Ammo and Long term storage questions

[thewhitebuffalo83]

I have been working up my Long term storage ammo supply for a while now and it is starting to take up a lot of closet space along with everything else gun related. Right now I have several good 50 cal and 30 cal ammo cans full of various calibers for long term storage. I don't want to move them to the garage and there is nowhere else inside the house to put it other than my closet.

I have been considering moving the ammo into the crawl space under the house. What do you think? The crawl space is small and occasionally there might be servicemen down there working on HVAC, Electric or Cable.

I really like my surplus ammo cans, however I am thinking a little more protection is in order, any suggestions? Waterproofing? Cold or hot issues?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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[deadshot2]

I have been working up my Long term storage ammo supply for a while now and it is starting to take up a lot of closet space along with everything else gun related. Right now I have several good 50 cal and 30 cal ammo cans full of various calibers for long term storage. I don't want to move them to the garage and there is nowhere else inside the house to put it other than my closet.

I have been considering moving the ammo into the crawl space under the house. What do you think? The crawl space is small and occasionally there might be servicemen down there working on HVAC, Electric or Cable.

I really like my surplus ammo cans, however I am thinking a little more protection is in order, any suggestions? Waterproofing? Cold or hot issues?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Crawl spaces are great storage spaces with a couple of conditions.

If there is a full Vapor Barrier across the soil under the house the chances of it being wet are reduced greatly.

All access vents should be screened with heavy duty wire mesh. You'd be amazed at the damage rodents and other critters can do, even to metal ammo cans. Rats, for example, will "whiz" on everything they can't eat. Given time it can corrode metal pretty badly.

One bad thing about most crawl spaces is their limited access and the fact that they tend to be below the ground level around the house so a bad snowstorm or heavy rain can flood them. If you do store ammo down there put it in ammo cans that have a dessicant pack or two in them. Then put the ammo cans one or more of those water tight storage boxes like one can buy for the back of a pickup bed or milsurp storage boxes for larger items like Stinger Missiles or sensitive equipment. The limiting factor will be the size of your access hole.

 

[OregonPlinker]

I have an old refrigerator in my garage for this reason. Well actually it was there when I moved in and I thought PERFECT! Now its there for this reason. Its not plugged in or anything. Just full of ammo and powder. I also have a mini fridge built into my reloading bench for primers and open powder containers. The fridge in the garage has unopened powder and ammo cans full of rounds. Dont know if this helps but thats how I'm set up...

 

[deadshot2]

I have an old refrigerator in my garage for this reason. Well actually it was there when I moved in and I thought PERFECT! Now its there for this reason. Its not plugged in or anything. Just full of ammo and powder. I also have a mini fridge built into my reloading bench for primers and open powder containers. The fridge in the garage has unopened powder and ammo cans full of rounds. Dont know if this helps but thats how I'm set up...

A tip. If you are storing primers and open powder containers in refrigerator, be careful about the temperature setting. If you keep them at regular refrigerator temps (under 40 degrees) and then remove them on a warm, humid day, the first thing that will happen is they will "sweat". The humidity in the air will condense on the cold items.

When I use a Refrigerator that is operating, I prefer to raise the temp so all it does is dehumidify. Better yet, just unplug and use large industrial desicant packs. That way the primers and powder are merely dry and not cold enough to condense moisture from the air when removed.

 

[OregonPlinker]

A tip. If you are storing primers and open powder containers in refrigerator, be careful about the temperature setting. If you keep them at regular refrigerator temps (under 40 degrees) and then remove them on a warm, humid day, the first thing that will happen is they will "sweat". The humidity in the air will condense on the cold items.

When I use a Refrigerator that is operating, I prefer to raise the temp so all it does is dehumidify. Better yet, just unplug and use large industrial desicant packs. That way the primers and powder are merely dry and not cold enough to condense moisture from the air when removed.

Yeah mine arent plugged in either. They're just a box with insulation I guess...

 

[XSubSailor]

I'd bag my ammo in plastic inside the ammo can with a pack of silica gel tossed in for good measure.

 

[thewhitebuffalo83]

Thanks for the info guy's. I was thinking about sealing up using the seal o meal. Would it be a good idea to seal a bunch of small packs or a couple large packages of ammo? If several small packages is a good idea, what would be a good number of rounds per package of 5.56, 22lr,9mm, 30 - 06, 12ga, 7.62x54r 45acp? I was thinking maybe 3-4 mags per package might be a good idea for most calibers except 12 and 22lr... Thanks again for the info.