Ammo can?

Is there any advantage in storing your’s ammo in steel ammo can? I saw some yesterday at a gun store for $10. I been storing my ammo in a cabin/closet.

They keep all the ammo together in an easy to carry, durable container. They are typically airtight and water tight as well. IMO well worth having a few of.

Some guys are really anal about storing ammo in ammo cans with dessicant to remove moisture.

There is certainly no harm in doing so, but I think it is largely unnecessary.

I believe storing ammunition in its original factory boxes inside is all that is necessary to maintain its integrety and freshness.

I believe ammo especially corrosive primed ammo has a very long shelf life measured in decades if not centuries. New commercial non corrosive and newer surplus should last 40-50 years no problem as long as it is kept dry and away from major temperature changes and moisture. When I say moisture I am talking about muggy bathroom shower type moisture not normal atmospheric conditions in a heated/cooled home.

I went through a 1400 round case of Turkish surplus 8mm Mauser made in 1941. The lead sealed liner had been opened long before I got it and it had an old piece of scrap lumber nailed on the top for a lid that didn't completely cover the opening. That ammo probably set in freezing temperatures and blazing hot summers in a warehouse for over 55 years and had been opened for god knows how long as the tin lid was missing and there was plenty of dust on the bandoleers inside. Every round of that case fired.

I have 3 bandoleers of 1931 Turk 8mm and I wouldn't want to hold my head over the barrel and pull the trigger with one of these almost 80 year old cartridges chambered.

I have gotten ammo out of old vehicles that have set in junkyards for 10 years and endured many humid Missouri summers and cold wet winters. It has all went off.

I wouldn't want to store ammo on purpose in exterme conditions, but I believe ammunition is much more tolerable of the elements than most people give it credit for.

I'll bet you that your Turk ammo was stored in an old ammo bunker, probably deep underground or in the side of a mountain, where the temperature was very cool and constant during it's entire storage life. This is why some of this old surplus is as good as new. It was stored very well...

That being said, ammo can indeed take a lot of abuse and still function, but it should still be stored as best as you can.

1DD

I'm an ammo can guy.

You know, I was about to ask the same question, or kind of anyway. I was wondering about the sealed spam cans of russian ammo. When the can is sealed, I guess the environment in the manufacturing plants isn't exactly humid per se, yet I don't believe any residual air is purged from the can before it is sealed either. Has anyone opened a spam can to find at least some of the rounds rusted? I guess this would pertain more to the older stuff, although not sure about shelf life of that new polymer they are using either. the reason for the question, I too have ammo boxes and have used them after I have opened the spam can and repackaged in a more air tight environment. I know this is probably going overboard, but have also used one of the vaccuum sealers I have to break down the ammo into bag numbers corresponding to magazines and or number of magazines I am going to use any particular time at the range. Yea I know, way over compulsive but I package 30, 60, 90, or 120 rnds per bag depending on how many 30 round mags I want to load. I know the vaccuum sealer is probably way overdoing it, but I also like doing it and seeing the inconsistencies from one spam can to another, plus like I saw in another post, the spam cans when opened with a grinder do make really good boxes for gun cleaning stuff, tools, spare parts, etc. In the end I am sure this is a big waste of time, but hey, I work odd hours at a job where we like our duty ammo to go boom, and rust isn't something I want on my personal plinking stuff either since the potential is there with a steel case in Texas humidity.

At $10 a can, I wouldn't be buying a lot of cans. I don't think they are really necessary but I live in Colorado which is very dry.

Gundam I like having them, like someone already said it makes ammo easy to carry. Plus I just like mil surplus stuff. $10 is the same as around here for 50 cal with $7 for 30 cal.

The cans marked for 800 rounds of M855 on links hold exactly 2 tins of 5.45x39 - 2160 rounds, with barely a quarter of an inch of clearance for the lid. Makes it incredibly easy to move 10k rounds - just graph a 60lb ammo can in each hand and you're carrying 4300 rounds. the same cans hold about 1800 rounds on the 15round AK74 stripper clips if you stack them vertically. Watertight, airtight, rugged, easy to move and stack, and they hold a lot of ammo.

Negative. 5.45 cans from late 70's, Chinese X39 from the 70's, 54r of various mfg. I want to say the older one was 1950's era and the nnewer was 60's. Everything so far as looked very good coming out of a spam can. They must seal them up with magic.

The smell of the lacquer that comes from the can when you crack the seal, would enough to prevent rust

I keep all my ammo in ammo cans because it is easy to store, inventory and transport. If you store your ammo in a climate controlled environment, then an ammo can is not required.

1DD

it smells like happy

Well I finally bought one. I managed to fit 44 box of Golden Tiger. So is better to store my ammo like this? Or should I put these on stripper clip?


DSC00374 by gundamzaku999, on Flickr

Can you find good sripper clips?
IME about half of the recently imported ones are out of spec and don't work well.

I keep my ammo just like that in the oem box and in the ammo can

I have one of those stripper clip guide. I stop using it because I never seem to get all 3 stripper into my mags without it screwing up. So do anyone else have problems with stripper clip guide?

You can fit 50 boxes in there if you try a little harder.

Problems with the metal Chinese made guide either come from out of spec clips - the recently imported Chinese ones aren't all correct - or from not using the guide properly.
The Chinese made guide is too long so it isn't held tight to the back of the magazine. If it isn't tight to the back the cartridges won't go in. The rim hangs up on the back of the magazine body.
There are two solutions: 1. Press the back of the guide against the back of the magazine every time. 2. Put a shim of the proper thickness on the inside of the front of the guide. That holds the back of the guide tight aganst the back of the magazine. I've done this to mine and it works when I use clips which are in spec. The surplus Chinese and Yugoslavian clips are in spec.
ETA: If your guide is one of the plastic ones with a rammer the problem is caused by the out of spec clips. Mine always works with good clips.

Even easier with the Chinese clip guides is to just bend the front inward instead of adding a shim. Even so, they are only "ok" in operation. They could be made better, but for $3.00, what do you expect. If they made clips and guides like the ones for the 5.45, then we would be in business!

As for the ammo cans, they are sealed with an inert gas (likely nitrogen) to preserve the contents. If you look closely at the Chinese cans, they have a solder sealed spot on many of them. This is where the air was purged and replaced with inert gas, then quickly soldered shut.

U.S. military ammo cans are purged with inert gas as well...

1DD

classic arms has cans starting at $3

Just in case anyone has lost sleep pondering how many AK rounds could be stored in a 81mm mortar ammo can, I'm here to solve the riddle.
3120 rnds of 7.62x39
weight, 135lbs. (so load the box where you want to keep it, LOL)
This is a cheap way to store a bunch of ammo in a air/water tight container. The box cost 16$.

Try and get a few friends to go in on a Gov. auction.

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.