[jlbeasley1976]

Simple question...say you have 1000 9mm cases, 1000 sp primers, 1000 bullets and enough powder to assemble everything. Is it best to go ahead and put them together or leave the components separate? Which option is the best for storage?

 

[Colorado4Wheel]

The GTR way of doing this is now......

Scrap the cases at a scrap yard or just throw them away to save gas. They are only SP after all.

Soak the primers in bleach. WD40 if you only want to injure them.

Melt the bullets downtown make ingots. They store better and you can recycle the copper.

 

[tbob38]

Loading them all limits your flexibility.

 

[F106 Fan]

Simple question...say you have 1000 9mm cases, 1000 sp primers, 1000 bullets and enough powder to assemble everything. Is it best to go ahead and put them together or leave the components separate? Which option is the best for storage?

Have you shot several thousand of the same load? Are you absolutely certain you like the load and that it works in all guns you have now plus any you might buy in the future?

If so, go ahead and load them.

I have the same problem. I have used the same .45 ACP load since the early '80s. I have no reason to change and there is no question about the load. Of course I load in large batches. Nothing is going to change - ever! At the moment I have about 5k empty and 3 or 4k loaded. When I shoot up what I have, I'll load everything.

OTOH, I am about to start loading .40 S&W. I will make some test rounds and settle on a load, of course. But will I load several thousand all at one time? Probably not... I will probably only load a few hundred at a time until I have shot several thousand. I really don't want to have to tear down a dumpster full of ammo!

But the basic answer (in my view) is that loaded ammo is worth something. Empties are pretty useless.

Richard

 

[Kentguy]

jlbeasley1976..."Is it best to go ahead and put them together or leave the components separate?"

With all respect to other's comments, not only is it easier but far more efficient to store 1,000 finished rounds rather than 3,000 individual components plus powder. Not to mention that if you make them up you now have 1,000 rounds of finished ammunition ready to go.

That is what I would do anyway... :dunno:

 

[Colorado4Wheel]

I agree with Kent. Also make another components order.

 

[Kentguy]

You never know when those pesky zombies are going to start wandering into your yard looking for a... meal. :shocked:

:supergrin::supergrin::supergrin:

 

[jlbeasley1976]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I've been sitting on about 2200 9mm bullets and brass and bout 1800 45s. Just been too lazy to break down and get them done. My plan was to wait till I got down to about 500 each then knock them out but I think you guys have convinced me to go ahead and put them together. As far as my specific loads, yes I have ones that I will stick with for eternity. Btw, I have a 9mm load w/ Universal that Is out of this world. Two loads with 45, one Bullseye, one 231. Opinions on powder choices?

 

[Kentguy]

jlbeasley1976... "Opinions on powder choices?"

For 9mm their are lots of powders that will give you great target and SD loads. Some I have tested are;

Accurate #5
Alliant Bullseye
Alliant Power Pistol
Hodgdon HS6
Hodgdon Universal
Winchester Autocomp
Winchester WSF
Winchester 231

Good luck and be safe

 

[PCJim]

Beasley, while the above comments are all good, you might want to look yourself in a mirror....

Answer the question, "If I load a thousand rounds, am I really going to let them sit in storage, or am I going to go hog wild and shoot three times what I would sanely shoot in a normal trip to the range?"

 

[fredj338]

I like to always have 500rds of any given caliber on the shelf. It's fine to loa dit all, or none, your time & shooting needs are yours.

 

[jmorris]

Depends. If you know that your only going to have one load that you shoot forever and that it, why not load them all up?

If you think you might want to try different loads, powder charge, OAL depth or something else, you wouldn't want them all loaded the same.

 

[jlbeasley1976]

Answer the question, "If I load a thousand rounds, am I really going to let them sit in storage, or am I going to go hog wild and shoot three times what I would sanely shoot in a normal trip to the range?"[/QUOTE]

Good point although a little late. Went ahead and knocked out all of my nines and sure enough on the way out the door this morning, I said to myself "I might have time to swing by the creek this afternoon. I think I'll grab a couple of handfuls". Well, a couple of handfuls turned out to be a little over 100 rounds. Dat gum, already putting a dent in my stash.

 

[DWARREN123]

If you know what loading you want to/will use then I say load them up.

 

[dougader]

I try to have a bunch loaded up in various calibers, too. That way if you suddenly have some free time, you can grab some and go shooting. I've had the Boy Scouts asking me to take them to range lately, so I have loaded more up in case I get a call (like I did last Friday to see if I can take a couple to the range Monday/Presidents Day).

 

[jdavionic]

I just try to keep a constant 'buffer' quantity. This way I've got rounds readily available if I need them, but I also have components for future tweaks and changes.

 

[hogfish]

Simple question...say you have 1000 9mm cases, 1000 sp primers, 1000 bullets and enough powder to assemble everything. Is it best to go ahead and put them together or leave the components separate? Which option is the best for storage?

If you think about it, 1,000 rds is just one (1) case: not that many. If it were me, I'd load them. Much easier to store 1,000 cartridges than that many each of three different items in three separate places.

 

[njl]

Hopefully it's a load you're very comfortable with. It'd suck to load 1000 rounds only to find out that it's not enough powder to function reliably in all your 9mms, or that the OAL is off and it won't chamber or feed reliably in certain guns.