Posted: 4/29/2013 6:04:20 AM EDT
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Looking for a better way to store and organize components. Do you separate nosler vs. Sierra? How to store primers? Separate brass by head stamp and store it? Would be grateful for suggestions..
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I like to use empty, plastic coffee cans like these;
They are free and have re-usable lids. They are big enough and sturdy enough to hold brass, bullets, shot, etc. but small enough to easily handle and shelve. I usually print-out a label of the contents on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper (in landscape) and then affix it with a piece of clear tape. Edited to make the image a little less huge 
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What are you reloading? Rifle? Pistol? Shotgun? Semi-auto or ???
What are you reloading for? Hunting? Plinking? Competition? TEOTWAWKI? How much are you reloading? 100 rounds or 100,000? Akro-bins are your friend. Ammo cans are your friend. Ammo storage boxes are your friend. Zip-loc bags can be your friend. Not enough detail in the OP for a really good answer. |
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for large quantities of brass, i use 5 gal home depot paint buckets with matching plastic lids.
i try to keep stuff out of sight and therefore out of mind. coffee cans are good for storing bullets. i have about 75 lbs of various powders on hand (i go through a lot). recently acquired a locking explosives storage magazine (indoor rated) to hold it all. http://www.treadcorp.com/explosive-storage/ the magazine may not be necessary, but it buys me peace of mind, and if the fd or pd ever end up searching my home for whatever reason, i can't be blamed for not making an effort to be safe. primers get stored in ammo cans with the lid loose. |
There's a whole forum for this, and you don't even have to post a new thread  (seriously, don't - these topics have been covered before ad nauseam):
http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_6/42_Reloading.html Use google site search: site:ar15.com how to store reloading components |
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You're overthinking this and there are many ways to do this as there are reloaders.
Don't unbox primers, leave them in the cards as they are sold. Do not store primers in a pressure tight container such as ammo cans or refrigerators. Keep primers and gunpowder cool and dry. Your reloading manuals have a section that describes how they should be stored and what sort of container should be used. Organize brass so you can find it. Bottleneck brass should be tracked for the number of times fired. Use cardboard boxes, plastic boxes, zip lock bags, or whatever. |
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Quoted:
Looking for a better way to store and organize components. Do you separate nosler vs. Sierra? How to store primers? Separate brass by head stamp and store it? Would be grateful for suggestions.. Thanks! Lead, powder and primers get stored in the baby room under the crib. Everything else stays in the reloading area in air tight containers. |
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Quoted:
Do not store primers in a pressure tight container such as ammo cans or refrigerators. Why is this? Seems counter productive. 1.) Because it's bloody dangerous - you know how pipe bombs work? 2.) It's a violation of NFPA codes Primed brass is innocuous, as is loaded ammo. It doesn't matter how you store either. Primers on their own can easily cause sympathetic ignition, and you do not want to contain that with a casing in any way. |
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Quoted: I reload for plinking mostly but I practice a lot because my job requires it. Only pistol so far but maybe rifle later. So you guys mix bullets together no matter what brand? Brass too? I don't think anyone even hinted at this. Bullets are kept in original boxes, clearly marked. Brass is sorted by caliber, head stamp and number of times reloaded. |
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I reload for plinking mostly but I practice a lot because my job requires it. Only pistol so far but maybe rifle later. So you guys mix bullets together no matter what brand? Brass too? Pistol brass can mostly be mixed--rifle it's best not to do so. You do NOT mix bullets, as reloading data often varies between brands (assuming same weight). |
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Quoted:
Looking for a better way to store and organize components. Do you separate nosler vs. Sierra? How to store primers? Separate brass by head stamp and store it? Would be grateful for suggestions.. Thanks! Brass goes in plastic bins, separated by how I want to load. I sep win, rem, "match" grade like hdy, starline, rws, and then seperate out the fed/blazer stuff that might be small primer. I also have an "other". Primers are in a plastic igloo cooler. Powder is in a separate plastic igloo cooler which has silica gel in it. The gel I use is reusable indicating stuff...drierite. Stick it in the oven to refresh. Can be used many times. You definitely need to keep your projectiles seperate as you'll likely need to load each slightly differently. |
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Talking about same caliber. Brass headstamps make a difference when reloading right? Small difference in handgun, big in rifle. W/ my 45, I can see a difference at 25 yards from a sandbag rest, but not usually shooting without a rest. Projectiles make a much bigger difference. |
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I use square 6 qt plastic shoeboxes (Rubbermaid, etc) for my brass, and 1 qt containers for my bullets. They stack well and are clear enough to see what's inside.
