I just aquired some older ammo, questions about storage?

[mastiffhound]

I got a call from my Grandmother about some ammo boxes that were stored under a bed by my Grandfather in a guest room. She didn't know what they were and couldn't lift them. After finding out what they were she said my Grandfather would want me to have them. It was around 3000 rounds of .22LR with about 100 rounds of .30-06 and .30-30 each. The ammo looks to be late 80's to late 90's with one box of .30-06 being from the 70's I think. It was stored in old .50 BMG cans with what looks like handkerchiefs filled with rice and tied off at the top. I shot a couple rounds of the .22LR and it shot fine.

Anybody here ever hear of rice being used this way? The ammo still looks brand new, I don't know if it's because of the cans, rice, or a combo of the two? He never mentioned anything about it to me when he was alive. I'm thinking about just buying more desiccant but if it's worked this long I might just leave it alone. Any ideas?

[Clint]

Congrats on the windfall ammo.

Rice isn't a desiccant.

Ammo stores pretty well under mild indoor conditions.

It should be just fine.


I got a call from my Grandmother about some ammo boxes that were stored under a bed by my Grandfather in a guest room. She didn't know what they were and couldn't lift them. After finding out what they were she said my Grandfather would want me to have them. It was around 3000 rounds of .22LR with about 100 rounds of .30-06 and .30-30 each. The ammo looks to be late 80's to late 90's with one box of .30-06 being from the 70's I think. It was stored in old .50 BMG cans with what looks like handkerchiefs filled with rice and tied off at the top. I shot a couple rounds of the .22LR and it shot fine.

Anybody here ever hear of rice being used this way? The ammo still looks brand new, I don't know if it's because of the cans, rice, or a combo of the two? He never mentioned anything about it to me when he was alive. I'm thinking about just buying more desiccant but if it's worked this long I might just leave it alone. Any ideas?

[Kain]

I have known people to put rice in a salt shaker to absorb moisture and I imagine that was the thought here. How effective it would be? Up for debate, but it is what the thought process here would have been. Certainly could not have hurt the ammo since I know of many who have stored ammo in worse conditions, myself included, for sometime without anything other than placing it in a sealed ammo can. Maybe for some enterprising individual in the science field could do a side by side comparison for a project and get a nice grade.

[vicious_cb]

I have known people to put rice in a salt shaker to absorb moisture and I imagine that was the thought here. How effective it would be? Up for debate, but it is what the thought process here would have been. Certainly could not have hurt the ammo since I know of many who have stored ammo in worse conditions, myself included, for sometime without anything other than placing it in a sealed ammo can. Maybe for some enterprising individual in the science field could do a side by side comparison for a project and get a nice grade.

Salt itself IS a desiccating agent, used for thousands of years to dry food. People THINK it absorbs moisture in salt shakers but its really just acting as an anti-caking agent preventing the build up of large clumps.

While rice has SOME desiccating properties, depending on how well is was dried, it is NO WHERE near a true desiccant like silica gel. There is a reason you have to boil rice for 10-20 mins to get it absorb significant amounts of water.

[Distinguished Rick]

Rice absorbs moisture as others have stated. Been used to dry out cell phones that have gotten wet for years. The ammo should be good if it was stored in ammo cans. When I was in Iraq 2004 - 2011 I worked at the Class V yard at Camp Anaconda. I handled and inspected .50 cal rounds that were produced and packaged in the early 1950's. Ammo was as pristine then as it was when it was produced.

[bfoosh006]

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