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So how much ammo can an ammo can hold if an ammo can can hold ammo?

 

In the case of fat fifty ammo cans...

 

1,000 rounds of Golden Tiger.

 

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1,600 rounds of Golden Tiger.  4 layers, 400 rounds per layer.  66.5 lb

 

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1,000 rounds of Wolf Gold

 

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1,600 rounds of Wolf Gold.  2 layers, 800 rounds per layer.

 

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Yep I was surprised that it holds exactly the same of both.  The GT comes right up to the top edge and the WG not quite but both pack very efficiently.

Edited by Darth Saigus
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Fat .50s are about the ideal size.

I use 40mm cans for long term storage. Takes a man with a good back to move them. I have 30mm cans for shotgun shells, 1000 rounds of 00buck per can.

The advantage the big cans have is that they stack taller more stable. And if you know where to shop you get them for less than a fat .50

I use the little plastic .30 cal ones for 'in use' ammo, I don't like getting rust stains in my cars carpet.

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Always been partial to #4 buck over 00. In case I have to wipe a shitstain off the face of the Earth one day, I'd rather not take the neighbors with him too.

 

That said I keep 00 buck too. Got a good deal on some Federal brand LEO rounds maybe 6-7 years ago. 

 

I keep samples of common ammo on hand for product testing, I keep a fair volume on hand of all sorts of manufacturers of each caliber we make for... HD ammo is bough a few boxes at a time and generally is stored in a plastic "in use" can.

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As I age and just get younger, the 30 caliber cans become more popular.  Less weight.  There is the pesky manner of having to grab and carry them any great distance, like from the safe to the door, the door to the SUV, the 4x4 to the range, the range to the bench, etc, etc..  You get the idea.  Eventually only one round at a time will be carried ... then none?  Yikes indeed.  :)

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Yes 1600 rounds of x39 is not something I'd want to carry very far.  But they store very nice.  I've got 9,000 rounds in 6 cans tucked in a corner of the storeroom.  Another 6 or 8 cans and I'll have all my long term storage put away nicely.

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Since the fat 50 cans hold so much and take up so little valuable space, why not just continue the storage needs?  If nothing else it might help hold down the structure against hurricanes and tornadoes?  But then again one runs the risk of having the filled fat fifties float away.  Or be Gone With The Wind?   Problems problems.  Decision, decisions.  :)

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Fat .50s are about the ideal size.

I use 40mm cans for long term storage. Takes a man with a good back to move them. I have 30mm cans for shotgun shells, 1000 rounds of 00buck per can.

The advantage the big cans have is that they stack taller more stable. And if you know where to shop you get them for less than a fat .50

I use the little plastic .30 cal ones for 'in use' ammo, I don't like getting rust stains in my cars carpet.

I am in the process of doing this exact same. 40mm cans for storage, 30 cal for the range. I have a couple of 120 mm cans as well. Fill one of those up with GT and you need a forklift to move it. (40mm is about as big as I would want to go) Interestly enough the 40mm cans don't hold a whole lot more than the fat .50s. I think I get 1780 rds of GT per 40mm can. I might look into the fat .50s. Thanks for posting DS. My set up is below. (Still in the process of filling cans and doing away with cardboard boxes. Top shelf for easy range loading access, and lockable.

 

post-37530-0-89127100-1463572031_thumb.jpeg

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I can pack 400 rnds of 2 3/4" 12 ga into a fat .50.   I use those for shotgun ammo, but regular .50's and .30's for everything else.

 

.30's

21x  500 rnd cans of .177 pellets.

1600 rnds of .22 LR Mini Mag's.

6x  325 rnd or 333 rnd boxes of Automatch or Winchester.

308 rnds 30-06.

$52 in copper pennies.

$150+ in nickels.

$18,000 in silver dimes.

$20,000 in silver quarters.

$(unknown yet) in placer gold.

 

.50's

18x  boxes of farmer matches.

1140 rnds of 5.56 or .223 in boxes.

990 rnds of M67.

900 rnds of Red Army 7,62x39.

720 rnds of Military Classic.

