50 cal. Cans. ?

[Deog]

I was wondering if anyone knows how many rounds fit in a 50 cal can ?

223
45 acp
22lr
44 mag
9mm
12 gauge.

 

[medalguy]

Depends. How are you packaging the ammo? Loose? Clips? Cartons?

 

[rcmodel]

All I know for sure is:

All you want to carry very far in the mud.

Rc

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Amen.....I just finished filling one with loose 45ACP. I don't see me carrying it to the range.

 

[markm_04]

Did you count them? [emoji1]

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Nope. It is about 2k, though based on the empty boxes in my trash. I don't have an accurate count because I shoot during day and load at night.

 

[markm_04]

Accurate enough for me, but I am not the one that is concerned.

 

[Inebriated]

12 gauge: 300 or so I believe. I stack my birdshot into a 50 can, and I think I got about 300 in there. I know you can only fit 175 in boxes, but when stacked, you can really get them in there. May be off, been a while since I counted... 300 SOUNDS like a lot, but it's the number that I've got in my head, so... that's what I've got.
9mm: 2000-2200. I know I've dumped 2k into a 50 can, and there was just a bit of room, if I remember right.
.45 ACP: Little under 2000
5.56: 1000

No idea on the .44 Magnums. They're about 25% longer than .45 ACP, so I'll guess that you can fit 25% less...

 

[Deog]

Just poured into the cans, not in package boxes.

Just curious as I slowly dumped all my ammo into 50 cal cans. Don't plan on carrying them.
When I go to the range, I grab what I want to shoot of each caliber and put them in Klein canvas zipper bags.

Guessing.
12 gauge. 250 rounds
45 acp, maybe 1300 to 1500
22 no idea
223, I figure around 1200
44 mag, no idea.

Just thought this info would be here somewhere.

 

[alexander45]

I have a 50 cal can that I keep about 600 boxed 45acp in and it's fairly damn heavy carrying it the 50 odd yards from my apartment down the stairs and to my car

 

[rhinoh]

I have about 800 45, 1000 40, 1000 9 loose in 30 cal cans.

The 30 cal cans full of 45 are 35 lbs and the 9 and 40 about 32 lbs.

I think the 50 cal is roughly twice the volume of a 30 cal can- so around 70 lbs of 45!


I switched from the plastic ammo cans to the metal GI cans because when full the handles would just about pull off, if carrying and swung any they would pull off then bust open when they hit the ground...

 

[Speedo66]

If they're loose, fill it and weigh it. Weigh one round and do the math.

 

[HammsBeer]

.223 = about 1200 loose rounds or 1000 in 20 round boxes
.22 = 2400 rounds in the cci 100 count trays
9mm = 1400 rounds in 100 count wwb

 

[BSA1]

Well I don't store loose ammo in G.I. ammo cans. I use large plastic coffee containers such as Folgers and some old metal large coffee cans.

The plastic containers hold about 250 - 300 Long Colt rounds. One of the containers is a little over half full or so of about 1,000 empty 9mm brass.

I have 10 50 round boxes of loaded factory 45 ACP stored in one 50 caliber can. I suspect it will hold close to 1,500 rounds and 3,000 9mm.

 

[Reefinmike]

for what its worth:

50 cal can loose storage:
45acp: 1400rds
38spl: 1650rds

a 30 cal can will hold 900rds 38spl

 

[joem1945]

How many 30.06 rounds in a 20mm ammo can? Answer = Way too many to lift and carry.

 

[jrdolall]

A 50 cal can will hold at least 1,600 rounds of 9mm FMJ. I dump the WWB and other bulk boxes into Ziplok bags and then put them in the can and pull them out when needed. I took out 2 bags this weekend and haven't refilled so there are 1,400 rounds in the can right now and it weighs 45 pounds. It is the only one I keep in the house and I have no desire to drag the other ones inside.

 

[Deog]

Thanks to those that have contributed

 

[HammsBeer]

If you can find the Fat .50 cans, they hold even more, I'd guess an extra 20-30%. But the trade off is making the cans so darn heavy that they are a pain to move. I try to keep them under 50lbs each, preferably 30lbs so I also use a lot of 30 cal cans.

 

[coloradokevin]

I just put 1,000 rounds of boxed .223 ammo into a 50 caliber can the other day. 1,000 rounds was exactly what I could fit in boxes, without room for any more (and it took some puzzle solving to figure out how to fit exactly that).

Without boxes I'm guessing you could fit maybe 1,100 − 1,200 rounds loose in such a can.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

I'm fond of 30 cal cans for loose ammo storage as the weight of 50s gets pretty crazy. 50s are good for boxed ammo and fat 50s are good for mags (will fit P-mags standing up). I often put mags and tools and a few assorted boxes of ammo, CLP, etc. in a fat 50 for range trips

For 855 and 193 5.56 ammo, I use the stripper clips and 30rd sleeves and repack them from 420 to 540 rounds per 30 cal. You can get about 580 or 590 on stripper clips without the sleeves but it involves very careful stacking and is not worth the effort.

I end up using a lot of 30s.

Mike

 

[Moparnut]

I just put 750rds of 223 in a 50 cal can. It still has room and is not extremely heavy. That can had roughly 800+ RDS of 45acp, but it was getting really heavy. So I moved 500 rds of the 45 to a 30 cal can. The 30 cal can is pretty full, but it is a lot lighter. All those rds are loose.

 

[Walkalong]

A .30 Cal can with 750 rounds of 230 Gr .45 ACP is heavy enough. No way I want a .50 full. Maybe the young folks wouldn't mind. Same for 1000 rounds of .223 in a .50 Cal can. 600 in a .30 cal is much easier to handle.

Both sizes of ammo cans are good for storage, but not so much for toting back and forth to the range. I transfer out of the ammo cans and use smaller bags or boxes like the Bagmaster ammo bags and the bigger Midway boxes to bring rounds to the range.

 

[HammsBeer]

I typically don't take an entire ammo can of one caliber to the range each time. What I do is store my various calibers in separate cans, but one large can holds a few boxes of everything for "next use" and that's what I bring along. Anything I don't shoot goes back into the "next use" can, or it gets refilled with a few boxes from the main stash. This also minimizes the main ammo stash from moisture and temperature exposure for long term storage.

Kinda like baseball, the players sit in the dugout (main stash), there is the batter on deck (next use), and the batter at the plate (at the range).

 

[Averageman]

I have a 20mm can with boxed .308. I believe I have about 200 rds in that one. I have another 1K in cardboard.
I also have a dolly, a big yellow dolly.