Load or leave empty?

[crittrgittr]

Just wondering what your thoughts are in whether to load up all the loads I can and leave them sit loaded until I get around to shooting them or should I leave my powder, primers, bullets, etc sit until I can shoot them right away? If its ok to loAd and sit a while should I seal the primers?

 

[kcebcj]

Really depends on you. I like to work up loads and experiment with different bullets and powder so I don't load a whole bunch at one time. I have in storage a good supply of components. If kept dry powder primers and such will last a long long time and so will loaded shells. If the primer pocket is good I see no reason to seal it.

 

[crittrgittr]

Thanx. I have all my loads worked up. I had stocked up on my supplies and was wondering if I should load them all up or leave in containers/packages until need to load to shoot?

 

[MachV]

The best shooting rounds I ever put through my 50BMG where 1945 DM AP, So I'm confident tht factory reloads will last a while......Sealing is up to you but I would protect it from moisture within reason.
Haveing said that I have quit reloading ammo any farther ahead than I have to for a couple of reasons
#1 For whatever reason the bullet seams to weld for lack of a better term to the case, usually not enough to raise presure all that much but enough to mess with the groups. The problem I've run into is that it is not consistant batch to batch some will weld more or less than others??? One way around this problem has been to load them a little long and then put them through the seater to shorten right before I want to use them.
#2 It ties up powder and/or bullets I may want for something else.
#3 The gun gets traded or rebarreled and I got a lot of ammo with not home.
#4 I HATE pulling loads back part.....almost as much as shooting reloads that are not grouping the best that they could be.

 

[Superzuki]

I like having lots of ammunition available. Having empty brass for new or experimental load data is a boon too. I can't have too many hunting or defense rounds, but target loads usually get fired right away and are hard to keep much of a supply. I might hear of some new data to try,so at least primed brass is handy to have available.

 

[crittrgittr]

Thanx guys. I never heard of welding before, but it does make sense. From what I know, any time you have two dissimilar metals you can have fusion/corrosion/welding occur. I'm not sure if copper and brass are considered dissimilar or not, but that is something to think about.

 

[kcebcj]

The best shooting rounds I ever put through my 50BMG where 1945 DM AP, So I'm confident tht factory reloads will last a while......Sealing is up to you but I would protect it from moisture within reason.
Haveing said that I have quit reloading ammo any farther ahead than I have to for a couple of reasons
#1 For whatever reason the bullet seams to weld for lack of a better term to the case, usually not enough to raise presure all that much but enough to mess with the groups. The problem I've run into is that it is not consistant batch to batch some will weld more or less than others??? One way around this problem has been to load them a little long and then put them through the seater to shorten right before I want to use them.
#2 It ties up powder and/or bullets I may want for something else.
#3 The gun gets traded or rebarreled and I got a lot of ammo with not home.
#4 I HATE pulling loads back part.....almost as much as shooting reloads that are not grouping the best that they could be.

That is a very interesting point you bring up. There is probably over time a chemical reaction between the brass and the copper. I don't know just guessing. Would not make a difference for self defense loads but could for the long range stuff.

 

[Greyfox]

For hunting, I load up enough rounds that I believe will last me through the season. For competition, I load up enough go last me through a match plus practice, or series if the maches are close together in time. I do however try to have enough components of the same lot to last the life of the barrel with my go to rifles. I rarely have more than 100-150 loaded rounds made for rifle shooting in either case. For pistol and shotgun target shooting it's a different story because of volume of shooting, usually 500 round batches.

 

[SidecarFlip]

The bedside boomer is always loaded and half safety (1911).

One thing to keep in mind with a magazine is, a fully loaded mag has it's follower spring in full compression. Springs prefer to be in the relaxed (extended position) over time. Compressed springs tend to loose extension length and tension.

Far as loaded ammunition, I keep mine in Military surplus sealed, airtight boxes. I've ignited 40 year old ammo that functions just fine.

I guess how many you have loaded depends entirely on planned use and level of paranoia.

 

[D.ID]

doubled post...kinda....

 

[D.ID]

I load them up. If I am done playing around and have found that perfect load I go into mass production mode but I do not waist ammo experimenting with every new component that comes along, once I find something that does what I want, I tend to stick with it. I do leave a small amount of new brass (usually a 100pc) in reserve for every rifle just in case. As far as magazines go.........They are loaded. 7 in 8rd, 9 in 10rnd, 18 in 20rnd, 25 in 30rnd, 35 in 40rnd and of course 100 in 100. Paranoid? Yes. Not ready on a moments notice? NO. They don't call ya a minute man if it takes ya two hours to get ready.

 

[crittrgittr]

Thanx for the replies. I was referring to loading ammo, not clips just to clarify. I think since I have a little extra time in winter i will load up most of my brass.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I've got over 5K loaded for my rifles at present, I just try to shoot 'em out every few years. Some of my stuff has been loaded 8 to 10 years and groups just fine. I have seen the welding thing a bit, but it seems to be brass with a few firings on it that'll do it. New or nearly new brass, not so much. I've also had a few try do do that with older powder that eventually went bad. The powder was oxidizing and tarnishing both the brass and the bullets.