Need to get organized
My ammo and mag storage looks like this:
What do you guys use?
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
Uncle Pays the Bills
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May 25th, 2015 at 1:36 pm
mines still in boxes for the most part from when I moved in November, and I have yet to number most(ok any) of my magazines.
I need to build a shelf setup in the storage room and get it all organized along with my reloading stuff so I know what I really have on hand.
May 25th, 2015 at 2:18 pm
Ammo cans, Unc. Ammo cans are your friends.
And stick-on labels, of course.
May 25th, 2015 at 2:36 pm
Ammo is color coded .50 cans: .308 in black cans, 5.56 in yellow, .45acp in Pontiac blue, .38 in white, 9mm in pink cans, .22lr in orange cans, etc. No real scheme to my system other than pink for 9mm because I am a sarcastic SOB.
Reserve mags in Rubbermaid storage containers. I just use a marker to write AK-47, 74, G3, AR, etc.
Loaded mags on chest rig by the door.
Range/training mags in wooden box ready to go, other range mags in 5.11 range bag.
All stowed on shelves I built in alcove in basement.
As well, you can use those 7′ metal storage shelves too. I bought a “Husky” that is rated at 5,000 lbs. It is loaded up with ammo on the bottom and emergency hygiene (bleach, baking soda, soap, razors, etc.), medical, food, inter alia.
I can send photos if you have an e-mail.
May 25th, 2015 at 2:44 pm
I’d like to see. sayuncle at Gmail dot Com
May 25th, 2015 at 3:05 pm
Looks about right to me. Except what Joel said about ammo cans. Caliber-specific ammo cans are how I get bulk range fodder to and from the shooty place.
May 25th, 2015 at 3:07 pm
Shootin’ Buddy color codes his ammo cans. Bobbi made really nice handmade stencils.
I just scribble the caliber on mine with a paint marker. 😀
May 25th, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Loaded mags in load bearing rig or go bags, unloaded in boxes.
Ammo loaded on stripper clips and packed in Bandoliers, when possible, in crates and ammo cans. Spare loaders/spoons stored with full bandos, spare magazines, and in pouch on web gear or go bags.
Other ammo, e.g. pistol ammo, in original packaging, or reloads loaded in empty boxes retained from range trips, these stored in ammo cans.
Haven’t bothered with color coding; just use twist ties to attach note cards with a hole punched in them to the can handle. Note card tells what is in each can, and how much.
Some cans have multiple calibers if weapons intended to be paired, e.g. lever gun and a revolver carried together hunting. Note cards are easy to change with updated information on contents.
Cans and crates all stashed around as if by a paranoid squirrel.
May 25th, 2015 at 3:40 pm
My system is simple….one big pile!
You are a neat freak compared to me. 🙂
May 25th, 2015 at 4:01 pm
I use a 6-foot tall set of school lockers – 6 doors
#1 (top): 38, 357, 32, and misc pistol calibers
#2: 9mm, 40, 45
#3: 22
#4: 5.56 and rifle calibers
#5: shotgun
#6 (bottom): misc, mostly empty at the moment.
May 25th, 2015 at 5:46 pm
I have two sets of metal glass=fronted bookcases full of that sort of thing. Govt surplus, ca 1950s. One shelf for .22, one for .40, one for extra reloading, one for 5.56, one for other stuff… Need about six more shelves, I think. Lots of ammo cans lying around, too, it seems. Hmmmm.
May 25th, 2015 at 6:33 pm
Doesn’t take much room to store mine anymore…a smallish gun safe at home, long guns on one side, shelves on the other side with ammo and mags on the lower three and handguns on the top two.
A tiny smidgen of what I used to hoard, but now that I’m having to take back the pawn & gun and re-up the FFL that will change pretty soon; that all has to stay fairly organized, and I always considered my inventory to be my personal stash should the SHTF.
May 25th, 2015 at 7:14 pm
My storage and organization method is similar to yours except for ammo cans. Bulk loaded range fodder goes in ammo cans, carry ammo and store bought stays in original containers. Bulk crate ammo stays in crates/boxes. I store it all anywhere I can find room.
