a post hole digger and bury it. I stash my cash and other valuables this way also. I'm always worried about a house fire so if it ever does go up in flames it's nice knowing not everything will be lost. Just got to make sure you remember where you buried it.
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Post by kutkota on Aug 15, 2012 23:26:08 GMT -7
In my mind I would think that if you keep it indoors, in a controlled enviroment and fairly dry you would have no issues. I can not think that without horrid rust you would be able to allow enough water into the casing to cause any issues. I would imagine it would be the same with shot gun shells as well.
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Post by mud on Aug 16, 2012 1:21:12 GMT -7
If its in your house, what happens if your house gets burned down by some miscreant? I currently have a portion cached near by and all family members know where so losing it is less likely. My problem is protecting my guns from fires.
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Post by Cwi555 on Aug 16, 2012 4:06:14 GMT -7
I would get it out of any paper/cardboard boxes or holders the ammo may be in. Especially if it's made overseas and more so if it was made prior to 1986.
This is due to residual acids found in the paper/cardboard.
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Post by alabamadan on Aug 16, 2012 7:30:42 GMT -7
My Ammo is just stacked in 5 gal plastic buckets in the basement. As an aside, ever read in the newspaper that someone's house was searched by the police and they found several weapons and a thousand rounds of ammo? The news makes it sound like a terrorist and all I think is, that's like a weekend's worth of ammo.  |
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Post by missj on Aug 16, 2012 16:22:05 GMT -7
yeah....I won't say how many rounds of ammo I have; but 1,000 doesn't make me blink.
I can only imagine what the news media would say if my house was searched...
if a household has let's say 3 firearms then I think they should have AT LEAST 3,000-5,000 rounds of ammo....otherwise what is the point in having a firearm? you need enough to practice with, and you need enough to protect yourself with...
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