How should I store my range and self defense ammunition to prevent rust? I have my guns and ammo stored in a heavy duty gun safe. The ammunition is stored in a locked storage cabinet in the safe. However when took a couple rounds out of the boxes of 9mm, they had rust on them. It shouldn’t be a problem because I have a de humidifier in the safe that I renew once every 30 days.
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Bigger dehumidifier in the room the type with a fan and water tank, and dessicant packs with the ammo. Bubble wrap to fill empty areas in cans.
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I heard of a guy who bought one of those vacuum pack sealers…
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Local weed dealer? 
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I guess it wouldn’t hurt too have 2 de humidifiers
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@Lakerfan34 Some ideas from another post.
BRUCE26Helping Hand
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@William191 This is what I have used for years and am very satisfied, $1.50 at the Dollar Store.
I change them out every 6 months. Cheap and work great. 
P.S. Made in U.S.A.
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I use damp rid containers from years ago & fill them with 100% calcium chloride ( normal use for snow & ice removal, 20# bag lasts a long time) & before some folks talk about rust, it does not.
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Virgil_HRegular
I too have a wooden ammo cabinet. I use something just like what @BRUCE26 uses. It works really well. I have a lot of it in ammo cans too with the little desiccant packs inside. Between the two, the ammo looks just great after a year.
It is inside the climate controlled part of the house though.
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Haha, the ammo for my 41mag is pretty old and has ever only been kept in a similar cabinet or just in a paper bag on top shelf in a closet. I mean around 20 years old or longer. Will have to go shoot some this summer.
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BRUCE26Helping Hand
Virgil_H
I have a 12x12 room in the basement, cool-dark-dry is the key. I run a large dehumidifier in the room for 4 hours once a month. For really long-term storage I vacuum-seal everything.
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Also a side note, I use silica gel (normally used for drying flowers) in any porous fabric or coffee filters for ammo stored in cans.
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Both gun safe and ammo safe have electronic dehumidifiers. Ammo is also vacuum sealed.
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Factory box or an ammo can. Indoors where it’s climate controlled.
Something is amiss if there’s corrosion. I’ve had Al case Blazer stored for many years of perfection and I don’t use dehumidifier other than home hvac
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Perhaps it’s an indicator to change manufacturer?
How long did you store that ammo?
I still have few rounds of Fiocchi HP from 2019… no signs of rust on them.
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Move to Arizona. I haven’t seen rust since my last visit to Swansee ghost town. ; )
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I keep my ammo in bubble wrap. Works for me. I don’t keep it long enough for it to rust. It’s always rotated out through expenditure.
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They shouldn’t have any rust on them. I just got them last year.
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I’ve been storing them in the factory box. Maybe I should invest in an ammo can. That might help make a difference.
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@Lakerfan34, is this Tula, Winchester, or some other steel case ammo? If it is brass or nickle plated brass case ammo, then I suggest it is surface rust from a contaminant that got on the outside surface and rusted.
You will see brand new stainless steel washers with surface rust, not because the washers are rusting, but because contaminants that do rust get on them during handling.
Edit: Sorry @Jerzy I clicked the wrong “reply” button
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Depending on how bad the corrosion is you might be able to fire them as they are. You could clean them up some with some Scotch-Brite pads or they may be really damaged.
Can you post some photos? A picture is worth 1000 words.
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Rust? Or discoloration? Brass, copper lead doesn’t rust.
Steel-cased ammo can rust but unless it gets wet, near sea water or extremely high humidity it’s highly unlikely because the cases are generally coated.
If you’re seeing discoloration on the cases but can’t actually feel anything on the surface you can do one of three things:
• Ignore it
• Shoot it
• Send it to me
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Tarnished?
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Salt will quickly affect brass. I picked up fired brass from my backyard range and put it in a peanut container. It was in there about a week and some pieces already had some green spots.
It all cleaned up though in my wet tumbler with stainless steel pins.
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that was my thought, was it steel case such as Tula. After one box of Tula, altho not a rust issue, I won’t buy steel case again.
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