22 LR long term ammo storage

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Maple57

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I was cleaning out the basement and organizing and came across an old 50 cal ammo box full of 22 LR that I bought in the early 1980s.

There was a few boxes of Eley Tennex in there and a variety of other brands.

What I found interesting was how clean all that ammo looked. I have other ammo that was not strored in an ammo box that was less than 5 years old that looked completely oxidized.

I think the key word here is oxidized, meaning oxygen.

Based on how good this old ammo looks, it seems to store best in a air tight container that is full to displace the presence of air.

Do you have any ammo storage advice?
 
I'm looking at these with desiccant packets:

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https://frontierfirearms.ca/cfs-40mm-ammo-can/
http://armyissue.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/1620


Those instant hand warmers suck up oxygen but I haven't gone that far yet
 
I got 3-cans of Magazine when LGS was clearing 'old stock' - $60/can - maybe 3-4 years old, 'that ain't old' !
 
Maple57 said:
I was cleaning out the basement and organizing and came across an old 50 cal ammo box full of 22 LR that I bought in the early 1980s.

...

Do you have any ammo storage advice?
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Keep it below room temp - cool is good - I do not think freezing actually hurts, but condensation when thawing out might. Also, dry is good, too. I have shot old stuff - the exposed lead has "stuff" growing on it from corrosion - but still fires fine - as in it goes "bang" and seems to hit stuff same as it used to. I never had any target grade stuff, so do not know how much that would apply to it. I have been convinced by those who have lost 8 pound jugs of powder that heat is "bad" for powder - much above room temp and it starts to degrade - even in sealed containers.
 
I vacuum pack my bulk .22LR using my wifes foodsaver. Broke a couple bucket o bullets down into 100 rounds bags. Easy to grab and pack. Can put them in loose or in those plastic sleeves CCI mini mags come in.
 
some ammo cans have a rubber gasket to help it sealed tight....a pack of dessicant definitely helps.
 
I've got a little bit of my dad's .22LR ammo from the 80's that was just kept in a cardboard box.. mostly CCI and Remington, and it still works. Kept at room temperature the whole time, brass is a little darker than usual but that's about it.
 
Potashminer said:
Keep it below room temp - cool is good - I do not think freezing actually hurts, but condensation when thawing out might. Also, dry is good, too. I have shot old stuff - the exposed lead has "stuff" growing on it from corrosion - but still fires fine - as in it goes "bang" and seems to hit stuff same as it used to. I never had any target grade stuff, so do not know how much that would apply to it. I have been convinced by those who have lost 8 pound jugs of powder that heat is "bad" for powder - much above room temp and it starts to degrade - even in sealed containers.
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cool, dry... so really what we need is an 'ammo pantry'. I wouldn't expect moisture to affect the powder much, as long as the bullet-to-case seal is still good. As for degradation over time - don't forget possible degradation of the priming compound as well.
 
Was a thing that I read about Africa hunting - old timers wanted "fresh" ammo - older stuff had been sitting in tropical sun in corrugated roofed sheds - powder would "go bad", I think - squibs, misfires, etc.. Might be where the habit of shaking a case to hear the powder "shake" inside - to be satisfied it had not gone solid???
 
I found some of my Grandfathers 22lr stash. Old coffee can almost full with no lid just an oily rag stuffed on top. All went bang and were stamped with a "D" so pretty old. Just keep them reasonably dry and use up every 50 years or so.
 
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