Ammo Storage Recommendations

[Match14]

Hi all, I live in an apartment and don't want to store all of my ammo inside. Right now I store it elsewhere, but I no longer live near where I am storing it. I figure that living in an apartment there is an increased risk of fire, since there are more residents. I will be renting a garage and am wanting to store the ammo there with my extra vehicle. However I am wondering how I can store it so that it doesn't degrade due to temperature or humidity. I live in southern Indiana so I think heat, cold, and humidity are all to be expected.
I am thinking of getting a plastic 55 gallon drum(s) and putting the ammo cans in with/ moisture absorbers. But I don't think this will be enough when the temperature outside the garage reaches 100 or 0 degrees F. Will putting insulation in the drums help? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[kingpin008]

Ammo really isn't as perishable as people seem to think.

Put it this way - there are some folks who are shooting surplus ammo in their surplus rifles that's easily 50, 60, 70 years old or more, and this is stuff that's been sitting in shipping containers in less than ideal climates for years (even decades, in some cases)

Heck, we also have loads of ammo sitting ready for our troops over in the sandbox right now. If those aren't adverse conditons, I don't know what is...

In short, ammo cans + dessicant should be more than enough. The temperature in most areas of the US won't vary enough or as dramatically to really cause an issue with properly loaded ammo. If anything, humidity is the thing to look out for, and that's what the dessicant packs are for.

Relax. It's tough to hurt ammo.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

Yeah extreme climate changes are going to be your biggest problem. I too live in Southern Indiana and it gets pretty darn humid around here...There are times I go through my firearms and within weeks of cleaning them last I can see surface rust on occasion.

Ammo cans and desiccant packs is plenty for the humidity...How hot will it be in the garage?

 

[22-rimfire]

I guess it depends on how much ammunition you have. IF it is not a great deal of ammo, you might consider going by Lowes and looking at their contractor's box (steel), or the plastic contractors box which comes in a medium and large size. The large runs around $50 and the smaller one is $35. The smaller one is designed for sitting in a RV or Van for odds and ends.

The ammo should be just fine in the metal ammunition cans without further protection. I keep some in my garage all the time that way and have had no problems. Check the seals of course.

I doubt that insulation will help reduce humidity issues.... okay lets reason this out... if the metal cans are real hot or real cold and the outside temp is the opposite, the dew point is likely reached and you get condensation.... I doubt if left in a single climate there is much chance of this happening.

If you are set on the steel drum approach, buy fiberglass insulation and wrap the outside and tape it. I don't think this is necessary, but you brought it up.

 

[ClarkEMyers]

I like an old refrigerator, with a safe latch, it's insulated and comes with shelves

I like an old refrigerator, with a safe latch - safe in the sense of no child being trapped inside a change in refrigerator design from years ago, it's insulated and comes with shelves.

There are issues with Freon and such with old refrigerator disposal.

In a sense ammunition will all degrade with temperature and humidity - in the sense that lead is active in storage as frex cast bullets, even or especially heat treated, will be go through a range of different hardness values over the lifetime in storage. The best .22 rimfire match ammunition has a shelf life - much longer than it used to be but it exists. Even .177 pellets will age harden/soften and oxidize - without the issues of dissimilar metals in contact from jacketeted bullets and cases and all the rest. There are issues with long term storage of especially nickle plated cases and some jacket materials.

I suspect without knowing that constant cycling will be a more active storage than hot summers and cold winters in an insulated container.

Just the same any reasonably recent production with appropriate annealing - minimize age cracking under tension from the seated bullet issues - will last a good long time.