I was thinking about vacuum sealing some ammo for storage. Any thoughts on that?

Quoted: I was thinking about vacuum sealing some ammo for storage. Any thoughts on that?

Vacuum sealing is overkill in my opinion. Just get some water-tight USGI ammo cans, and you should be good to go.

I don't know how to pick a proper used ammo can.  Any help on what to look for?

Quoted: I don't know how to pick a proper used ammo can.  Any help on what to look for?

Check the seals for cracking and such. Make sure there is a nice snap sound when you close the latch. When closed, spray it down or dunk it in water to see if there are any leaks.

Excellent suggestions if you have the cans "in hand", but how can you be sure about buying surplus cans online?  Any sites that consistently have good quality ammo cans with tight seals for a reasonable price?

I bought 4 ammo cans from MidwayUSA.  They might still be on sale.  They were a little dirty (some sand inside), but the cans were in good shape.  I cleaned them with a wet rag, dried them, and them wiped the inside and outside with a little CLP.  They look like new now.

If you find one with a dry gasket seal, don't worry. Just get some silicone and put it on the gasket (or if you play paintball Dow 33 or Dow 55 work very well too).

My thoughts are that vac packing ammo is a great idea for ammo that you will depend upon, especially bugout ammo, as opposed to dedicated range ammo.

The other justification for vac packing ammunition is its rapidly escalating cost, so consider it a step further in protecting at least some of your investment.

12GA shotgun ammo is especially susceptible to humidity, so I vacuum pack most of my Brenneke stash.

I use our Food Saver. One hint: Use only Food Saver or Rival bags, which are quite costly. The generic bags (from Walmart, for instance) are junk, forget the fact that they cost less, they crack at the folds and leak.

Besides cost, one other tradeoff - You can't vac pack the ammo and expect it to fit tightly into ammo cans. The necessary excess bag mat'l is bulky and shouldn't be crammed or kinked severley. But if your basement floods, or your pack gets soaked, etc, your powder stays dry.

Actually, this is the only time of year that I vacuum ammo. The interior humidity level in my basement w/ furnace running and below freezing outside is around 15-17%, so what I put into the bags is at its driest.

I've got a vacuum sealer I use for ammo that goes in my Jeep or in the saddle bags of my HD where it's likely to get wet.  It works quite well, but as mentioned above don't use the cheap bags unless you use a liner.  Personally I like it, it takes some practice to get the process down, but in the end you get sealed ammo without the weight of an ammo can.

A well sealed ziploc bag will keep water out just as well...

- AG

If you have the vaccum packer thing, then go ahead and do it.  If not then I believe it is not worth the benefit.  In reality ammo is pretty durable, it's not like trying to keep donuts fresh.

WEIRD!!  

I was just commenting the other day in another thread that we hadn't seen any Vacuum sealing ammo quacks in a few years.

It used to be a regular topic here in the old days.  I'm surprised it lost steam cuz the site is nuttier than every with the survival forum and such!