I've asked a few questions about ammo storage recently, and received very little helpful answers, so I decided to make a thread to maybe help someone in the future.


Ammo Can Weights and Quantities

To start, different weights of ammo cans and common ammo. For reference, I've gathered information from different sites and from personal knowledge weighing some ammo cans myself. Below is a list of how much various types of ammunition weighs along with the average amount of ammo can fit in both .50 cal and .30 ammo cans. These are rough estimates and of course varies with the bullet weight of each round. For most calibers, the difference in weight between different bullet weights in less than a pound or two per 1000 rounds. I'm not spending all the extra time figuring out the weight just because someone would rather know 55gr vs 62, 115 vs 124gr, etc. Deal with it, people

The weight of empty ammo cans

.30Cal Ammo Cans (~10"x3-1/2"x7")
Metal Can ~ 4lbs
Plastic Can ~ 1.5lbs

.50Cal Ammo Cans (~10"x5-1/2"x7")
Metal Can ~ 5lbs
Plastic Can ~ 2lbs

AMOUNT PER CAN IS BASED ON LOOSE ROUNDS

.22LR:
Average .22LR round:
Rounds per pound ~ 136lbs
Weight per 100 rounds ~ 0.74lbs
Amount of .22LR per .30 can ~ 3400rds
Amount of 9mm per .50 can ~ 6000rds
Weight of 1200 rounds ~ 25lbs
Weight of 2200 rounds ~ 44lbs

9MM:
Average 9mm Luger round:
Rounds per pound ~ 38.10rds
Weight per 100 rounds ~ 2.63lbs
Amount of 9mm per .30 can ~ 1200rds
Amount of 9mm per .50 can ~ 2200rds
Weight of 1200 rounds ~ 28lbs
Weight of 2200 rounds ~ 53lbs

.40cal
Average .40S&W round:
Rounds per pound ~ 28.07rds
Weight per 100 rounds ~ 3.56lbs
Amount per .30 can ~ 1000rds
Amount per .50 can ~ 1750rds
Weight of 1000 rounds ~ 36lbs
Weight of 1750 rounds ~ 63lbs

.45cal
Average  .45ACP round:
Rounds per pound ~ 21.33rds
Weight per 100 rounds ~ 5.07lbs
Amount per .30 can ~ 800rds
Amount per .50 can ~ 1300rds
Weight of 800 rounds ~ 41lbs
Weight of 1300 rounds ~ 77bs

.223/5.56
Average .223/5.56 round:
Rounds per pound ~ 37.21rds
Weight per 100 rounds ~ 2.69lbs
Amount per .30 can ~ 600rds
Amount per .50 can ~ 1200rds
Weight of 600 rounds ~ 16lbs
Weight of 1200 rounds ~ 33lbs

.308/7.62x51
Average .308/7.62x51 round:
Rounds per pound ~ 19.05rds
Weight per 100 rounds ~ 5.25lbs
Amount per .30 can ~ 320rds
Amount per .50 can ~ 640rds
Weight of 320 rounds ~ 17lbs
Weight of 640 rounds ~ 35lbs

12GA 00Buck:
Average 12GA 00Buck 2-3/4" shell:
Rounds per pound ~ 9.76 Shells
Weight per 100 rounds ~ 10.25lbs
Amount of 12GA per .30 can ~ 140 Shells
Amount of 12GA per .50 can ~ 250 Shells
Weight of 140 rounds ~ 15lbs
Weight of 250 rounds ~ 26lbs



Where to buy Ammo Cans

Below is a list of various places that you can buy ammo cans. Not necessarily the cheapest sites, but they usually have them

100 Dollar Man
Sportsman's Guide
Aim Surplus
Army Surplus Warehouse
Bulk Ammo
Lucky Gunner
Lexington Container Company
Army Navy Sales
Ammo Can Man

Very useful post. Maybe worthy of a sticky?!?

Thanks for your effort and research.

A sticky would be awesome. And no problem, after I couldn't find the answers I wanted, I decided to poke around for myself.

thanks.....

Anytime. I didn't realize until, I put this post together and went and put 1000rds of 9mm into a .30 can, actually how heavy it would be. I can't imagine loading a .50 can full of handgun ammo.

Awesome post!  Thanks for taking the time to research and weigh everything that you did.  You put some time into this.

Thanks!

Would anyone be interested in me adding how many of different types of magazines will fit in each can? I only have Glocks and AR's, so if anyone else would like something else, shoot me a pm and we'll see if we can work something out.

Bump to top because of good info inside...

Bump because it's Christmas!

Hope everyone has a blessed Christmas!

Run the math on fat .50's... then you're talking some bricks.  I have some fat 50 cans full of .45... man those suck to move.

Fat 50 for rifle ammo... normal 50 for pistol ammo.

