[samuel]

Quote:       Originally Posted by billy

sam, thats something i have never considered. do ya think it got hot down there?

I have heard it got so hot some slaves died from heat alone.It must have been the very worst conditions to store powder. sam.

[mym1a]

Quote:       Originally Posted by ezearln

As a retired Gunner's Mate of the U.S. Navy I can without reservation make the following statement having been responsible for the stowage and care of several thousand tons of a wide assortment of ordnance of every desciption over the years. Modern (smokeless) ammunition if stored correctly has an nearly indefinate shelf life. Proper storage includes temperature and humidity control, non exposure to direct sunlight (heat) Temperature ranges should not be below freezing nor above 120 deg for any extended period of time (more than 24 continous hours) after handling of individual compnents or cartridges they should be segregated for earlist possible expentiture. I would reccomend the use of military type ammo cans each with a dessicant pouch or two for ammunition intended for long storage.

you shot those big 16inchers??????how many miles will they go???

[ezearln]

sorry I never got the chance at the 16" but from training I know they have a 23+ miles range, that is while throwing a projectile weighing from between 2300-2750 lbs

[rugernut]

thanks guys yall r alot of help
this is the best forum i have found there is alot of good info around here

[e3mrk]

I have Ammo from WW-2 that is just as good as the day it was made.
The only Ammo I found to be bad was the 303 British made in Pakistan.
It was a 50-50 gamble if it would fire.(Bad Primers).

[gwrider]

I have been shooting 8mm ammo that was produced in the late 30's and all thru the 40's. Havn't had a dud round yet. this ammo is 60+ years old and still groups very well.
I store it in ammo cans with dessicant pks. Storage is what makes the difference.
All this ammo came from several years ago when 8mm was 75.00 for a sealed case of 900 rnds. Bought all i could then because I knew that it would dry up. Surplus has limited quantity, may take years to find the end but rest assured that there is one. Same as with the SA .223 and SA.308.

[Racer 27]

where do you get the dessicant packs from and how much?

[Recon 173]

The military used to say that you lost one round out of 1,000 rounds every ten years it was in storage. So, basically in 10 years you should have about 999 rounds to use if you store 1K rounds. They also used to say that the weakest part of a cartridge was the primer and it was those things that wore out first.

[SwedeSteve]

Geez !! You would think them old navy ships could of installed ceiling fans !! Sheesh !

[M1A Gunner]

wouldn't it be a SOB if you had like 20,000 plus rounds of ammo... the s just htf and you got whacked by a stray bullet w/o firing a single shot.

[andrew cochran]

What about if the ammo is subjected to below 0 cold for a few years? What will happen? Will it still be good?

And what about water? Can new manfactured cartridges get a little wet and still work fine?

[TACAV]

I keep all of my storage ammo in their sealed boxes stacked in military ammo cans with good rubber seals. Ill toss in some desiccant in too and store them in a room temperature part of my house.

You can buy dessicant in a lot of outdoorsman/shooting sights. Or food storage sights. Just google it.

[deadzero]

Quote:       Originally Posted by ezearln

sorry I never got the chance at the 16" but from training I know they have a 23+ miles range, that is while throwing a projectile weighing from between 2300-2750 lbs

my dad was in the navy during and after WWII and told me those 16" guns fired a projectile that weighed as much as a VW and they could drop it in a football field 25 miles away. talk about accuracy!

[Big Dog]

Get your dessicant at hobby shops that cater to those who dry flowers. A lot cheaper there.
Shipboard spaces are air-conditioned/heated, and the ammo is off-loaded before going into a shipyard period where those services are turned off. Inside temps on my ship in drydock reached 120 degrees - but we already had our munitions off-loaded.
In addition to our small arms ammo, our 5"/54 gun used separate 5" projectile and powder in an aluminum can that was consumed on firing - no brass casings to worry about! Our gun would throw the approximately 75lb shell about nine miles - up to fifteen miles for the rocket-assisted Extended Range shell. Accuracy was pretty good - our gunnersmates nailed a cow on the hillside in the Viequez Island range once - silly bovine shouldn't have been there.....