Monday, July 09, 2012

High and dry.

At the other end of the weather spectrum from drought-stricken Indiana is drowned-rat northern Florida.

Blogger Stephen of Standing Outside Looking In got to do an impromptu ammunition storage test when Ma Nature inundated the ammo storage facilities at the backwood range and hunting cabin he and his buddies have with a few feet of raging floodwaters.

He documented everything with extensive photographs; it's worth taking a look, especially if your ammo is in the basement and the sky is getting dark and ominous...
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13 comments:

Bubblehead Les. said...

Ouch! Hmm. Time to call my Buddy the Surplus Dealer and see if he has anymore "Fat 50" ammo cans. Thanks for the Lesson.

11:09 AM, July 09, 2012
North said...

I took pictures of the simple storage that I use and posted the pics. I use gallon paint cans. Very low cost.

12:15 PM, July 09, 2012
Anonymous said...

Thats the beauty of central Florida...No basements...although I must say I miss mine...

12:17 PM, July 09, 2012
Blackwing1 said...

Two things I'd add:

1) It may be a VERY poor idea to use the rusty/crusty ammo at all, even just for bang-bang fun, much less practice. The major worry is a partial-squib round, where it might make a satisfactory "bang", and even cycle the action, but have the bullet not clear the barrel. The next round fired could have some serious effects.

I once had some ammo stashed in a baggie in a leaky tool box; it had turned a little green with corrosion. I decided to burn it up at the range. A third of the way through the bag I had one round go "bang", but just slightly weirdly. It cycled my 1911, but I cleared the pistol and took a look, suspicious. Sure enough, that round had gotten about half-way down the barrel. I was able to punch it the rest of the way out with a cleaning rod, but I threw away the rest of the ammo, not wanting to take that chance again.

2) As others have noted, the prices on .50-cal ammo cans has gone from $3 or $4 to $12 or $13.

There are some nice water-tight plastic ones intended for shotgun shells that seem to seal up well. My only issue is that they're TOO big, and I'm always tempted to over-pack them with rifle or pistol ammo. Ziplock bags inside 5-gallon buckets with air-tight lids seems to work pretty well, too.

12:44 PM, July 09, 2012
Pakkinpoppa said...

Thanks. Thanks a lot.
I now know what I'll be doing after work and after my son is in bed...Raising the stash. Maybe into the crawlspace...maybe just up a couple feet...

Anybody know how to get a forklift into a basement? Besides down the steps. And, of course, how it gets back out...

12:47 PM, July 09, 2012
Will said...

@ Pakkinpoppa:

There is a handcranked portable forklift on the market. I've used one at a job years ago. All aluminum, light enough to toss into the bed of a truck. Drawback is the legs that stick out front, for support, since it doesn't use counterbalancing. (if creative, you can change that, I did)
Can't recall the weight capacity, at least 500lbs, though.

3:10 PM, July 09, 2012
Kristophr said...

A plus 1 for gallon paint cans.

You can buy them at a hardware store for a few bucks.

They are completely water-tight once the lid is down.

3:56 PM, July 09, 2012
RevolverRob said...

Am I the only person who read that and thought it was another good reason to not buy steel cased ammo? I've never been a big believer in steel cases destroying extractors or whatever, but I also never found the price factor to be a compelling reason to buy.

When you compare 10 bucks a box for 9mm steel, or 12 bucks a box for 9mm brass. Seems like that extra 20 bucks per/500 rounds is probably worth it. Especially, if you're stock piling.

-Rob

6:14 PM, July 09, 2012
Critter said...

good thing i live on this here ridge...

7:15 PM, July 09, 2012
Stephen said...

Thanks, Tam. I received a lot of nice comments and tips.

7:43 PM, July 09, 2012
Ross said...

I think I'm glad for my habit of buying surplus ammo cans for all of my ammo storage. That, and the fact it's NOT in the basement.

5:58 AM, July 10, 2012
Ed Foster said...

What Revolver Rob said. Steel cases leave me a bit squeamish at the best of times, although, if fresh, I suppose they work fine in a chromed chamber with a lot of taper (7.62x39, 8x33 Kurz, etc.)

Not much obturation at the best of times, and the reliability of steel cased ammo is entirely dependent on it's heat treatment, which changes with age.

Plain English, it gets brittle with time.

Kudoes for G.I. ammo cans used for long time storage, with maybe a little silicone gel on the rubber gaskets (not spray, it's solvent will migrate into primers) and the ammo inside put up in plastic baggies.

But a dry basement, where such creatures exist, is still the best place for storage. Not only is it cool, but the temperatures don't cycle as much as the rest of the house, causing condensation.

Here in Connecticut the attic can easily move from over 100 degrees F. to minus 5 or 10 over the year, and 90 to 60 on a nightly basis from May to October.

7:57 AM, July 10, 2012
JimB said...

Cabela's has storeage boxes for $14. Once in awhile the go on sale for $7. Water tight and lockable. Have over a dozen of them.

1:21 PM, July 10, 2012

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