How to store .223

I was wondering what the best way to store my .223 ammo? Currently I have mostly 20rd boxes packed into GI ammo cans. I was wondering is it advisable to pack ammo cans with loose rounds?(out of the boxs) Or use stripper clips and pack them in ammo cans?

Anything else I should know?

Any replies greatly appreciated.

I generally store it the way I receive it, in ammo cans; or I load magazines and store them in (marked) ammo cans, or take loose rounds and put them on stripper clips or into magazines.

I keep the stripper clips, cardboards, bandoleers and guides that I get, and re-use them. Mike Vaderbough (SipseyStreet Irregulars) has some good ideas I think about how to store ammo (basically, ready to load into a weapon or as close as you can get). Loose rounds in a can is the worst way, since they aren't handy and can be damaged.

+1

I repack ammo onto strippers and into a bandoleer with a guide pinned to it. That way I can open the can and pass out ammo ready to use. 4 pocket bandoleer holds 120 rounds.

I line the can with a heavy garbage bag and moisture absorber.

Filling a can with loose ammo is good for going to training classes.

I put the guides for the stripper clips in the pocket next to the safety pin to make them easier to fold and put in the can.

The regular factory boxes are fine for long term storage.

Setting it up in bandoliers is nice, but that also usually involves taking the ammo out of the packages and then handling it and putting it into other packages, which cost money. And then you are throwing away the original packaging, part of which you really paid for when you bought the ammo, so every one of the bandolier kits represents money that could have gotten you one additional box of ammo.

Now if it was bulk purchase reloads, and you want an alternative to packing it loose, or re-using old factory boxes, then the bandoliers are smart for .223 and 7.62 military calibers. I think you can get some hunting rifle ammo on those stripper clips too which can help you deal with foraging gun ammo supplies efficiently.

Factory packaging has a dessicant function in the cardboard, and every time you handle ammo with bare hands you create an opportunity for corrosion from the sweat and salty oils in your fingers. Most factory ammo is machine packed just to avoid that sort of problem.

Then you have the issue of ammo cache, and the fact that you may be distributing ammo to people using it under circumstances which might be the sort of thing you don't want coming back to haunt you with forensic evidence. Here is the clue-NEVER FINGERFUCK YOUR COMBAT LOAD AMMO.

If a box of ammo gets opened, it just became your next batch of training session ammo. Period. You lose that discipline, and you could really really be getting fucked hard.

I am not saying you are going to go out and pull a "Loughner OP", but guess what your chances are of running a clean op if your ammo is carrying your genetic signature? Even worse, some snuffy gets nailed for something and is packing ammo with your fingerprints on it? You get hosed.

Now if you are in the ammo business, frequent the gun shows, can say yeah, you handled thousands of rounds and do a lot of range time and done thousands of reloads, sure handle it and put it on the stripper clips, but also realize you are shortening the storage life just by handling it, and that gets really serious in certain humid environments. Out in the desert, less of an issue, humid places, that can cut your ammo storage life from 100 years down to five years.

Don't even get me going about the sorts of wierdos who go to gun shops, shows and sporting good stores and seem compelled to open boxes of ammo, fingerfuck the shells, stare blissfully at the bullets, then put them back, close the box, and set it back on the shelf and walk away. WTF are they thinking? Saw that just a few days ago at a sporting goods store where I was buying a luggage rack for a bike, and just took a peek over at the gun section, yep, there was a couple of wierdos opening boxes of ammo and fingerfucking the bullets. Imagine some professional hitter staking out the ammo aisle at a store where that is happening then goes and buys the box of ammo, careful never to handle the bullets with his bare hands...

I put a scare into a wierdo at my shop once with that very scenario. Came off like he was some sort of scary ex-mafia hitman. I kept ammo mostly behind the counter so he would ask to see this or that box of ammo, pull a bullet out and fingerfuck it, trying to be all spooky when handling the hollowpoints. By his third box of ammo on his second trip in the store I figured he was playing bullshit, then thanked him for handling the ammo, and since he was deciding not to buy it I would set it aside for some guys "in the trade" who would like some ammo that is new but got handled by someone else in case they needed extra fingerprints on it to throw off any investigations. Dipshit never came back when I was working there...

Pericles: Where do you get the stripper clips/bandoleers? I tried to search the forum thinking you or another might have posted already, but couldn't find anything. Can you point in a direction to help me get started?

Breacher: I know I've run into small amounts of moisture making it into areas I have boxes stored, and the cardboard soaks it in and keeps it right next to what I was storing, leading to quite a few rusty or corroded pots and pans. I can't help but think the same issue would come into play with ammo boxes. Couldn't the fingerprint/oils issue be solved by simple cotton liner gloves? I know the thin rubber/latex ones transfer fingerprints, but would there be issues to using clean cotton ones to do the transfer/storage?

You need these and a couple of ammo cans:
http://www.oldsargesdropzone.com/product.php?item=1157