[XD40inTX]

A friend of mine is storing ammo in his attic. Mostly 9 mm and 12 gauge. I found out about it when he asked me what the long-term effects might be.

We're talking Texas heat and humidity. My initial reaction was "don't do it" but I had to admit I had never seen any authoritative info one way or another. Can anyone comment?

 

[tjt2039]

What is he storing the ammo in? I've heard from many people(and this is how I store my ammo) that if you keep all of your ammo in ammo cans, and put a towel at the bottom of the ammo can, any moisture that happens to get in will be absorbed by the towel. I live in Arizona, so it's a really dry heat, but if he stored his ammo this way and put it up in his attic, I don't see him having any problems.

EDIT: Or instead of using towels, you could just throw one of the desicant bags in the ammo can.

 

[agalindo]

I'm sure our military stationed in Iraq don't store their ammo in air conditioned ammo dumps.

 

[slugger6]

The biggest concern should be temperature and humidity fluctuations which can degrade the ammunition.

 

[Bonehead]

I'm sure our military stationed in Iraq don't store their ammo in air conditioned ammo dumps.

wouldn't that get rotated out as its issued and used? I think it would not just be iraq but pretty much anywhere the military is the ammo would get rotated.

new in old out right?

 

[mkmsr]

I'm sure our military stationed in Iraq don't store their ammo in air conditioned ammo dumps.

True but it's not recommend storing our ammo in areas over 135F if it can be avoided, and if you cant avoid it you should limit the time frame it is in those conditions. Any extreme conditions can break down the powder over time. So if you reload or stock pile to save money over time you might be loosing money or at least loosing a percentage of your rounds over time.

 

[agalindo]

wouldn't that get rotated out as its issued and used? I think it would not just be iraq but pretty much anywhere the military is the ammo would get rotated.

new in old out right?

I'm sure it's rotated but I doubt that they rotate very often or more often than someone putting extra ammo in the attic would.

 

[crainer1207]

I use ammo cans and store them in the crawl space under the house. It stays cooler under there.

 

[godseviltwin]

Just keep em in ammo cans and throw a few desicant in each can. I have done this for years and so have my family. Pulled an ammo can from the grandfathers house that was at least 50 years of filled with .45 ammo. I found the can while cleaning out his barn and it was still good :mrgreen:

 

[matlt]

I'm sure it's rotated but I doubt that they rotate very often or more often than someone putting extra ammo in the attic would.

I was a fobbit and all my ammo was taken out of my magazines, put in a ziplock bag and given directly to one of the soldiers replacing us. Never shot a single round even at a firing range over there.

 

[Boris]

True but it's not recommend storing our ammo in areas over 135F if it can be avoided, and if you cant avoid it you should limit the time frame it is in those conditions. Any extreme conditions can break down the powder over time. So if you reload or stock pile to save money over time you might be loosing money or at least loosing a percentage of your rounds over time.

depends on the powder used. A owder that uses porosity to control burn rate like a single base Viht powder will handle high heat for a loooooong time. Ball powders that use a surface treatment will if they get hot enough 'melt' the surface treatment and it will absorb into the kernal. When this happens it will increase the burn rate and cause a large pressure increase.

Most domestic ammo uses ball powders and it will hut them over time.

 

[Fullclip]

From what I've read, heat and moisture are powder killers. We're talking long term but don't how long. When you buy powder to reload it says on the can to store in a cool and dry place.

As far as storing in the attic, that is where the heat going to go in a house fire. That could be even more devastating for the firefighters and the house.

 

[fredj338]

I'm sure it's rotated but I doubt that they rotate very often or more often than someone putting extra ammo in the attic would.

I'll bet they either go thru that ammo or it's given to the Iraqi/Afhani soldiers as needed, far sooner than many that store ammo @ home. Long term storage of ammo or components in high heat conditions is never good for the powder & primers. It will start to break down. Doesn't mean the ammo will be dangerous, but inconsitant. Every powder/ammo manuf will suggest storing in cool & dry not hot & humid conditions for a reason.