1000 rounds

[Riomouse911]

I’ll use .30 cal ammo cans for handgun ammo and .50 cal for 9mm and bulk rifle ammo.

I use the original boxes on a shelf for higher end ammo, rimfires and centerfire ammo I don’t have enough of to fill a .30 cal can.

I paint the cans camo for fun, and label them with white auto touch-up paint so it’s easy to read.

I just bought 4 more .50 cal cans. Two I’m painting for raffle prizes for an upcoming charity shooting competition and two to hold 50-round boxes of .22 LR that are growing exponentially on my shelves.

Stay safe!

 

[c1ogden]

So for the first time, I've bought a thousand round case lot of .223 Federal American Eagle rifle cartridges. This appears to be brass cases so I'll presume they're re-loadable? And dummy me, I didn't know it would be individual shells in a large bag. What's the easiest way to store loose shells? I've heard a lot about mag springs going bad over time. I suppose if I wanted to box them up, then I have to buy those plastic shell boxes? Thanks.

There are a lot of good suggestions here but what works for me is just leaving it in the factory box. If I had a moisture problem I'd transfer it to an ammo can but I don't so its fine in the box. When I'm heading to the range I scoop out enough to fill a large plastic sandwich bag (or 2) and put that into the ammo can with the rest of my ammo for the trip.

 

[lightman]

I like and use a lot of the MTM 100 round plastic boxes. If you don't want to spend that much, theres nothing wrong with Ziplock bags in an ammo can.

 

[MistWolf]

Everyone is over-thinking the whole thing. The issue can be solved in two easy steps
1) Shoot all loose rounds
2) Order another thousand rounds in boxes

 

[theotherwaldo]

Everyone is over-thinking the whole thing. The issue can be solved in two easy steps
1) Shoot all loose rounds
2) Order another thousand rounds in boxes

3) Reload the brass from the first 1,000 and prepare to fire it again.

 

[BSA1]

Everyone is over-thinking the whole thing. The issue can be solved in two easy steps
1) Shoot all loose rounds
2) Order another thousand rounds in boxes

3) Reload the brass from the first 1,000 and prepare to fire it again.

4. Put the 1,000 rounds of loose reloads back in the first ammo can.

 

[Speedo66]

Ammo cans are good, but if you want some 20 round boxes, do a little "dumpster diving" at the indoor range. Usually the trash can for paper has lots of empty boxes.

 

[Skgreen]

Lots of variables,
How much you consume in an outing,
How often you handle 'em at home,,
Never have bought unboxed rifle,, Bulk was always boxed. Down to (1) 20mm can full of 'store-bought' rifle now,,,, Haven't touched any of it in quite a while, with no real plans to do so anytime soon.
Rifle reloads in MTM.'s.
Pistol reloads ,,, 30 cal cans at home. Some MTM's, but sandwich-sized Tupperware containers are great for transporting to the Range.

 

[Charlie98]

I actually prefer bulk pack boxes, at least in the Big 4 (9mm, 45ACP, 5.56mm, 7.62mm) ... I certainly prefer it to this...



Usually when I know I'm heading to the range, I'll preload my magazines and haul them in an MTM mag box...



I keep a few loaded up for easy access, but I don't normally have all of those loaded. With modern metallurgy, it's not a problem loading a magazine and leaving it for years.

Some of my other ammo... I'll take the bulk boxes and bust them up... 100rds or so to a ziplock bag, or I have some Midway plastic storage boxes or smaller cardboard boxes from work that I use to divvy up ammo, or sometimes I'll fill up my 50rd Midway ammo boxes. The handgun boxes fit right down inside a 50 cal ammo can, the rifle boxes not so much... I use a bigger ammo can for that, but it's heavy when fully loaded.

Just remember... don't let all that loaded ammo go stale... it should be emptied and recycled frequently...

 

[taliv]

While keeping the springs under tension will not hurt them at all, the round pushing up and out on the feed lip may cause it to spread a bit leading to malfunctions. This is the reason for the cap on top of magpul pmags.

 

[rpenmanparker]

There are a lot of good suggestions here but what works for me is just leaving it in the factory box. If I had a moisture problem I'd transfer it to an ammo can but I don't so its fine in the box. When I'm heading to the range I scoop out enough to fill a large plastic sandwich bag (or 2) and put that into the ammo can with the rest of my ammo for the trip.

Your approach can’t be right. It makes too much sense. How can you do without ammo cans? We all know you can’t. Hence you must be wrong.

