Dang, when did ammo get so expensive?
At these prices, you’ll want to pounce on deals when you see them and save that ammo for a rainy day. But will it go bad?
If you properly store ammo, it will last for a very long time. Here’s everything you need to know to properly store ammo and keep it safe, reliable, and accurate for the long haul.
Table of Contents
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What You Need Before You Start
Must-Have Tools
- Ammo
- Storage container
- Secure room in your home
Nice-to-Have Tools
- Ammo cans
- Humidity mitigation system
- Labeling system
How to Store Ammo Properly
This one’s simple and doesn’t cost a bunch of money. Let’s dive in!
Step 1: Find a Safe, Secure Location
As always, safety first!
Ammunition is different from a firearm, but I still like to keep it out of the wrong hands. A lockable safe, closet, cabinet, or shed is a great place to keep ammo readily available to you, and only you.
Step 2: Keep Your Ammo Dry
Locks will help prevent someone from taking your ammo, but theft isn’t the biggest threat – not even close. Your main concern is moisture. Plain, old water.
Moisture will corrode cases, primers, and bullets, rendering them useless.
The first precaution you should take is getting your ammo off the floor. Keeping it on the floor of your garage, for example, is just asking for rain to come through the door or run off your car and ruin your ammunition.
Moisture seeps up from the ground, too. It can pass through concrete and will evaporate naturally – unless it starts corroding ammunition first.
A sealed, plastic ammo can will offer better protection than the paper box it came in. So will a metal ammo can.
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
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These use waterproof material and create an airtight seal that will lock out water – including moisture in the atmosphere. If you live in a humid region, this might be just as important as keeping standing water away from your ammo.
But what about the moisture that’s already in there? I recommend tossing in a few packets of silica gel. These are effective and super cheap.
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If you’re locking ammo in a cabinet, chest, or gun safe, you might need more water-absorbing power. A small dehumidifier can tackle bigger jobs.
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You can choose from simple, affordable gel humidifiers (basically a giant silica packet) or more advanced plug-in dehumidifiers.
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Step 3: Keep Your Ammo Cool
Believe it or not, heat is the next-biggest threat to your ammunition’s shelf-life.
Ammo isn’t milk, but it will start to degrade if you let it reach about 150 degrees Fahrenheit for long periods of time.
For most people, this isn’t a concern. If you store ammo in your house, you’re good. If you keep it in a metal storage container in the desert, that’s another story – the internal temperature could easily reach or exceed 150 degrees.
Be careful about leaving ammo in storage units, sheds, attics, and car trunks. Outside of that, temperature shouldn’t be much of a problem.
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If you’re not sure how hot is too hot, throw a simple thermometer in with your ammo and check it from time to time.
I like this thermometer because it has a humidity gauge, too. It only goes up to 120 degrees, but if your ammo is hotter than that it’s probably worth moving it, anyway.
Step 4: Create an Organized Inventory System
Ammunition has a very long shelf life – we’re talking about decades, here. It’s still a good idea to keep your inventory somewhat fresh with a first-in/first-out system, though.
If you’re really particular, you can label each ammo can with the cartridge, date you bought the ammo, and manufacturer lot number (the last one is really only relevant for precision shooters).
Otherwise, stack new ammo at the back of the shelf so you grab the old stuff first.
If you dump boxes of ammo loose into an ammo can, keep cartridge types separate and label the can so you don’t have to open them all up and rummage around to find what you’re looking for.
When you go to the range, you may not want to lug around a whole ammo can (or maybe you do, and that sounds like a pretty awesome range day to me). A small, plastic box like this one from MTM is great for keeping ammo organized and separated by cartridge.
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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And what about magazines?
Yes, it’s fine to store ammunition in magazines. Springs wear out due to compression/expansion cycles, not long-term compression. As long as your magazines are safe from moisture and extreme heat, you’re golden and one step ahead when it’s time to shoot.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not accounting for humidity: Moisture is ammunition’s worst enemy. If you live in a humid part of the world, the moisture in the air could be enough to degrade your ammo over time. A few packets of silica gel could save you thousands of dollars.
- Storing ammo on a concrete floor: Concrete slabs are porous. Moisture will seep up from the ground, pass through them, and evaporate – unless something is in the way. If you leave paper boxes of ammo on a concrete floor, where do you suppose that moisture is going to end up? Raise your ammo containers with a pallet or blocks of wood to create some airflow if you don’t keep them on a shelf.
- Not using old ammo first: Ammo lasts a long time, but keeping track of when you bought it will keep your stockpile fresh.
- Poor organization: Keep your ammunition organized and accurately labeled. Not only will this save you time when you’re looking for something specific, but it will prevent you from grabbing the wrong type of ammo and setting yourself up for disaster at the range.