I use 5-gallon buckets for the high-volume calibers like 9mm, .40 and 223. Any larger and they get hard to move around when full. Bullets stay in their boxes until I'm ready to load. Very old photo: 
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Bullets are stored in original boxes inside a metal double door locker, I have plastic flip top boxes for bullets that come in bags and make labels,
Powder is stored inside a giant ice chest with desiccant packs, primers have there own separate ice chest. Brass either goes in ziplocs or coffee cans. Prepped brass goes in MTM ammo boxes. |
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I've been storing primers and powder in sealed 20mm ammo cans, with dessicant, for over 20 years.
In a barn w/ 400 + haybales! (  )
But after reading this thread, and looking around teh web a bit, I see changes coming. Today. Humidity is a concern: any issues with storing in sealed PLASTIC containers, with dessicant? |
Then store in ammo cans
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Walmart sells Sterilite containers about the size of a shoebox and clear for about $4-5 each. I've got about 18 of them.
This style, but a little smaller I believe http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-3.75-Gallon-15-Quart-Latch-Box-Set-of-10/20699636 I use blue tape for marking the containers. Note if the brass is cleaned, swagged, trimmed, sized, ect. Great for organizing accessories. I've got a few bigger containers from the same line fore storing other parts and accessories. I bought a large flammable storage cabinet off craigslist and keep all my powder and primers in there. Bullets are mostly stored in a cabinet in their original boxes. Some of the bulk stuff is in ammo cans. |
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Quoted:
I've been storing primers and powder in sealed 20mm ammo cans, with dessicant, for over 20 years. In a barn w/ 400 + haybales! ( )
But after reading this thread, and looking around teh web a bit, I see changes coming. Today. Humidity is a concern: any issues with storing in sealed PLASTIC containers, with dessicant? I don't see why that would be an issue. Storing it in a barn, the temp swings seem like a bit of a concern. High temps are going to shorten the life of the powder. Or so I was told recently. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Looking for a better way to store and organize components. Do you separate nosler vs. Sierra? How to store primers? Separate brass by head stamp and store it? Would be grateful for suggestions.. Thanks! Lead, powder and primers get stored in the baby room under the crib. Everything else stays in the reloading area in air tight containers.
Dirty brass gets stored in plastic coffee jugs Prepped brass and prepped-primed brass are stored in zip-loc bags which are then stored in ammo cans. Primers and powder are stored in a wooden footlocker. |
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Quoted:
I've been storing primers and powder in sealed 20mm ammo cans, with dessicant, for over 20 years. In a barn w/ 400 + haybales! ( )
But after reading this thread, and looking around teh web a bit, I see changes coming. Today. Humidity is a concern: any issues with storing in sealed PLASTIC containers, with dessicant? I wouldn't fool with dessicant, that's just one more job to look after and it's not necessary. Some types of dessicant containers collect the water and those have to be emptied regularly. Just keep them dry, away from condensation inside the container, and in a place with smaller temperature swings. Cases are probably my biggest headache. I have mixed range pick up, sorted pick up, deprimed and tumbled brass, and so on up to brass that is primed and ready to load. I keep brass for cartridges that I don't load, in case I need it later. I store bottle neck brass according to the number of times it has been loaded and fired, and I keep it separated by headstamp. Straight wall brass for handguns gets dumped together, except for .44 Magnum. I have an old file cabinet that contains part of my primers and gun powder - it's convenient, but they should not be stored in that proximity. |