I was listening to James Wesley Rawles and he revealed what I thought was brilliant in storing ammunition. He uses new 1-gallon paint cans with sealable lids. He says to dump the ammo in the can, throw in a couple of oxygen absorbers and seal. I went out to my local Sherwin Williams store and bought three of them to try out. ($12 for three). My only hesitation are the oxygen absorbers. I read about this in a couple of gun forums and the opinion is about 50-50. Positive side is that the oxygen absorbers prevent corrosion on long-term storage. One of the negative points is that they create a vacuum in the can. Does that sound safe? Otherwise it is a heck of a lot cheaper than 50 cal boxes. Another con (maybe for some people) is that the ammo is not stored in neat 50-cartridge boxes. Any thoughts?
Yes, paint cans will work great if they are kept in a dry place but I would be afraid to bury them in the ground. Anything below grade should be double wrapped/packaged to eliminate condensation problems. Have you seen the newer plastic paint cans? These would work also. There are several ammunition companies, one being Georgia Arms, who send bulk ammo in used ammo cans, 500 rounds per unit. These have been stored in my garage , high and dry for many many years with no problems. I inspect them every other year and the ammo is pristine. In the past I have had some problems with surplus ammo that came in 20 rd cardboard boxes. After about 7 years the brass got discolored where it came in contact with the cardboard seperators inside the box and I had to remove it and clean the crud/discoloration off of each piece and then coat it with Break Free and let them dry. Then I tossed them in an ammo can in bulk and have had no problems since. Those ammo cans were once a buck a pop, now they want an arm and a leg because the demand is there and people are burying them for fear of an ammunition shut off by you know who. Even the dented rusty cans are selling but these need to be cleaned out and recoated with Break Free to stop the rust or it may be transmitted to the ammunition. Don't want to pop open a can and find any nasty surprises at a critical moment.
I'm convinced on the cans for my purposes. I have dry, dark storage conditions. What I have a question about is putting a dessicant packet in each can. They absorb oxygen and moisture (in the air), so when the can is opened they "pop". Is that safe?
Everyone uses desicants (but me) and I have seen the large versions being sold at gun shows for the underground storage routine. These can be removed and placed in an oven to dry out then re-used again. A vacuum might be a good thing for long term storage since without oxygen nothing can deteriorate. The pop upon opening the can would be a minor annoyance. I am so cheap I used old empty stain cans, left the paper labels on the outside, cleaned them out real good and let them dry in the sun for a couple of days and have them stored in my paint locker, hidden in plain sight.
