Upside-down ammo

Some years ago l reloaded a 50 round box of 38SPL ammo that had ALL the primer holes plugged with walnut tumbling media. Ran them and a control box of 50 without plugged primer holes from the same batch over the crony the same trip. I found NO difference in any round beyond a normal SD of each box. If that is not going to cause problems l doubt a few grains of propellant will be a problem either. I store my ammo in quart freeser bags inside of 50CAL ammo cans without issues.YMMV

Walkalong said:

I have never considered ammo orientation when storing ammo.

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^^^^^What Walkalong said. ^^^^^^

Whether it's stored minutes, hours or decades, orientation makes no difference.
(It might have made a difference with corrosive primers????) but not with recent powders & primers

Hondo 60 said:

^^^^^What Walkalong said. ^^^^^^

Whether it's stored minutes, hours or decades, orientation makes no difference.

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And neither do various militaries of the world what orientation ammunition are stored. Years ago, my concern was the harsh shock and tremendous jarring ammunition experience during transport offroad but Walkalong was part of myth busting where loaded rounds were tumbled for days without significant powder breakdown.

Now, my only concern for loaded ammunition storage is avoiding heat as extreme heat is the primary cause of powder decomposition - https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-education/safety/gunpowder-stability

bds makes a great point - ammo stored in ammo cans are tossed in the can every which way.

When I was in the military, I saw palletized ammunition parachute drop onto the ground hard. I didn't reload back then but now wonder what effect the sudden G-load would have on bullet setback ... now I know why many military ammo are tar sealed around the bullet/case neck (Maybe not just for keeping moisture out of case but to increase neck tension?).

I store my nicer, handloaded rifle ammo bullet-up, because some of it has rather pointy tips I'd rather not blunt or crumple. Cheap blasting ammo or store bought stuff... eh, however it fits on the shelf or in the ammo can.

I store my pistol ammo bullet-down (or loose in an ammo can). This is mostly because I find it easier to grab by the full-diameter rim than by the semi-pointy nose. Also, I have a higher rate of pistol ammo that I mark as practice ammo with a slash across the base/primer, which I can only see if it's bullet-down.

But, basically, no, it makes no difference.

I was thinking I read that Glen Zediker originally stored his ammo bullets up. Since he runs low neck tension on his match ammo, he discovered that some of his bullets got recessed into the case during transport to the range. He now transport it laying on the side so this does not happen.

I bulk store ammo loose, so all directions are covered. I'm not running low neck tension, so it's not a problem. My Match ammo stored in cases are stored bullet up. My handgun ammo in 50/100 round boxes are stored bullet down.

Again - consider reloaders ammo boxes. Almost all “cartridge specific” revolver ammo boxes are sized such they can only fit the rounds bullet down. Alternatively, all “cartridge specific” rifle ammo boxes are sized such they hold the rounds bullet up.

If it mattered, they’d be all one way.

They’re not.

It doesn’t matter for any of the reasons mentioned here.

It’s summer, be brave, take a jug of ice water and a parasol, go shoot...

FROGO207 said:

Some years ago l reloaded a 50 round box of 38SPL ammo that had ALL the primer holes plugged with walnut tumbling media. Ran them and a control box of 50 without plugged primer holes from the same batch over the crony the same trip. I found NO difference in any round beyond a normal SD of each box. If that is not going to cause problems l doubt a few grains of propellant will be a problem either. I store my ammo in quart freeser bags inside of 50CAL ammo cans without issues.YMMV

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When I got my first wobbler (I reloaded 12 years before I started tumbling brass) , I read a test with flash holes "clogged" with tumbling media. Seems like the primer just blew out the obstruction and ignited the powder with little difference in performance...

If bullet orientation matters, someone needs to inform Federal, CCI, Remington, and other manufacturers! Those are hundreds of thousands of cartridges shipped loose everyday with only plastic bags,cardboard boxes, buckets, or ammo cans to protect them!