Of course the cardboard box the ammo came in is the best container to store it in. I’m lucky to have kept some 9mm, 50-round boxes over the years. So I can refill several of them for trips to the range. But the bulk of the bulk ammo stays in the plastic bag inside the cardboard box. Why would I do it any other way?

 

[Walkalong]

One favorite way I take rounds to the range.


I fill them up from ammo cans or surplus first aid cans like these.


The old Bagmaster Ammo Bags are nice too.


I have a number of .30 caliber ammo cans full of loose bulk ammo I loaded. I use them to refill the small bags/boxes I take to the range with me.

For rainy day ammo it is nice to have it in boxes in ammo cans, and I have some of that as well.

 

[LAH]

I use the industry standard, the old reliable coffee can.

 

[doubleh]

"You can also reload steel case ammo as long as it is boxer primed. Just once though."

Apparently you can do the same with aluminum cases. I remember reading an article several years ago from one of the "famous" gunriters that did it with success. I've never tried it with either material and don't plan to.

 

[Browning]

Roughly half of mine are military surplus cans, but the other half are these Chinese cans that I've been buying from Walmart if they're on sale for $8.97. The seals are good.



There are also these polymer 25mm polymer cases online that are water tight and have rubber padding inside. They also have dividers that you can leave in or take out. I have a few of these and I turned one of them into an optics case. They're double sided. This way my spotting scope, binoculars and range finder don't get crushed. They were $10 I think.

 

[rodregier]

Organize with stripper clips and 120 or so per Zip Loc bag in ammo cans.

Later use a mag loader with the clipped ammo to load mags fast.

The x10 clip organization also makes it easy to confirm quantities compared to loose.

I like the Thermold clips which just happen to be standard issue for Canadian Forces ammunition too

Non-exclusive source in the US:

http://www.uniquetek.com/product/T1313

 

[Erief0g]

Obviously ammo cans have been covered. Under $10 each at walmart for 50 cal cans.

Also 50 round reload boxes from dillon are a fair price with quantity discount

 

[Archie]

Random comments.

G. I. ammo cans are very useful but putting a pile of ammo in anything makes it heavy very quickly. Better for storage at home, but have something smaller to take to range. I find the plastic reproductions are lighter and just as strong.

Plastic ammo boxes are great for transporting ammo. I check the 'Dollar' type stores looking for sealable smaller sized faux tupperware containers.

Magazine springs taking a set from long term storage (loaded) seems to be an urban legend. I've never had it happen and the only magazines I've ever heard about were the initial twenty round M16 magazines.

 

[Speedo66]

Speaking of 1000 rounds, AIM Surplus has a sale ending today: 1000 rounds of Red Army .223 for $200 with free delivery, and, of course, no tax unless you live in OH.

 

[hdwhit]

mcmurry asked: "What's the easiest way to store loose shells?"

How long do you intend to store them?

If you are going to use up those thousand rounds within the next 12 months, you could just keep them in plastic bags.

If you want to store them for the next 20 years, then buy the plastic ammunition boxes and some ammunition cans and put the rounds in the plastic boxes and then store them in the ammunition cans along with a desiccant bag. Through no fault of my own, I have experience in 20+ year storage of ammunition and components.

If you are somewhere in the middle, then .30 cal ammo cans will work fine, as will old cigar boxes, shoe boxes, or just about any plastic tub used to food.

My son likes the round tins that Danish Butter Cookies come in. Just make sure you put some paper or plastic wrap between the ammunition and the can so you don't have brass in contact with steel (dissimilar metals in contact form a battery and can promote galvanic corrision). My son uses plastic wrap draped inside the can and then when he puts the lid back on, he runs packing tape around the seam, bending back the last half-inch or so to create a pull tab.

 

[Walkalong]

Random comments.

G. I. ammo cans are very useful but putting a pile of ammo in anything makes it heavy very quickly. Better for storage at home, but have something smaller to take to range

Yep.

Same for needing to grab some ammo in a hurry, and not a heavy 1K rounds, it is good to have some in boxes or stripper clips in at least one ammo can.

 

[mdThanatos]

I have been getting more 50 cal cans for storage at home. 1000 rounds of 5.56 or .223, 2000 rounds of 9mm, and almost 5000 .22lr if left in bricks, can each fill a can.

When I go to the range, I have a bunch of mags already loaded that are either in the gun case I am bringing, mag pouches, or extras in my range bag. I picked up several 6 pouch pistol mag holders from Midway and then bought mags to fill them, plus the case each pistol is in holds another 5 and then one in the gun, for an easily transportable 12 mags for a range session, per pistol at least.