Best Places to Buy Ammo Online
Looking for a deal on bulk ammo? We have your back.
- Ammunition Depot: decent prices, well-stocked in popular ammo.
- GrabAGun: good for a heavy discount now and then.
- Lucky Gunner: incredible inventory, ships fast.
- Midway USA: quick shipping.
- OpticsPlanet: good prices on ammo and whatever else you need.
- Palmetto State Armory: save lots of money with bulk AAC ammo.
- True Shot: discreet packaging and shipping to California.
And don’t forget to check our Gun Deals of the Day page for the latest discounts on guns, ammo, and gear!
Meet the Experts
Editing this article is Scott Murdock. When he’s not helping you find the latest and greatest gear, Scott’s busy obsessively making the most of his own money. That includes buying ammo when it’s on sale, and keeping it in pristine condition until it’s time to train. The information comes from thorough research and the collective experience of the Pew Pew Tactical team.
Editor-in-Chief Jacki Billings runs our experienced team of reviewers. She is a National Rifle Association Basic Pistol Instructor as well as a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, ACES: Society for Editing, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association. Jacki has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has worked as a media professional for close to 20 years, specializing in gun media for almost 10 years. With 2,000+ articles to her name, she uses her professional journalism and editing experience to set testing protocols and editorial standards for Pew Pew Tactical.
Final Thoughts
Stocking up on ammo can save you a lot of money in the long run. Take advantage of deals and discounts, spread the cost out by buying a little at a time, and then preserve your investment.
You can safely store ammo for decades if you do it right, and now you know how!
How much ammo should people keep on hand? Give us an excuse to buy more in the comments. Need help finding deals? Check out the Best Places to Buy Ammo Online!
Latest Updates
- November 2025: Complete overhaul with new instructions, photos, and supporting content.
40 Leave a Reply
Consider adding Bone Frog Gun Club’s “house brand” to your list of best places to buy bulk ammo. I have found their 77gr OTM and 62gr all-copper 5.56 ammunition to be very reliable. They also have a separate line of “range ammo.” Prices are comparable to AAC, and BFGC is more reliable in my limited experience.
That's great info - thanks for the tip, Brad!
Vacuum packing ammo in freezer storage bags can protect ammo for an indefinite period of time.
I avoid the plastic ammo cans and stick with metal. Rodents can chew through plastic way too easily. I use mil spec cans, throw in a desiccant pack or two, seal them up and they're ready when I need them. My stock is kept on pallets in a closet under the stairs. Do not store Metal Ammo cans on bare concrete.
We live in South Central Colorado. It's an arid climate, so keeping Ammo dry isn't usually a problem. A few years back my Grandgather passed, and I inherited his few guns and whatever Ammo he had left. Mostly .22 LR and shotgun Ammo. Most of the boxes of .22 LR he had, dated from the 1950s and 60s, the newest was a can of Remingtons from the 70s, but he'd kept it in old WW2 Surplus cans, and in a cool an dry closet in his basement. A few of the unique and rarer boxes I set aside, the rest U took to the range. .22 LR isn't well known for longevity in storage. If you're going to store .22, use up your older stock first is the general rule of thumb. Suprisingly, because of how this Ammo was stored, when I took a bunch out, there were very few failures to fire in .22 LR that was 60 to 70 years old. Counting up the duds after shooting a couple hundred rounds and calculating the percentage was right at 6% failure to fire out of this very old .22. I was a bit amazed, as I figured I'd have more duds. It does show however, that how your Ammo is stowed really effects its shelf life. Stored right, even .22 LR will keep a lot longer than you'd think. Would I depend on it for hunting or protection? No. But for plinking and practice, it still serves.
Anyone that is not storing spare ammo and prepping...WILL BE LATE...Deeply troubling times are coming...It is written and WILL COME...If you choose to ignore and shrug your shoulders...WELL, WOE WITH YOU....
Little late to this party, but some of these comments are insane. Storing ammo in jars and vacuum sealing it?. Seriously, are you burying it in your yard? If you're storing ammo you're doing it mainly because you assume someone is coming to hurt eventually. In that case you're going to need that ammo readily available for reloading not outside or buried. If you just love shooting then you're ammo will be cycled out and no need for extreme storage. Ammo cans are water sealed and can store a ton of loose rounds. There ready for reloading and will last longer than most of you can wait to shoot them. Most manufactured ammo is good quality and will not have a problem being stored. Just like the old fears of ammo corroding barrels because people were using ancient stripper clip rounds that were poorly made. Modern ammo is clean and sealed. So if you want to store your ammo in rice or buried with grandma out back that's your choice. I'm just telling you it's not necessary
Vacuum seal systems like a food saver works great. Buy or reload in bulk & then divide into the vacuum sealed bags. Might help to put the end flap off the box or the details of the reload inside the bag.