1000 rnds of UMC 9mm.

5000 rnds of Thunderbolt .22 LR.

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Now might be the right pre election panic times to strong consider adding greatly to our very meager and insufficient ammo levels?  Make that ALL firearm needs?  Consider this time right now exactly kinda as about the same time as when it became apparent to us that McCain was going to lose to Obama?  Remember supply and prices back then?  Now consider supply and prices right now?  Now consider prices and demand before during and after the election?  Just thinking here.  Difficult.  Yikes! :(

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i just stack the 1K cardboard cases up in the corner. They pretty much pack those about as efficiently as possible, so they work great. Once I crack one open, I put whatever I don't shoot in a 30 cal can. I have two 30 cal cans that go to the range with me; one for pistol and one for rifle. All my reloads go in cans based on caliber (9, 40, 45, 223). I just seal them up in a freezer bag-gallon zip-locks.

 

 

But I do like the set up yall got going with the cans. Especially Spacehogs'. That's just sexy.  

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Ammo cans do have advantages over the boxes ammo ships in. Cases of ammo are different sizes and shapes and don't always stack neatly. Boxes offer little protection from moisture.

 

I had my ammo stored in the original boxes for years but I'm much happier with the ammo cans. For me a very worthwhile change and I should have done it sooner.

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Thank you all.  Yep, we also have found the mundane USGI ammo cans to be the perfect long term storage containers.  Not only for ammo but for all sorts of needful things.  We have a local, (kinda) gun show coming up this weekend, (21 & 22 May, 2016) in Grants Pass OR..  Usually there are vendors there selling our preferred smaller lighter .30 cal cans.  Right now we are trying to $budget$ funds for another meaningful purchase.  Will see. 

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I used to just stack up the cardboard boxes as well and throw them in the corner of my closet. In the climate controlled house I really didn't worry about it. Eventually I had more ammo boxes than clothes and kept having to find new places. The ammo cans and worksite storage box idea came about because I wanted to move the storage to the basement / garage where there is a lot more moisture. The cans are airtight and the worksite box just allows me to lock it all up and helps me know exactly what I have on hand and what I need to buy more of......which coming into a November Presidential election.... is more of everything. I agree with Darth though, I wish I had done it a lot sooner.

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Ammo can prices been going up as well. Last bigger show I went to a guy had some at old time prices, $6 for 30's & $8 for 50's. I scored a few but they've just sat on workbench since I got them.

Edited by Spikester
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I used to just stack up the cardboard boxes as well and throw them in the corner of my closet. In the climate controlled house I really didn't worry about it. Eventually I had more ammo boxes than clothes and kept having to find new places. The ammo cans and worksite storage box idea came about because I wanted to move the storage to the basement / garage where there is a lot more moisture. The cans are airtight and the worksite box just allows me to lock it all up and helps me know exactly what I have on hand and what I need to buy more of......which coming into a November Presidential election.... is more of everything. I agree with Darth though, I wish I had done it a lot sooner.

 

 

It is a great idea, and looks very organized. I am going to keep it mind if I every get too many cases of ammo to effectively store. 

 

And I agree with your point about the elections. I have taken care of all my reloading supplies, but may rethink how many cases of x39 ammo I keep on hand. 

Ammo cans do have advantages over the boxes ammo ships in. Cases of ammo are different sizes and shapes and don't always stack neatly. Boxes offer little protection from moisture.

 

I had my ammo stored in the original boxes for years but I'm much happier with the ammo cans. For me a very worthwhile change and I should have done it sooner.

 

Yeah, those fat 50 cans look just about perfect for x39 storage

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I get right around 2200rds (have to look for the exact quantity I wrote on them) of Russian (GT, Wolf, Tula size boxes) 7.62x39, in packages, into a 40mm can. You just gotta stack'em right. It's like 96 or 98lbs, definitely a long term storage thing.

 

Ditto on the 30cal cans for range use.

