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These are the techniques and equipment that I use to produce reloaded cartridges for bolt and semi-automatic rifles. Other techniques and equipment may be: better/worse, cheaper/costlier, safer/more dangerous or whatever. Read this stuff and use it or not, at your own risk!

Primers, Powder and Bullets should be stored in the manufacturers original packaging with the labels intact. Sometimes it will help to mark the packages with the purchase date.

Empty, or especially primed, cases should be stored in sealed packages, coffee cads with lids, plastic "zip-loc" bag or cardboard boxes are some choices. Spiders and insects like to live in nice brass houses. It's a good idea to stick a note inside with the condition of the case, number of firings etc.

Completed (reloaded) rounds should be stored and labeled with info such as, date, powder load and type, primer mfg. and type (Mag. or Match), bullet weight and any other unique info that may help to figure out just what the hell you did two years ago. NON'T TRUST YOUR MEMORY!

The absolute BEST way to store reloaded ammo is in USGI steel ammo boxes; either loose, as above, or boxed. These things are a real bitch to hump through the boonies, but they're great for keeping ammo fresh. Make sure the rubber gasket is intact and it's nice if there's no rust. If the ammo is loose, as above, stick a note inside, if it's in boxes, label each box.

Bullet manufacturers usually stick one or two paste-on labels in each box of bullets, the Sierra label, shown above is bigger, and asks for some info you may not need to record. If you're using bulk bullets, make some labels on your printer

Plastic boxes with hinged or removable lids are available from Scharch, MTM , Midway and others. These are nice for loaded ammo or just primed cases and are pretty cheap.

Nicest, and more costly, are the 100 round boxes made by MTM, shown on the left. These have little plastic fingers that support the cases from the side, rather than allowing the bullet tips to rest on the floor of the box. These are for 22-250 and larger cases and loaded ammo, and have a wholesale price, as of 03-07-03 of $5.89. The MTM 100 round box for 17/223, left, has no fancy case supports, and costs $2.95.

The best thing I have found (I furnish rifles to beginning shooters, and I require my ammo to be shot) for misc. storage is cardboard boxes from Scharch. They come in 20 and 50 round sizes, with paper and plastic trays, in either white or red fold-flat boxes. (The trays make good reloading trays, too).

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