Storing ammo in the gun safe? Have to question that, have always been taught that you do not want to store your ammo in your gun safe.
I am sure what you heard goes back to storing your ammo seperate from your guns for safety sake. Never bought that. The guns are worthless without ammo, and I think it would be silly to have to go to 2 different locations to get armed.
I happen to be one of the few engineers with a specialty in moisture diffusion. So here are a few points to consider.
* Safes are typically not sealed. They need air circulation to prevent the stint of the stuff in the safe off-gassing
* Air circulation in the safe helps prevent serious moisture condensation during temperature swings (assuming your safe area has some kind of humidity control).
* All polymers will diffuse moisture so the food vacuum sealer bags have limited life. The life does increase with the square of the thickness, e.g. going from 1mil to 6mil gives you 36x more time. Special note: there are aluminized polymer bags. At least the USA government grade Mil-Prf versions seal against moisture fairly well although we only tested for 1 year.
* Like comments from Vulcan, I like ammo cans with good seals. The seals are polymer, so will diffuse moisture eventually, although the diffusion area is small. Hence use a desiccant to extend the life. Consider some thick plumbing silicone grease to micro-seal imperfections in the seal and metal lip. Even micros-leaks can let a significant amount of moisture in.
* Rice and even wood chips can act as a desiccant. They are not particularly good since they can only absorb about 10% moisture by weight. Silica gel can absorb 3x that by weight. Drying rice or wood chips at 140°F for an hour should have them good for use down to about 40°F (although not well).
* The problem with cold storage is the humidity in a sealed container can reach condensation. Condensation is driven by the dew point. It you bag your ammo under standard conditions (70°F and 50% relative humidity), the dew point is only 50°F. So all your efforts are wasted, although again desiccant will help.
* I use a room dehumidifier, although note that over past 10yr, I only get about 1 year out of each, so buy the extended warranty. These units are from Lowe's (warning). I found a Honeywell unit (Home Depot) comes with a 5yr warranty, so maybe it will hold up.
Good stuff! Thank you for taking the time to share this info with us. It definitely helps put things into perspective.
What are your thoughts on vacuum sealing them in canning jars using the canning jar sealer accessory and adding desiccant packs for good measure?
Awesome info, thanks!
Commercial or mil surp ammo for long term storage is fine. Hand loaded ammo is always for short term use as even the best components and care taken to get right when loading is not the same as a fully controlled factory environment. Have powder from 1993 that is still good to go loading with and works just as well as the batch from 2018, how ever the remains of batches loaded from the 2015 do show signs of age when test against fresh hand loads even with powder from the same batch made at the change over. Yes came across a very good deal for 12kg of the 93 and used for training ammo and save the more expensive new batches for serious use, but loads over a year never quite have the same consistancy as when fresh.
Exactly right. I recently came across a few boxes of 9mm handloads in my garage that I would estimate were about 10 years old, and took them to the range to test their effectiveness. Although they all fired, they wouldn't fully cycle the action in my Glock 19, which is otherwise ultra-reliable. Reloads are for use in the short term, not long-term storage.
Your link for metal ammo cans at Cabellas was intercepted by avant link warning about your commission relationship (not an issue for me). But tapping approve and the Cabellas link didn't come up, screen frozen on the warning. Using VPN in USA.
Very odd, we're not getting the error on our end but I passed it on to be looked into. Thanks for the heads up!
I just tried the link and it worked fine.
Throw a block of Zerust, available in many places-just Google it, into any ammo can or put one in your safe. This will prevent corrosion and does not in anyway harm metal or polymers. It is as good as putting your weapons and ammo into a sealed silicone bag and each unit lasts two years.
Thanks for the info on keeping ammo in your car. I have an extra mag in my truck for my hand gun. It has been there for 3 years. Time to stop that.
VACUUM SEAL >>> Into GI FATBOY CAN >>> Add 6oz bag of DESICCANT.
VACUUM SEAL your ammo! Not much difference between that and the sardine can Russian ammo sealed under vacuum that fires after 3 decades sitting in storage. Zero oxidation.
I like to run my long term stored ammo thru my kitchen vacuum sealer first, in quantities I am likely to use PER range outing so I don't have to cut open a big bag leaving the leftover needing to be sealed. Mark them with a Sharpie with purchase date, etc if you like. Then drop in a fatboy can with a good seal, THEN drop in a rechargeable 6 - 8 ounce bag of Desiccant. Rare but can have a slow leaker bag so check yearly for leakers on a very low humidity day.
Another plus by dropping those in a functional tight seal ammo can is to buy a little extra time to grab a fire extinguisher should the smoke alarm go off, to get it out so it doesn't touch off your ammo if it gets too bad.