An additional source for ammo cans is:

http://ammocanman.com/

I have purchased some of the new cans and they are nice if not a bit pricey...also has them on ebay...

P2B

20mm ammo can



20lbs + 2600 308=156lbs



ask me how i know

Good post OP but it may have been easier to ask an ordnance-type member of the board.

Added to the list. I don't know how I missed him.

Bump for 12GA added.

bump because I forgot I made this

I think he must have tried, and I imagine the questions were; 'how much do certain ammo cans weigh and how many rounds of various calibers can you get into the various can sizes?' Well, nobody knew that because nobody ever cared to know. Now that he has done the work and discovered all those answers, perhaps somebody can come up with a use for the data. If I wanted to determine the weight of my stash, which I probably should since I just noticed that it has cracked my concrete garage floor (just kidding), I would still have to weigh each loaded can because I don't pack my ammo loose. But I have estimated it before and that's close enough, since knowing the weight has no relevance to anything unless possibly you have a lot of ammo in your attic. :)

This. I kept google searching "how many rounds of _____ will fit in a _____ ammo can" and for some reason I couldn't find any answers. Plus, for a while I was also lugging around ammo back and forth from my house to my parents house whenever I wanted to shoot. And my ford focus didn't like all the added weight.

Thank you for that, very informative.

No problem. I'm sure there are some more calibers out there people may be interested in. If anyone wants to add some calibers, let me know. I'm sure there are enough members in here that will be willing to help out.

The weights I have listed for the .223/5.56 is for M855 62gr Green Tip. Unfortunately I don't have access to a digital scale right now or I could do some data for 55gr. If anyone wants to tell me the weight for a 5.56 round with 55gr projectiles I can update the information! Thanks!

Also, I'll add the bullets weight for each caliber listing.

Or how about reloads by charge weight?

Have two of them full of 230 grain FMJ.  They don't get moved often.

Have two of them full of 130 grain FMJ .38spl.  These stay put as well.

.30 cal cans are easier on the back.

22 Long Rifle

A .30cal ammo can will hold 3400 rounds.

Winchester DynaPoint 40gr:  136rds=1lb, 3400rds = 25lbs

CCI Mini Mag 37gr HP: 148rds=1lb, 3400rds = 23lbs

Great information, OP.  Thanks!

Suggested additions:

"Fat 50" (SAW) can capacities
.380, .38 Spl, .357 Magnum quantities

There is stuff around about how to maximize filling cans with  loaded bandoleers, but as I recall that was only about .223.  It might be helpful to add maximizing loading with clipped and/or bandoleers of .308 and .30-'06.

For what it's worth, storing ammo in quality ammo cans is far superior to storing it in any other container.  I would NEVER try to tote handgun ammunition to the range in a .50 cal can, but I often use .30 cal cans for that task.  Not usually "full," mind you, but with what I'm thinking of shooting for that range visit.  I am thinking of getting a couple of those plastic cans for this task, to save the metal cans for storage.

Thanks for the info, I'll add it in.



I'll see what I can do. I don't have guns in any of those calibers, so If one of the kind members on this site could help me out and share how many of each .380, .38, and 357 fits in a .30cal OR .50cal can, that'd be great!

Edited OP to add/reiterate :

These are rough estimates and of course varies with the bullet weight of each round. For most calibers, the difference in weight between different bullet weights in less than a pound or two per 1000 rounds. I'm not spending all the extra time figuring out the weight just because someone would rather know 55gr vs 62, 115 vs 124gr, etc. Deal with it, people

Bump. I need help with .380, .38, and .357 guys!

As a shooter who is still recovering from several major neck and spine surgeries following a traumatic injury and who now has a lifetime lifting limit of 30 pounds, this information literally saved my neck.

I just started buying a whole bunch of bulk ammo again now that I can start getting back to shooting (which very nicely coincided with ammo prices dropping from stratospheric levels), and this post helped me figure out that I need to pack all of my new purchase handgun ammo into .30 cal ammo cans and will need to switch my existing handgun ammo stockpile over from .50 cal to .30 cal cans, to avoid undoing the surgeon's work, but will be able to keep my rifle and shotgun ammo as is in .50 cal cans.

This information was directly beneficial to me and saved me from having to tie someone else up for a couple of hours weighing all of my ammo boxes in my existing stash to figure out what was what.

I'm going to be able to switch and swap some things around and will only need a dozen or so more .30 cal cans to get everything boxed within my acceptable lifting limit range.

Thank you so much, GunnySwagger!!

Not a problem, glad I could help!

This is what I do, figured out the hard way just how heavy a fat 50 can of .45acp actually is, so split it between some .30 cal cans.

For mags I'm not worried about long term storage and most of them are empty so weight's not an issue, so I just use whatever bags or boxes I have lying around.