Lighting a match before closing ammo can

[oldpapps]

"how to make ammo last the longest in ammo cans."

Everyone's got a view on this one

Cutting to the intent. I see the enemy as being, not in order of severity, heat, moisture, oxygen, acids and salts.

If stored in a good/seal able GI ammo can, just keeping the can in a cool place with no or limited direct sun light would be sufficient.

To go to extremes:
Seal the loaded ammunition in 'food quality' thermal sealed bags after giving them a squirt of 'dry nitrogen' just as the bag is sealed. No cardboard box or moisture/oxygen collectors. Pack the sealed bags tightly into the ammo can/s in the dead of winter (in my area of the world the time of the year with the lowest humidity) and close them up. Place them in a cool, constant temperature location in the dark (basement) on supported racks, do direct contact with the concrete floor/walls.

The above would reduce the available heat, moisture, oxygen, acids and salts, from the storage mix. But I don't see all that much need unless you are storing your ammunition in a swamp, tidal pool or out in the open in a desert (great temperature range in a day).

Long term, the propellant will break down before the brass (if not stressed), primer or bullet. To slow this, just set your ammo can/s in a deep freeze until needed. Again, I don't see much need.

I've fired left over 30-06 stuff from 'The Great War' and it worked just fine (Yes I did scrub the weapon with hot soapy water to get the primer salts out).

I may have missed your 'why' or special need/s in the OP.

Load with care and enjoy,

OSOK

[JD0x0]

If you're so worried about it why not just use one of those plastic bags used to vacuum seal clothing using a conventional vacuum cleaner to suck the air out of the bag. Just put your ammo in the bag and suck the air out. For smaller amounts, you could use a 'food saver' vacuum sealer.

Honestly, it's probably not even necessary, though.

[Diamond LawDawg]

Every round that I have on hand is Vaccum packed. Thats around 15k plus...it will be shiny,clean and ready to go long afetr I am gone! I use a food processor vaccum packer...qt. size for 50 rd boxes indidual and so forth...up to rolls of bagging material to make what ever size I need>

[T. O'Heir]

Keep your buddy away from your stuff. He's dangerous. Sounds like he got that nonsense on Wikipedia. Kind of like to see how he gets a lit match to consume the O2 in an open can though.

[TimSr]

Since many people are shooting WWII surplus ammo, with no ideas on how it has been stored and handled, I am inclined to view nearly all tips on ammo storage as old wives tales. As I have to use a press to seat a bullet and primer into a brass case, I'm inclined to believe each cartridge is both airtight and watertight. I've seen no data to indicate human inhabitable temperature ranges alone affecting the chemical breakdown or changing of the properties of the powders within.

So what you are pretty much left with is what elements will weaken or "grow on" brass or exposed bullets. The most common culprit is oil from your skin. If you want your brass and copper jacketed bullets to stay pretty and free of tarnish, wear gloves. Moisture or humidity is only really a factor when it is carrying something corrosive such as salt or sulfer or other chemicals.

If most of the stories about ammo storage were true, most of my hunting ammo that's been carried in the field would never fire.

I think I'll drop a handful of cartridges in a jar of water, and fire them in 30 days, and post a report.

[buck460XVR]

Back in the early seventies while out hunting as a young teenager, I lost a box of 30-06 shells. Last year while grouse hunting I stopped and looked at the tree I used to stand by when I was a kid deer hunting(nuttin' left but a mostly rotted stump). I scraped the leaves away a bit to have a clean spot to sit down for a few minutes to reminisce and "found" what was left of a Winchester box and 15 rounds of ammo. The brass was green, but solid. Took it home, washed it off, and threw it into my brass tumbler for about 30 minutes with some crushed walnut. Next time out to my range, I took the ammo and the ol' M1917 I used to use it in along. All 15 rounds fired and all were still within 1'' of the bull @ 100 yards. These are rounds that sat out in rain and snow, in a swampy environment, thru almost half a century of Wisconsin weather extremes.

Others can use a match and rice to store their ammo. I'll just try to keep mine dry.

[Pahoo]

Well, Y'all just gave me an additional use for my Co2 discharger. If indeed, it's heavier than air, then discharging one into a sealable Ammo can, will displace the O2. Interesting !! ....

Thanks and;
Be Safe !!!

