Store components or load and store ammo?

2aBaC̶a̶

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Jan 27, 2019
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I've been collecting reloading supplies and brass and just thinking if I should load up a bunch and store the live ammo vs keeping individual components.

Mostly 5.56, 300BO, 308, 6.5CM

Pros or cons?

What say you?
 
depends.

if you are reloading for sport, then store components for the most part and load as needed.

if you are reloading for SHTF then load em up, with the mentality that if rounds not loaded in mags are worthless, so is a shelf full of components.
 
Load them suckers up!

Along those lines ... put dessicant in the boxes/containers with those little shiny things or are there other recommendations for "hopefully" long term storage.

I don't have five gallon buckets of empties...maybe a couple coffee cans or something. ;)
 
The priming compound in modern primers is very stable over long time frames. Furthermore, powder when stored correctly also can be stored for a very long time. Ive got unopened pounds of powder that are going on 5 years old that I cracked this year, great results and no issues.
 
The priming compound in modern primers is very stable over long time frames. Furthermore, powder when stored correctly also can be stored for a very long time. Ive got unopened pounds of powder that are going on 5 years old that I cracked this year, great results and no issues.


what is the expected lifespan of opened powder.. what are the tricks to keep it fresh? thanks
 
I keep loaded what i think i need. All my brass is ready to load, I like to keep it in the component stage, never know when i may need to sell, or maybe tweek a load, May also loose or sell a firearm, dont want all the stuff loaded as i could not sell my reloaded ammo, but could sell the components.
 
The priming compound in modern primers is very stable over long time frames. Furthermore, powder when stored correctly also can be stored for a very long time. Ive got unopened pounds of powder that are going on 5 years old that I cracked this year, great results and no issues.

Haha, 5 years.
I've got powder and primers older than both of my adult daughters.
Hell, I've got some that were bought around 1988. Works just like new stuff.
 
keep components. guns come and go. new gun might require different load, length etc... dont want to be stuck with loaded ammo that wont shoot worth a darn
 
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I called Accurate a few years ago and asked them about storing powder. He told me temperature variations and extreme temperatures are powders worst enemy. So sealed dry and 60-75 degrees and it will keep a long time.
 
yes everyone should have 4 warehouses one for the powder one for the primers one for the bullets and one just for the shiny brass . OK 5 and one near you for reloading all in names other people not your name . You just pick up two or three loads of material and spend the next few months reloading till your heart is content . well in theory it sounds really nice at least when they lock you in a padded cell they will only find the items you have at one place not all of them .
 
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Powder, primers both will last for a VERY long time. Decades. Even if not stored in the very best of conditions. That being said, you want to try to store both in as close to ideal as possible. As mentioned in post #16, temperature and humidity variations are killers.
One fairly cheap and reliable method to minimize both:
1) Buy some of the cheap all styrofoam coolers, enough to store all of your powder and primers in.
2) Find a place in your abode that is temperature stable. An example is a closet that is not on an exterior wall. A closet because your HVAC does not do a good job of changing the temperature there. Other places can be found. In my abode, there is wasted space under a set of stairs that is definitely temperature and humidity stable. We mostly keep wine and some canned goods there. Think root cellar.
3) Pack your components in the styrofoam. Be sure to mark the lid with an inventory. Use a fresh or freshened desiccant bag in each. You can do other things like use Argon or Nitrogen to help purge the O2 but it will be sort of in vain with the porosity of styrofoam. Seal the lid with packing or duct tape.
4) Store the coolers in the area but place them on "sleepers". Like a couple of 2x4's to help keep them from touching much of anything like the floor or wall.

Your brass and bullets will also oxidize if not protected.

If you are serious about burying shit, be sure you use argon or nitrogen in vacuum bags. You can place those bags in a plastic barrel or PVC that you have buried. You can even top them off with mineral oil. Weapons, lather with motor oil or 90 weight and vacuum bag.

In a hundred years, your progeny will still have usable components.