May 25th, 2015 at 7:16 pm
Oh and duct tape and a sharpie for my labeling system.
May 25th, 2015 at 9:02 pm
My methodology is “whatever”. If I try to organize it, my dear wife comes in and tries to take over. Alphabetical by ???? or from smallest to largest or all the red boxes together, etc. I just gave up and stack it however it comes in the door.
May 25th, 2015 at 9:14 pm
I have various loads in 12 or so different calibers sprinkled through the house like fairy dust until I get my storage room refinished. Most firearms are in one or another of the safes, but those are currently pretty chaotic as well.
May 25th, 2015 at 10:59 pm
Mostly two stacks of ammo cans in different places. I bought dozens of them when you could get .50 cal cans for $5 a pop. And well hidden I might add. Each ammo can has a notecard taped to it with what calibers are in it with an exact count. I have a third stack that’s larger than what a lot of people keep on hand as my ‘shooting supply’. A neatly organised pile I just pick from when I go out.
May 26th, 2015 at 5:33 am
Computer printed labels on ammo cans in a 4X2X2 job site box, 30 cal can for loose (reloads), 50 cal for boxed. 4″ X 2.5″ labels from Staples, printer from Brother. Still-sealed cases on top of the cans. Rifle mags in the bottom drawer of a legal-size fireproof file cabinet, with cardboard partitions, pistol mags in labeled quart freezer bags in the job box.
May 26th, 2015 at 10:42 am
Ammo cans, each one Sharpied with the caliber inside, and for the most part actually containing that caliber and maybe one or two boxes of something else, because I didn’t want to move the ammo cans around to get to the correct one just to put one partial box back after a range trip.
Makes for a nice surprise when I think I’m all out of .32ACP and find a whole box in with the .410 shells, or vice versa.
May 26th, 2015 at 11:06 am
We teach new shooters so we keep 10-20 cases of various calibers on hand, and visual is about the easiest way for us to manage it all. We don’t keep lists or labels because they are a PIA to maintain.
Ammo lives on heavy-duty storage shelves in their original cardboard case, tipped sideways for easy viewing. Unopened cases sit behind open ones. Oddball ammo – stuff we didn’t buy by the case – we just stack up in an empty ammo box. Mags go into a box when empty; then move into another box when loaded.
This makes everything easy to grab and/or inventory.
We go visual with guns and mags, too. We paint mags with a stripe when it would be easy to confuse parts – for instance between a 9mm and .40 S&W Glock mag. We even paint the bottom inside rim of the gun magwell for quick reference. This is pretty much an issue only with Glock 26/27 and 19/23 because they are damn near identical otherwise. If we are using 9mm, we just make sure everything we grab has a red stripe (I know most people won’t paint stripes on their guns, but it works great for us and you don’t see any paint when a mag is loaded into the gun).
Range guns are locked up in a safe, but ammo and mags are usually on open shelves in a locked room. The only ammo we lock up is stuff we want to limit on the range (steel core because it will damage steel plates, for instance).
When shooting, we load up a $10 Craftsman tool bag with what we need, and never more. We empty it when done.
Self-defense guns have individual lock-boxes wherever they need to be. When set aside for defense, they don’t go to the range or get touched until we rotate them out 1-2 months later.
FWIW, we literally live at the range so YMMV. Will send pics if you re interested.
May 26th, 2015 at 12:17 pm
You can fit all your ammo and mags in one picture?
😉
May 26th, 2015 at 12:25 pm
Buddy’s got the right idea – ammo cans -, but I suggest using 30cal cans rather that .50cal cans. Loaded they usually weigh about half as much and are therefore a hellofalot easier to pickup and move. And I speak as someone with >150K of various calibers. Empty spare mags are okay in .50cal cans though.
May 26th, 2015 at 8:02 pm
I found a old four drawer metal filing cabinet – similar to what we used in the military reserves. Cost $20 – and sturdy enough to hold 2000 rounds per drawer. I keep most common ammo in the boxes, some is stored in ammo cans. I can secure it with bar and padlock if needed. Works perfectly fine for my needs.
Charles