[TailGator]

Other than the obvious thought of fire around ammo which I don't like . . .

The most obvious answer is frequently the correct one.

[reynolds357]

Dangerous. In addition to that, your friend gives ammo cans too much credit for how air tight they actually are. The sealed tins that look like sea rats are air tight. Anything you flip open, not so much.

[kilimanjaro]

Really dumb idea.

A bit of dry ice would better. No reason for any of it, though.

[RC20]

Seriously? Forget it.

Oxygen is not an issue (unless you are going to live longer than Moses)

And not thinking it through, replace a stable nitrogen environment (70% or so by the way) with a sulphur compound, incomplete burn and many additional toxins created.

It was good for a laugh, I too misread the thing initially, thought it was a powder can, not that the actual makes any more sense,
I would consider strongly about my association. Stuff like that fan lead to more serious stuff (lethally bad ideas)

[Tony Z]

LIL. Think we all got friends that are experts in the own minds! I would hope the mods shut down and delete this thread, lest someone actually gets the spark to actually try some of the suggested methods.

On the one hand, do I take the advice of neighbor Dan, who is drunk half the time, lucky to by alive because of multiple motorcycle accidents, lives in his truck most of the time because his wife keeps tossing him out, though he returns like a stray tom cat, just because he has a nice looking .22-250 rig hanging in the back window gun rack of his pick-up, or do I read and follow instructions in the powder manufacturer's manuals or the Lee or Lyman or Hornady (and so forth) manuals?

Mods, shut down this thread and erase it before some who don't know better cause themselves some harm!

[skizzums]

I store my emergency ammo in glass jars with a small silica packet. I am sure thatll be good for a hundred years or o.

[mikld]

Lots of joking around, but stop and think about it. Loaded ammo. Rice to take up air space (umm, I don't think so, but rice does absorb water/humidity). Burning match to remove oxygen. I sincerely/strongly doubt if even a dozen lit matches would cause anything to happen to loaded ammo, and the short term flame would burn up a bunch of oxygen (prolly not all of it). While it may be a weak attempt to "seal" an ammo can, and hardly worth the effort, it surely isn't as bad a some of the comments above. Just high school science stuff...

[Grizz12]

vacuum seal in plastic bags

[diggler1833]

I want to see the Youtube video of this experiment.

[DaleA]

Lit match in ammo can idea...

Well being able to recognize a dumb idea AS a dumb idea does make us feel better about OURSELVES so it's got that going for it.

Practical value? Shrug. Not so much.

[hooligan1]

Hell just take that ammo out an shoot it...

No worries dude.

[Cheapshooter]

I want to see the Youtube video of this experiment.

The script:
Put live ammo in can. Top off with rice. Strike matches, and say "Hey Bubba, watch this!" Then drop lit matches into the can full of live ammo, and rice!

[Bozz10mm]

I vacuum seal the ammo in the original boxes, then put them in metal GI ammo cans with a couple or three silica gel packs and store the cans in a cool, dry, area. Probably over kill tho.

Grandpa kept his ammo in a dresser drawer in his non air conditioned house. I know it was at least 20 years old when he passed, but the ammo worked fine when I shot it.

[Jim243]

Interesting thought but not piratical. Oxidizers are in each and every cartage in your ammo can. Moisture is more your problem corroding brass cases inside the ammo can. To address this, you can use Desiccant packs. They are mfg by Desiccare, Inc. in CA and MO. 1-800-446-6650 & 1-888-932-0405. They come in Unit Pak's of 8 units each and fit nicely into any ammo can. The Spec # is MIL-D-3464 Type I & II. The nice thing about them is they can be recharged or as they call it reactivated by heating the bag 16 hours at 245 degrees F.

Depending on how you package your ammo cans (most are air and water tight) once every 5 years may be all you need as far as recharging them, it will depend on how dry the surroundings are.

This is a much better solution to your problem.
Jim

I use them in all my gun cabinets, safes and ammo cans (Plastic)

http://www.desiccare.com/products.html

[kutz]

NO !

[skizzums]

I saw on doomsday preppers, a guy used handwarmers, broke em open and put them in with his grains/foodstuff in 5gallon bucket

[Locoweed]

A solution in search of a problem. PVOMT.

[Onward Allusion]

Just toss a desiccant pack into the ammo can and call it a day.