[toolboxluis]

you now i was thinking but i am not sure if i want to or not if i vacuum seal some ammo how reliable will the ammo be after let say 5 years ???
any body has $0.02 worth of answers to give me

 

[Modificationvt]

I would imagine that the ammo would be good for more than five years...after all how reliable is army surp ammo?

I shoot ammo in my mosin and CZ52 that is well over 5 years old...and that hasnt been vacume sealed.

 

[Krackels]

As long as you use a vacuum sealer that will produce a good commercial quality seal it should last a lot longer than 5 years. Generally, i think only commercial and reload ammo would benefit from being vacuum sealed and mostly to keep corrosion and moisture off of ammo.

Most military ammo that has been 'spam canned' i.e. a lot of the tokarev ammo, Wolf spam cans, M1 Garand ammo, etc. will last easily 50+ years from date of manufacture and probably plus some without having to further seal it.

I'm not sure how impartial this is, but he discusses in one of the videos the difference between a commercial quality seal and a 'light seal'.
Vacuum Sealer Reviews & Learning Center | The Vacuum Sealer Research & Learning Center

 

[bigbmac]

i find the best way to store ammo is surplus ammo cans. cheap and they work great for all ammo. ive got shotgun shells that r over 5 years old and still shoot like new.

 

[Joeywhat]

From what I've heard a lot of the milsurp ammo will probably outlast you...


For me, unless Waterworld suddenly happens, I'm happy keeping my ammo in a closet with a dehumidifier.

 

[dpgperftest]

you now i was thinking but i am not sure if i want to or not if i vacuum seal some ammo how reliable will the ammo be after let say 5 years ???
any body has $0.02 worth of answers to give me

i have 7.62 vac packed 35 years i opened R&R 100 rounds all good revac packed for 22+ years now you do the math

 

[ragsflh]

ammo cans are cheaper.shot some reloads i had loaded in 86.worked/shot great

 

[ChileRelleno]

I've used my MiL's kitchen vacuum sealer with freezer bags, I threw in a 10oz desiccant pack in each bag (500rnds), then put'em in good ammo cans.

They'll be good for decades at a minimum, as long as they aren't exposed to extreme temp fluctuations.

 

[XDcarry]

I just shot 25 rounds of 9mm that had been vacuum sealed sealed since 1983 I forgot I had. All fired with no problems.

 

[M1A Shooter]

I got to get me one of those fancy food sucker machines... My wife gets cranky when I have her suck the bag down and shove a curling Iron in her mouth to seal it.

 

[Deer Slayer]

I have some really old 16 guage birdshot shells I shoot occasionally. I think they're from the early '70s. Some of my 7.62x54r is from the '60s. I have no idea how old my 7.62x39 is, but I'm guessing early '80s. None of it's vacuum sealed, or stored in anything but it's original packaging. A friend of mine has a bunch of .45 ammo in a coffee can from the '50s that fires OK. I've never shot any of it out of my gun, but he shoots it all the time. I don't think ammo has a shelf life to speak of, and unless it's going to be exposed to moisture/elements, it's unnecessary.

 

[Groo]

each individual shell is sealed in itself. it would take alot for humidity to seep inside. ammo stored in a reasonably dry place will be good for decades. a hunter might grab a box thats been sitting on the shelf for years, and take 1 shot a year, and never have a problem.

If you are worried, keep it someware dry. When the radioactive mutants find it centurys from now, it'll still go bang.

 

[LFH]

I have sealed several thousand rounds in our food sealer. Works just fine.

EXCEPT for that pointy .223 stuff. If you just put it in a bag and seal it, it will poke tiny holes in the bag. The lead nose sealed just fine.

I seal it right in the box if I have an abundance of it. If you get it packed in the bag just right, flat, it stacks just fine.

I recently sealed all the stuff I had in ammo cans. Could actually stack it easier in the bottom of the safe, where there was no room for ammo cans.

Sealed the 9mm bulk stuff in 100 round bags.

You can buy bulk sealer bags cheaper online as well. But watch out for the really cheap bags... read all the info on those.

 

[LFH]

I got to get me one of those fancy food sucker machines... My wife gets cranky when I have her suck the bag down and shove a curling Iron in her mouth to seal it.

Dayum,,,,,I spent all this money on this fancy sealer and didn't need to...:shock:

 

[Sport45]

There's no need to vacuum pack ammo. Some of the best shooting store-bought '06 I have is 1955 vintage SL-55. It was loaded on '03 strippers, packed in bandoleers and then shoved in a 30-cal ammo can 54 years ago. There's no telling where it's been or how it was stored between then and maybe about 1999 when I bought it from CMP.

 

[LFH]

I live in a high humidity area. Even with conditioned air, sealing the ammo is just an extra preventative. Probably gets down to personal preference.

I have shot some 1954 packed 7.62x25 that didn't go bang. Ya just never know.

 

[M1A Shooter]

In all seriousness, I always wondered, on shells that the case is not all the way filled with powder, once you apply the suction, would the air that is inside the case, force the bullet out making a longer OAL? A good crimp I figure would cover it, but not all ammo uses a crimp...

 

[LFH]

In all seriousness, I always wondered, on shells that the case is not all the way filled with powder, once you apply the suction, would the air that is inside the case, force the bullet out making a longer OAL? A good crimp I figure would cover it, but not all ammo uses a crimp...

I doubt seriously that these food sealers are that powerful. If you pulled the air out, wouldn't it suck the bullet in?

I can't see this being an issue. Least it hasn't been in the years I have been sealing my ammo.

 

[Sport45]

once you apply the suction, would the air that is inside the case, force the bullet out making a longer OAL?

No worries there. A .308 diameter bullet has a cross-sectional area of only 0.07 square inches. With 15psi inside the case and a perfect vacuum outside that is only 1.1 pounds of force trying to push the bullet out. A 45 caliber shell would have less than 2-1/2 pounds of force. If the case neck tension won't hold that then there are much bigger problems with the ammo.

 

[slog]

This past year I shot some military ball ammo out of XD-45. Groups were impressive, reliability was 100%. The ammo was dated 1943 and it was in cardboard boxes. Oldest stuff I shot was 8mm Lebel from around 1900. Shot it a few years ago without any problems. I think as long as ammo is stored in a clean, dry place you won't have many issues.