Ammo storage & transportation

[Daddyusmaximus]

Hope this isn't the wrong place for this, but the only other ammo related place was the reloading section, and that didn't seem right...

I'm looking to see if anyone has good ideas on the best way to store the maximum amount of rifle ammo in a .50 cal ammo can. It would need to be secure for long term storage, but also be available for ease of transport, should you need to take to the field. Ideally, I'd like it to NOT have it in the factory cardboard boxes. I know this is the most secure way, but it also can severely limit the amount you can fit in a single ammo can, given civilian ammo packaging practices. (Not talking about 30 rds of 5.56 on stripper clips here)

Some ammo comes in bigger boxes that others.

Fed XM193 is a relatively small box.
Fed Premium .223 Law Enforcement Tactical TRU 55 gr High Shok SP is the same size rounds, but in a much larger box.
I just took a bunch out of the box and put them loose in the can... Hopefully they'll be OK.
However, I wouldn't want to do that for my .243 ammo. That thing is a tack driver. It's one of the precision rifles I'm learning on since coming over here. That ammo gets damaged, I'm screwed.
In factory boxes, I only get 240 rounds of .243 in a can... I'd like to get around 500 in a can... if I could without damaging them. Less cans makes for a more efficient move.

Ideas anyone?

 

[padom]

Fill large heavy duty zip lock bags, put in ammo can with desi-packs and store in a dry place. been doing it for a long time

Cans gonna hold what it holds..nobody gonna tell you how to fit 1000rd in a can that only holds 600rd etc

 

[OREGUN]

If it’s all the same ammo, I dump it in loose with some desi-pacs and close the lid…assuming the lid has the rubber gasket. Unless you are shaking the shit out of the can, you aren’t going to damage anything.

if it’s mixed, I’m with @padom: ziploc Freezer bags in the can.

 

[Daddyusmaximus]

If it’s all the same ammo, I dump it in loose with some desi-pacs and close the lid…assuming the lid has the rubber gasket. Unless you are shaking the shit out of the can, you aren’t going to damage anything.

if it’s mixed, I’m with @padom: ziploc Freezer bags in the can.

Well, nothing is gonna shake the shit out of the can while it's sitting there, but if the time comes I need to put it in the jeep, and head out... it's gonna get bumped around. I'd just rather have one can to load than 2... to save room for a can of something else.

 

[hlee]

The most space efficient method is to meticulously lay the cartridges in rows, alternating the orientation of each cartridge to take into account the body taper.

The most time and sanity efficient method is to drop the full boxes into the carriers and close the lid when they are full.

Ammo is heavy, and maximizing the fill of a 50cal carrier just makes it that much more cumbersome.

 

[hlee]

And, this isn’t a knock on you, your shooting, or your survival skills. But, in a true bug out situation, you are unlikely to live long enough to expend a 50 cal ammo carrier full of precision 243 cartridges- even packed in their commercial cardboard boxes.

 

[_Windrider_]

 

[Hobo Hilton]

Load the ammo into magazines. Load the magazines into ammo can's.......
Visualize the worst case scenario for needing ammo.....
Broke down on the side of the road
Middle of the night
snow / sleet / rain
You used up all of the other ammo. The can is your reserve.
Do you really want to be fumbling with baggies, Stripper clips and hand loading a mag ?
Seconds count. Use those seconds now in a warm, dry home.

 

[OREGUN]

Well, nothing is gonna shake the shit out of the can while it's sitting there, but if the time comes I need to put it in the jeep, and head out... it's gonna get bumped around. I'd just rather have one can to load than 2... to save room for a can of something else.

Didn’t know we were talking about SHTF scenarios. Long term storage is one thing. Immediate preparedness is another. Hitting the road mid-zombie-apocalypse with a surplus of ammo is another. Babying “precision“ ammo in any of those scenarios is another.

I still think you’d have to be intentionally abusive to damage loose packed ammo to the point where it no longer qualified as “precision” unless you were maybe doing some kind of paper-thin-neck, no neck tension, benchrest bullshit. If you are saying “in factory boxes” because it’s factory ammo, there’s no way you damage it under any conditions that don‘t also destroy you and your Jeep.

 

[earthtrekker1775]

Buy a second ammo can, now you have two cans less than 100% full and easier to carry. Ammo cans are relatively affordable and easy to find.

 

[Alpine 338]

I bought some 6.5x47L factory ammo from a guy, and a couple hundred rounds of it he had laid it out in rows, and vacuum packed it. It doesn't take up much room, and wouldn't take a beating if rough handled while stored in an ammo can.

 

[_Windrider_]

Didn’t know we were talking about SHTF scenarios. Long term storage is one thing. Immediate preparedness is another. Hitting the road mid-zombie-apocalypse with a surplus of ammo is another. Babying “precision“ ammo in any of those scenarios is another.

I still think you’d have to be intentionally abusive to damage loose packed ammo to the point where it no longer qualified as “precision” unless you were maybe doing some kind of paper-thin-neck, no neck tension, benchrest bullshit. If you are saying “in factory boxes” because it’s factory ammo, there’s no way you damage it under any conditions that don‘t also destroy you and your Jeep.

I bought a can full of mk262 once. Was pristine and I wasn’t gentle with it. There’s a reason ammomcans are used.

 

[Shoots 700's]

I use 1 quart freezer bags and put them in ammo cans. Pistol gets 250 rounds per bag, 5.56 gets 200. Easy way to keep track of your rounds in the container as well.

 

[Ronws]

I would suggest that whatever container you decide upon, that you get some of those silicone or gel dessicant packs. This should help keep the ammo dry and avoid sweating, depending on your climate and location in the world. For example, where I live, a blued barrel is okay. But if I was in Washington state. I would seriously have all my freedom sticks cerakote covered or some kind of weatherizing layer.

 

[bax]

For 5.56, three techniques:

• 100 5.56 rounds into 1-quart freezer bags. I can get more than 1,200 rounds into a fat-50. 1,200 rounds in a can is heavy.
• 5.56 into 10-round strippers, cardboard sleeves, bandoliers and a spoon - 1,200 rounds in a fat-50.
• go-can: loaded mags.

For precision, delicacy is more important than volume - I put ammo into MTM 50-round boxes with foam to keep it stable. Put them into a fat-50.

Does anyone have a source for fat-50s?

 

[chastain11]

Does anyone have a source for fat-50s?

The video above to clean ammo cans or king of cans. They grade them and they are accurate in their description. I probably have 3 dozen or so of their cans.