Ammunition storage.

[IDPA Mike]

Have been making lots of 9mm to get ready for summer matches. Also like to make big lots before changing caliber.
The plastic boxes are great,but tend to run up the cost of reloading.
What do you guy's do?

 

[M1911]

A whole bunch of plastic boxes that I'm running out of room to store.

 

[Dan S]

30 Cal ammo cans!

 

[wiskie762]

50 cal ammo can

 

[IPSC_DRL]

Plastic coffee containers. Mark them with some masking tape and a Sharpie. The big ones even have built in handles.

Good luck.

 

[drgrant]

The plastic boxes are cheap. It won't be long before you accumulate a ton of them.

That said, though, for 9mm practice ammo, I'll often load up about 200-400 rounds and put the ammo in one of those Glad food containers, works just fine.

Used regular old ammo boxes work out well, too. (EG, when you were shooting commercial you should have kept these). You can stick labels on top of them and use them
several times before throwing them away when the cardboard breaks down. )

-Mike

 

[DukeInFlorida]

You said, "Bullet Storage"......

Not being picky...... BUT.... there's a whole world of difference between how I store bullets (in their original factory boxes, or in dollar store plastic boxes when they are my own cast bullets) and how I store assembled cartridges.

The assembled rounds used to go into plastic ammo boxes that I was buying. Now, I scrounge the original factory boxes at the range. People often leave their brass behind. Wonder where the boxes go? Check the trash barrel and dumpster. I have 1 1/2 55 gallon barrels full of empty factory boxes from the range. 9mm's, .40's, 38 specials, 44 magnums, etc, etc, etc, etc..... I haven't bought one of the plastic boxes from the on-lines places for ages.

As others have mentioned, you might also store the assembled ammo in bulk (although not my favorite way, especially if the bulk contains several LOTS worth of effort.)

I like to mark every lot of ammo I make with all the pertinent data. Putting 1,000 rounds of 9mm into a 50 cal box, made over a period of weeks, in ten different sessions, isn't documented well enough for my liking, but others seem to do a lot of that. You can get a LOT of ammo even in one of the skinnier .30 cal boxes.

 

[Junglerott]

I fill ziplock sandwich bags with 100 rounds and zip them shut. Easy to keep track of round count and they don't take up extra space in the ammo cans.

 

[M1911]

I used to save the factory ammo boxes, but they are such a pain to use compared to the plastic ones, and they take up more room as well.

 

[EddieCoyle]

I store my ammo in .30 and .50 cal cans, then throw what I'm going to shoot that day into ziplock bags to take to the range.

 

[Kurtz]

I bought a bunch of these.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/24002/catid/10/Dillon_Ammunition_Boxes_9mm__100_rd_

 

[Andy in NH]

I've got loaded ammo in all kinds of containers; MTM plastic boxes, .30 and .50cal size ammo cans, butter tubs, coffee cans, and cardboard boxes - each marked with the pertinent data on a piece of tape with a sharpie.

For test loads of 5 -10 rounds, I keep them in a zip-lock with the data written right on the bag.

My recipe for practice .45ACP ammo hasn't changed in years and I like to use the Dillon 'Border Shift' Ammo Bag to store that in. It keeps the loaded ammo on one side and the spent casings on the other. It's very convenient to grab when heading out to the range.

 

[WanMan99]

I buy the Franklin arsenal (color = smoke) 100 round ammo boxes in a 10 pack for $22.00 (Midway) I usually bring two boxes of each caliber I plan to shoot with me to the range and I like to keep 6 - 10 boxes (each cal.) loaded at all times. I also did the factory box scrounge out of the trash cans at the range but got sick of feeling like a homeless dude....

 

[DukeInFlorida]

You gotta stop eating the old sandwiches that you find in there......

I also get a lot of the boxes left when Weaponcraft Training does one of their shooting training sessions. I used to get most of that brass also, but BadLuther has started reloading in earnest, and now keeps the brass all to himself..... That's what I get for teaching him to reload! hahaha

I buy the Franklin arsenal (color = smoke) 100 round ammo boxes in a 10 pack for $22.00 (Midway) I usually bring two boxes of each caliber I plan to shoot with me to the range and I like to keep 6 - 10 boxes (each cal.) loaded at all times. I also did the factory box scrounge out of the trash cans at the range but got sick of feeling like a homeless dude....

 

[Patriot]

Plastic Freezer bags (stronger than regular storage bags) and then put them in a bin. Take them to the range in the same bag.
I've got a ton of those plastic boxes that I stopped using long ago. It's a pain in the ass to put them in the box and the same
pain in the ass to take them out of the box unless you dump them out.

 

[swampy]

I had a chance to get one of those poly bag sealer cutter things a few months ago and I'm kicking myself for not doing it. It takes a poly tube and heat seals a seam around whatever you stuff in the tube. This one had about 100 feet of 6 mil thick tubing. Could have made my own battle packs with the 8 inch wide tube and sealer. The sealer needed a new $18 heating element. The whole contraption was $20 with the polytube roll.

I use plastic boxes when I have empty ones. I use recycled factory ammo boxes, zip lock bags, tupperware, ammo cans, coffee cans etc depending on what is empty at the time. I'm putting 5.56 x 45 on stripper clips and into freezer bags.

 

[Lugnut]

Ammo cans are the best option IMO.

 

[Gammon]

+1 on freezer bags. They are much more durable and long lasting than sandwich bags. I usually put 200 rounds in and add a tag with the load specs. I like the idea of an air tight container and the empty bag is great for brass. Sandwich bags work well for small amounts like test loads for the chrono. I made a frame for my 1050 that holds the freezer bag open so that the loaded rounds drop right in.

 

[IDPA Mike]

Ammo cans are the best option IMO.

Does it hurt the cartridge being just piled in an ammo box?

 

[M1911]

One nice thing about the ammo boxes is that I can put the cartridges in bullet down, so I can quickly check the primers.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Does it hurt the cartridge being just piled in an ammo box?

No

 

[Knob Creek]

These:

 

[TY43215]

I load what I need the night before or morning of a match or trip to the range. Saves a lot of space.

 

[Patriot]

These:

Those are also great for holding cast bullets. Those hold ~30 pounds of cast bullets and the Skippy plastic peanut butter jars hold ~15 pounds of cast bullets.

 

[DukeInFlorida]

It'll rot your teeth, kid!