Have found functional and cheap fatboy ammo cans at Wally World and Harbor Freight and on sale or coupon as cheap as $10 at times. They are plenty strong, the spot welds on the handles are adequate and do not let go even with a packed can.
BUT --- you MUST check the upper seal tucked inside the rim of the top lid. Be SURE there is a good indentation on that soft material and it mates up good with the top rim of the bottom part of can OR you have a leaky can!!! At both places, about 50% of the cans fail this. SO, do your part, be patient and check until you find as many as you need or come back another day when more come in stock. No point in buying an ammo can that leaks.
I do a lot of cooking too, so a QUALITY food sealer is important to me, and after 4 of them over the years, my ProVac260 is fantastic, and does soups too with the pulse feature. It's now 6 years old. Seems they changed their name or were bought out and may today be the ARY company. I've run the snot out of my ProVac 260 and it still works great, and has outstanding suction!!! Some don't, and a cheap one won't. Plan on spending $120 and up for a decent one. The generic bag rolls from Amazon are very good and BETTER than the big name pricey stuff! Get the 25' half rolls so they fit into your machine and you don't have to cut a 50' roll in half.
Happy shooting.
I vacuum pack all my ammo. With freeze bags we use for meat. Never had any problems.I have some that 19 yrs old works just fine.
Isn't rice a good desiccant? It would also fit nicely between loose bullets in a can. And when the SHTF, you can cook it and eat it (as long as you're not worried about lead contamination).
Actually no, rice is a terrible desiccant. All dried grains are fairly bad at it, but uncooked white rice (the most commonly available in the USA and the most often used for this application) is specifically horrid - one of the worst in fact.
Silica gel is quantifiably the best commonly available desiccant. It is also quite cheap, 25 packs for $11 at Amazon. I throw one into each ammo can.
I get industrial grade blue indicating silica gel from eBay for $29 for 5 lbs, which in the 4-5 mm bead size fills a 1 gallon plastic paint can. Can be used in the small and travel size pain relief bottles when empty. I riddle the plastic with 3/64, or 5/64 drill bit. The color indicating will let you know when it needs reactivated: small SS bowl @ 250 deg/2hrs. Another fact I learned from the mfgr, even when the color turns pink, the beads are only ~60% moisture holding capacity. Just interesting...
Fantastic information thank you.
Andy UK
If you do use the food product route (not the best idea) I've found that pork rinds, yes you read that right! Like the dry ones you get from Walmart, Kroger's etc. absorb moisture unbelievably! Use them if you get you cell phone wet instead of the rice trick. But silica is the best especially long term but don't eat it. Ymmv
I really like that you mentioned being careful when buying ammo in bulk since it can become corroded and green if you don't use it soon. I have a friend who is looking to find some local ammo sales so she can stock up on ammo for shooting. I think I'll talk to her about making sure she uses it up before it corrodes.
Thanks, good info as always. Enjoy reading all your articles. I would like to see a best Glock upgrades write up if there is not one already.
There is right here! And we'll be adding to it soon.
Actually not a good idea to put your ammo in your gun safe. Buy a cheap side locker for ammo. If your safe is in a fire the bullets can detonate and cause damage to every thing in the safe. This is safe storage 101 for ammo.
I do believe the guns would have no wood or plastic by the time the ammo goes off and probably would not matter. Just a rule I was raised with you keep ammo outside of valuable gun storage.
I have a lot of ammo from 1942, german 8x57 Mauser. Stored i various conditions, No problems using this ammo. Still accurate, but corrosive.
Everyone says the same thing low temp & low humidity. WHAT TEMP AND HUMIDITY to preserve ammo for 10-20 years?
I store ammo by putting it in a plastic ammo box, then putting the ammo box in a vacuum seal bag with a small desiccant pack. Should be good for a long time!
Just be careful with putting anything that can absorb moisture inside an ammo can because it will eventually vacuum it shut and you will have to destroy the can to get it open.
It does vacuum it shut and I've opened up ones that have been in cool temperatures for 5 years. I had to pry it with a screwdriver. But so far none that I had to destroy!
I would of never thought of using silica gel packets for ammo,get idea.
If the silica gel packs absorb water if heard they will losing effectiveness, well then they can basically be baked on a low heat ( I forget the exact time and temp 150° f for. Half hour maybe) to draw moisture out of them and make them useable again. This will tend to be the case in really humid environments..
For storage I do just this, cool, dark place in ammo cans, I've shot ammo ranging from 5-10 yrs old and only ever had a dude on cheap 22 ammo never center fire ammo (knock wood) I have some 22lr from 1983 I hope to test out soon.
6000 rds under my bed, no worries about access, humidity,or damp
if it moves, shoot it