# Vacuum Sealing Ammo, Pro and Cons Opinions wanted



## Moonshinedave

I don't really have all this large stash, but rather a modest amount of ammo. I also have a vacuum pump and jar sealers bought for food storage. I've been giving some thought to vacuum sealing some of my extra ammo. I am just not sure if it's that good of idea or not. I would love some opinions on this. 
Vacuum sealing, I would think would be much better than any amount of desiccant, is that correct? One of the disadvantages is the ammo really needs to be removed from it's original boxes, to get any amount in the jars. 
I would love to know what other people think on this. Is it a waste of time? Is it worth doing at all or just keeping them boxed up in ammo boxes good enough, or perhaps better? I have no plans to bury any ammo yet, but might consider "hiding" some in places where weather might be a problem.
Thanks for your time.
-dave-


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## LunaticFringeInc

In my experiences with this since I used to live on a boat is that doing loose ammo is not really the best of ideas for long term storage if using plastic bags vs Jars which I have not yet tried. Now ammo still in its boxes will do fairly well long term in Vacuum Bags. I have several batches of ammunition that has been stored like this for about 10 years now and it still looks brand spanking new and the bags integrity is still holding up. After bagging the ammunition up I have found that its best to store in wooden crates or in ammo cans depending on how much ammunition you have on hand. This will protect the bags from inadvertant puncture and loss of vacuum.


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## joec

I've been using the Zip Lock vacuum sealer and bags for some time. I FA plastic ammo boxes for my target/practice round but store my hunting ammo in the bags as I don't use that much of it so I tend to do a run and seal it.


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## paraquack

I use good old ammo cans with desiccant pouches to help absorb any moisture in the cans. I never touch the ammo until I need to use it to keep my salty/oily finger prints of them. On a yearly basis, I put new desiccant pouches in the cans and put the old pouches in a dehydrator for a day to "recharge" them. I was lucky, the place I retired from got in loads of the pouches with raw materials. I did go out and spend a few bucks for the little tattle tale blue dot cards. Desiccant pouches aren't that expensive. The idea of vacu packing ammo sounds like a winner of an idea. I think I'd toss in a small desiccant pouch for good measure.


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## Moonshinedave

I just did another experiment, that might even work better. I got the idea from a guy on youtube vacuum sealing a plastic coke bottle. 
I drilled a small hole in my metal ammo can (OMG! did he say he just drilled a hole in his ammo can?) then place a small piece of electrical tape over it, but left it loose on one end. Then using a vacuum pump and a suction gismo that fit over the tape (least the part over the hole) I pull a vacuum on the entire ammo can. When I lifted the vacuum attachment off the tape area, the vacuum in the ammo can pulled it down and tight, I placed a larger amount of tape over it just for good measure. I will wait a couple of weeks to see if it's still holding vacuum, but so far looks good.


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## Chipper

Vacuum pack, then a zip bag, then vacuum pack again inside a sealed PCV pipe cabbed on both ends. Buried in the back yard just like my cash. Has worked for a few years and should for a few more.


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## rickkyw1720pf

You need to take more care of you magazines then the bullets them selves.


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## paraquack

I don't know if you've had the opportunity to notice brass cases after they've been handled. Infrequently you'll notice a blueish-green corrosion on them. Where for years I wore gloves because I thought it was the salt in my perspiration on my fingers and hands, I find it actually ammonia in the perspiration. Ammonia doesn't normally come out in sweat but it does under he right circumstances.


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## Montana Rancher

Vacuume packing ammo is a waste of time and resources, use army ammo cans if you are concerned about it in the factory boxes they keep for years.


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## PaulS

There is no reason to seal you ammo. I have been shooting 22RF ammo that is morethan ten years old - stored loosely in a small plastic box that is NOT water tight and the ammo is as good as the day I bought it. I checked the velocity with my chronograph and it is still running at 1223 fps - average velocity of ten rounds. It is withing the standard deviation of the same cartriges from over seven years ago.
I have also fired my 357 and both rifles using ammo as old as eight to ten years old since they were reloaded and stored in the original boxes in an open box for storage.
You have to get ammo over 100F before it will start to degrade.


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## Old Man

I have ammo from CMP that goes back 30+ years old for M1 30.06. Some are blemish, but the bulk is fine. Now it's not pretty! It shoots well and groups fine through my M1.


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## rice paddy daddy

In the 1970's I was shooting US military surplus ammo dated 1918 in my Garand. Right now I have 7.62X54R for my Mosin Nagants that is Bulgarian made in 1954. I also am shooting 1950's Korean M2 Ball in my Garand and Springfield. I have 1976 Chinese 7.62X39 that works just fine. 
None of this was vacuum sealed, in fact some of it has not even been stored in ammo cans.
I keep my ammo out in my barn due to the amount on hand, and it regularly gets up to 110 F in there in the summer.
This past year I did bring home a non-working refrigerator to put in the barn as a large ammo can. This will give some protection against high heat, but really, most modern powder can handle high temps. I have shot 357 magnum that was in my truck gun that had been inside the truck for well over a year. And summer in Florida will get vehicle interior temps to 140F and above.


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## Verteidiger

I store my ammo in the original boxes inside of Plano field boxes, with the brass latches and rubber o-ring seals. Mine looks like it just came off the shelf when you open the boxes.

The military seals ammo to prevent corrosion in marine/salt-water environments, for the most part. The U.S. Marines use plastic ammo bags that contain corrosion inhibitors for some of their ammo, and many of the U.N. countries follow that example for maritime forces. Ammo with sealed primers resist humidity and moisture very well, but salt water corrodes metal terribly....

I think it would be a waste of time, and money, to vacuum pack ammo. Plus, the bags can be ripped or punctured so easily during transport, it hardly seems worth it to me. If you are just going to store it without moving it, or bury it somewhere, I could see plastic wrap being a worthwhile step. Otherwise, ammo cans that have rubber seals stored in dry, cool areas for me....


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## PrepperDogs

Like rice paddy daddy, I use and store mil-surp ammo from the 50's. Save your vacuum bags for food and supplies.


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