Long term bulk ammo storage...

I vac-seal the boxes they come in. Protects the bag. I have .30 carbine with a 1944 date that still shoots fine, wasn't sealed until about 2 years ago. If it stays home, it gets sealed in the factory boxes. If it's something I'd use in a, uhhh, gotta go scenario, it goes in a wide .50 can. They stack, they seal, they don't break. I also use square buckets for shotgun shells, simply because I have a large target to throw the hulls into for reloading.
If I knew I could stay in place no matter what, I'd use 5 gallon buckets. Just too heavy to handle fast if I should have to leave quickly.

 

The good thing? Hillary was weighed, measured and found wanting. LOL. I keep all my ammo in air tight military ammo cans with desicants in them.

 

Ooh! One of my favorite topics. Family has been at this since 1971. I'll have more later this evening, but I have some questions.
How long is "Long term" ? 10 years? 45 years? 80 years?
Have you weighed a 5 gallon bucket full of ammo? (I store wheel weights, and ammo will have similar storage concerns in plastic.)

 

For a very long time most military forces have stored their ammo in some sort of bunker, usually partially under earth, and naturally temperature controlled. That doesn't mean the temps are stable. Just that they don't fluctuate in temperature too quickly. I have recently tested Federal .22 ammo that was stored in a filing cabinet in the original cardboard bricks, in barns in Michigan and NC since '71. The stuff has been absolutely surefire and more accurate than much of the new stuff I have. So in my opinion climate control isn't necessary, just a somewhat stable temp. I have been in military bunkers in NC and Virginia in winter and they were not warm. I'm certain that in the summer they are not all that cool by afternoon either. What they are is stable and dry.

I've never seen a desiccant other than the cardboard packing in any USGI ammo can. Foreign ammo is similar, with paper and cloth as packing. I have Berdan primed ammo from 1935 that is reliable and accurate. It sits in the original cases, in cloth bandoliers with a telephone on top, and have been there for almost 30 years. I pack everything that isn't already in a wood ammo crate with handles, a metal spam can or a sealed battle pack into the smallest GI ammo can it will fit into.

I have lots of GI "Strap, carrying, general purpose" packed with the cans at each site. This makes carrying the cans much easier, and is an idea that gets more necessary as I get older. Just clip on and go! Cans are marked on green duct tape on top and two sides with caliber, quantity, and date packed. If it can go on stripper clips or in bandoliers it is packed that way. Beyond that I just keep the cans up off the floor and allow air to flow around them. Under beds and sofa's is great for spam cans in deep storage. Anything that may be needed quickly is in easily accessible stacks that won't require digging to get to what I need.

Plastic buckets become problematic as the load inside is increased. Lids collapse in stacks when the bottom bucket has more than about 150 pounds on top of it. The quick solution here is wood between the buckets, but ammo in buckets is still heavy.
I have had a few buckets of brass bulge and bottoms split. This is with just spent brass cases, not loaded ammo, so considering what a mess a bottomless plastic bucket could be, the investment in ammo cans seems more bearable. Best storage system I've seen was solid concrete blocks just slightly taller than the ammo cans with planks between them. Solid storage, some temperature stability, good ventilation and easy access. Along the back wall of a closet, this wouldn't take up too much shoe space.

 

I hesitate to put a vacuum seal on ammo. reason,
I store fuel and learned long ago to 1 fill the container and close it up solid no venting period.
The vaporous gasses are what make gas = gas. once those vapors are gone you've got very stinky shellac.
Ever open a can of gun powder and smell it ? that gas is part of the ignition source exactly the same.
If the bullet has even a slight leak in a vacuum atmosphere , My guess is that it will not perform as it did when it was new. or not at all. In the old days bullets were stored in wax coating and it worked well, to some degree.
If any thing I would store bullets in a nitrogen gas atmosphere displacing oxygen from the container, but not a vacuum.
I don't remember opening any military cans even 7.62/54R sardine cans with a vacuum .
Food for thought.

 

If a cartridge leaks enough to have a vacuum inside, air will go back in once the vacuum is removed. Just shot some .223 this past weekend that had been sealed since 1991 when it was $.05 a round. Nice thing is all that brass still looks new without any O2 to tarnish it.