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20mm cans get a whole lotta love from me for deep storage. Heavy as an SOB when stuffed with center fire pistol ammo, but when got a single lot number of each of my favorite defense rounds in each carry caliber, it'll take decades to burn through it all as I rotate out the carry rounds. Toss in rechargeable silica gel pack, and keep recharging and swapping them out 'til everything inside is completely dehydrated, and you're good for the looooong term.

 

Fat 50's work great for 500 round bricks of .22 LR, and 150 round boxes of M855. There is very little wasted space in these applications.

Edited by JohnnyE
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Now all this figuring and calculating has got me to consider a fun project for the home school grand kids. 

 

"Young people, if you would like too, and this would be fun, would you consider having a blast figuring out the most $COST$ effective storage per cubic inch AND cubic centimeter for the various sized surplus USGI ammo cans we have lying around?  Gun show this weekend."

 

"Then run up a quick $estimate$ on what we may pay for these cans this weekend.  Then give me a quick oral review as to what cans would be the most $efficient$ for our hard earned money.  Also then consider how far YOU CAN  carry these FULL various filled ammo cans."

 

Our kids love games and quizzes like this.  Gives some real world importance to simple math.  Yep ... they will go to the gun show if they want to.  smile.png

 

Edit:  I will tell them the deep 40mm cans would require a fork lift or a big 2 wheel dolly to move around.  That is OK.  Some of our dwarf fruit trees get moved around with a borrowed fork lift.  Some of the bigger potted plants get moved around with a big 2 wheel dolly.  How much would a filled deep 40mm can go at?  In pounds?  Dunno.  smile.png

Edited by HB of CJ
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I started breaking down the GT I had in the 120mm can. It was 17 layers of 15 boxes and one final layer of 10 for a total rnd count of 5100. Total weight was 221.8 pounds:

 

post-37530-0-82806700-1463678733_thumb.jpeg

 

To answer HB's question and for comparison sake a 40mm can will hold 2080 rds in 4 layers of 26 boxes. There is a little unused space left with each layer so the packing is not as efficient as Darth's .50 cal can. Total weight was 91.2 pounds:

 

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ETA....I'd pay an extra penny a round if they would tape up their boxes. Grab on the wrong way and you are picking 20 rds on the floor.

Edited by Spacehog
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ETA....I'd pay an extra penny a round if they would tape up their boxes. Grab on the wrong way and you are picking 20 rds on the floor.

 

 

When I break a case of ammo to load into cans, I sit next to a tape dispenser and tape each box flap.. Costs way less than $10 to tape the boxes, takes maybe five minutes but I am pretty quick at taping boxes.

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ETA....I'd pay an extra penny a round if they would tape up their boxes. Grab on the wrong way and you are picking 20 rds on the floor.

 

 

 

When I break a case of ammo to load into cans, I sit next to a tape dispenser and tape each box flap.. Costs way less than $10 to tape the boxes, takes maybe five minutes but I am pretty quick at taping boxes.

I've done the same but I am getting lazy and stubborn in my old age :)

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Hey Darth,

 

Are those the Korean made cans from aimsurplus? If yes, how do they compare quality wise to US mil surp.?

 

Got to have me a few more of them fatties, just haven't heard much about the ones from aim.

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Nope fat fifties are not a little too heavy to lug around.  They are a lot too heavy to lug around.  I won't be moving them any more than I absolutely have to.  66.5 lb for 1,600 rounds of GT and a little less for WG.

 

I use loose rounds in plastic 30s when I need portable.

Edited by Darth Saigus
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Sosss, that begs the question of if one has a good 2 wheeler dollie to move them around, then one can consider the fat 50 or 20mm cans?  They cost more, but actually may be cheaper per cubic inch.  If a good dollie, then the deep 40mm cans?  Note: never did around to asking the grandkids.  They are spending the weekends with their Mom and Dad. 

 

Perhaps when we all get together to try to plant the garden.  Seems the best family times are also the hardest to arrange.  But, smiling here, if we all get together this year to plant, then the kids and grandkids will insist I bring over the suppressed or fun gun stuff.  At least the canned .22rf goodies.  Oh well ... life as a doting Grandfather.  :) :)  Life is good.

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