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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Sealing ammo

Posted: 6/8/2007 9:32:53 PM EDT

I've heard of using nail polish to seal ammo - any other suggestions or is this as good as the next?

Posted: 6/9/2007 7:21:28 AM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
I've heard of using nail polish to seal ammo - any other suggestions or is this as good as the next?

The standards used in creating USGI ammunition call for nitrocellulose lacquer for sealing the primer. Hint: nail polish IS nitrocellulose lacquer. Really! Just thin it down so it flows like water (DO NOT USE NAIL POLISH REMOVER!-You can find actual, genuine "lacquer thinner" at places like Home Depot and Lowes. Yes, it makes a difference.) Most European military style ammunition uses a lacquer to seal the case mouth to the bullet as well.

Just PLEASE don't use one of those "interesting" nail polish colors, ok? I've found real colors under the NYC brand at my local grocery store, and for only about $1 a bottle.

Posted: 6/9/2007 8:24:45 PM EDT

[#2]

Unless it is your emerengy long term ammo stash, sealing is probably not necessary. Shotgun shells are not sealed and I have hunted in the rain in tall grass with water literally running across the shells, then leave them wadded in the wet vest on the way home and never fouled a primer.

Posted: 6/11/2007 3:47:47 PM EDT

[#3]

Thanks guys - I'll pick up some ruby red and give it a go. I'm going to use some of this on .308 ammo I've loaded for future use.

Posted: 6/11/2007 6:27:12 PM EDT

[#4]

Sealing your reloads is overrated and a waste of time. Do it if you like wasteing time.

If you think that you are going to need sealed ammo, buy some. I hunt with my reloads all the time in the rain and they get soaked, froze, ect and I have never had one not go bang.

The military seals them because the ammo might be submearged in water for a time. I highly doubt that anyone's reloaded ammo is going to have to be submearged, and if then, I sure wouldn't trust it to self defense.

This is my opinion and do what you wish with your time.

Posted: 6/12/2007 8:21:42 AM EDT

[#5]

what does one do to seal ammo anyways?

is it a process after the reload is made or during the reload process?

I mean do you just paint some polish around the primer and case mouth?

Posted: 6/12/2007 9:13:48 AM EDT

[#6]

It's normally done after you reload the round. Thin out the nail polish and apply it around the bullet and primer.

Again, it's a waste of time imho.

Posted: 6/12/2007 2:16:47 PM EDT

[#7]

actually Im more interested in using something as an identifier for how particular ammo is loaded.

Different cases loaded for different things........that way I can just yell out "Give me the green stripe!"

Posted: 6/12/2007 9:42:13 PM EDT

[#8]

If your looking for id'ing your ammo, why not try different colored perinment marker? I use a black one to write on the brass when I'm working up a load in case the loads get mixed up on the way to the range. Had that happen a couple of times and couldn't tell my starting load from the max one.

I believe that they make different colors so you could just put a colored stripe down the side to identify it. Oh, and the marker will come off in the tumbler.

Posted: 6/13/2007 12:30:23 AM EDT

[#9]

Or you could just write the load on it's box, like people have been doing for the past 100 years or so.

Posted: 6/13/2007 4:28:38 AM EDT

[#10]

Permanent marker is ALWAYS more visible than any form of primer sealant. I used to use different colored Magic Markers to color the primers of different loads I was testing. Now I use an extra fine Sharpie and WRITE A NUMBER on each primer. This helps a lot because the plain colors turn kind of faint after firing, but the numbers are almost always still very clear, so I can see what happens to the primer (pressure signs, etc.) in each loading after I collect the brass. (I collect each batch of brass before I start firing the next loading, but this way I have a "record" of what happens, too.)

Also keep in mind that if you seal the bullet to the case, that changes the energy needed to move the bullet out of the case!!! ALWAYS work up a load like this! DO NOT assume that any difference in bullet pull will be negligible! I have figured out where to get "the right stuff" to duplicate the USGI case mouth sealant, but I haven't taken the time yet to start from the beginning on any of my loads, so I just haven't gone anywhere with it. SAFETY FIRST!!!

Posted: 6/15/2007 11:02:22 PM EDT

[#11]

For long term storage, I just put my ammunition in .50 cal ammo cans. I can get 840 rounds of .223 per can in stripper clips and bandoleers. Assuming I'd stop shooting it, it would keep for decades stored that way. If you are anal about moisture, there is room left over in the can for a pack of dessicant.

Posted: 6/16/2007 4:44:02 AM EDT

[#12]

I use the same method as Dakota mentions and I must be anal because I have a pack of desiccant in every can. I usually rotate the desiccant about every 2 to 3 years. If you have multiple cans, purchase a label maker and mark each can with the contents so you know what you're looking for and you won't expose the contents unnecessarily. This works good enough even in a high humid area like Florida.

Posted: 6/17/2007 11:26:25 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Or you could just write the load on it's box, like people have been doing for the past 100 years or so.

So what do you do if the loads come out of the box? This is why I started writing on the brass as this happened to me. If the load is on the brass, it's kinda hard to get them confused.

Posted: 6/18/2007 6:43:05 AM EDT

[#14]

http://www.lockstock.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GRPS

Posted: 6/18/2007 7:54:10 AM EDT

[#15]

height=8

Quoted:
height=8

Quoted:
Or you could just write the load on it's box, like people have been doing for the past 100 years or so.

So what do you do if the loads come out of the box? This is why I started writing on the brass as this happened to me. If the load is on the brass, it's kinda hard to get them confused.

Ditto............I have several different rifles and MOST of my stuff is not in a box.........so thats a moot point.

Posted: 6/18/2007 4:47:13 PM EDT

[#16]

There was a discussion a short time ago about how to paint the tips of bullets. Several people totally reamed the posters (I was one) for thinking about it, suggesting that this was an attempt to go "tacticool" or something. It was not, at least for me. I have a number of different bullet weights I load, so how can I tell which one is which? THE SAME WAY UNCLE SAM DOES. By painting the 62 grain bullets' tips green. I haven't finalized a heavier load (I'm looking at 68 grains right now), so I haven't decided what color to use, but the point is that there are a LOT of ways to identify your loads, bullet weights, etc. Writing on the case is one way (I have issues with this method but that's probably because I haven't done enough research yet). Coloring the primer, painting the bullet tip, etc. are all valid methods.

Posted: 6/18/2007 8:18:51 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Writing on the case is one way (I have issues with this method but that's probably because I haven't done enough research yet). .

Why do you have issues with writing on the case? Also, can't the paint possibly cause pressure to go up or change the ballistics in any manner?

Posted: 6/19/2007 8:41:05 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Writing on the case is one way (I have issues with this method but that's probably because I haven't done enough research yet). .

Why do you have issues with writing on the case? Also, can't the paint possibly cause pressure to go up or change the ballistics in any manner?

As long as the paint is on only the ogive and not the bearing surface, it should have zero chance of affecting bullet resistance. I have worries about writing on the case wall because I've read of other situations where hot spots can develop in metal cylinder walls because of markings on the outside. As I said, there's a lot of research I should be doing on this (instead of school work, etc.-yeah, right!), but I simply will refrain from writing on the outside of cartridge cases until I find something definitive one way or the other.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Sealing ammo

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