Not like I didnt have anything to do today, one SIL, stopped over with a gym bag full of pew pew seeds. He read some place that for long storage they should be vacuum packed. I fooled around with them for a couple hours and told him to go watch or read all that stuff again. Some 9s and 45s still in factory boxes sealed up. Some loose 7.62x39 sealed up too. Anything in a mag would not hold a seal, I thought maybe a corner was poking through the plastic. So I doubled up and wrapped then and tried to seal again, it sucked the air out and sealed. and you could lay them on the counter and watch the vacuum just go away. I am at a loss, it seals up food like forever but not the pew pew seeds. So has any one sealed them for "long storage" tell me what I was doing wrong. None of my stuff lays around long enough to get stale but you know those boating accidents !
Vacuum sealing pew pew seeds
- Thread starter skeets
- Start date
Either the mags are poking a hole in the bag or your vacuum sealer sucks, but is not sealing properly.
The only "obvious" explanation is that the air in the cartridge case eventually gets past the bullet and/or primer given some time, i.e. it doesn't get extracted as the vacuum is being drawn. But I would expect to see that for all configurations and not just ammunition loaded into magazines.
If the ammunition loaded into magazines is different from the other types of ammunition then it might explain why only the vacuum bags with magazines in them are appearing to lose vacuum which actually wouldn't be the case, the pressure would simply be equalizing.
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Runs With Scissors
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I agree with @McMXi …..sounds like the air from the cartridge is slowing escaping after the seal is made.
Although all of my stuff sits in "Davey Jones’s Locker" due to "Gilligan Like” boating skills, I don’t really do anything to it.
I do have a few of those “military grade blister packs”, but most of my stuff just sits in a cool dry basement.
I can’t remember ever grabbing a box and having it be “bad” and I have shot quite a lot of that “old war” surplus stuff back when it was readily available.…….
Of course, I also remember back “in the day” when I was “stepping over” CASES…and CASES of surplus Mosins and SKS’s (and such) for 59-69dollars each…..Not to mention the surplus ammo by the "cases and cases" at Camp Perry……………….Should have bought a few cases…what a dumbass….
Although all of my stuff sits in "Davey Jones’s Locker" due to "Gilligan Like” boating skills, I don’t really do anything to it.
I do have a few of those “military grade blister packs”, but most of my stuff just sits in a cool dry basement.
I can’t remember ever grabbing a box and having it be “bad” and I have shot quite a lot of that “old war” surplus stuff back when it was readily available.…….
Of course, I also remember back “in the day” when I was “stepping over” CASES…and CASES of surplus Mosins and SKS’s (and such) for 59-69dollars each…..Not to mention the surplus ammo by the "cases and cases" at Camp Perry……………….Should have bought a few cases…what a dumbass….
I do not vacuum seal them. High vacuum can dislodge the bullets in the loaded ones and be a problem later. Vacuum can cause moisture trapped in them to boil and create gas also. Try sealing an empty magazine to see if the bags are being punctured. I find mylar bags are tougher also.
@skeets…what’s your goal (longevity, water submersion protection, or damp basement protection, etc) in doing this and how many seeds we talking…couple boxes, or couple pallets? (Damp basement protection or wanting to plant a package of seeds under the dock of the pond or something?)
reason I ask is suspect you are worried about moisture, correct? Another option is a storage case with a seal and some desiccant / absorbent (silica gel packets).
buy there is also laminating instead of vacuum sealing.
Good luck.
reason I ask is suspect you are worried about moisture, correct? Another option is a storage case with a seal and some desiccant / absorbent (silica gel packets).
buy there is also laminating instead of vacuum sealing.
Good luck.
Thanks guys, I really am not sure of his intent, he just seems a little more feral lately. It was just curious to me why things would not seal, well sealed and then re inflated, always a wealth of information in here
When I worked for Remington I developed a .308 Win 150gr load specifically for the FBI and their new rifle at the time which was a LaRue Tactical OBR. The FBI wanted waterproofing for the primers and case necks in addition to sub moa performance. Needless to say, they got what they wanted and placed orders for millions of rounds of the stuff. The point here is the addition of waterproofing. If you're handloading you can add this feature to make ammunition more durable if moisture is a concern for you. If you're assembling rounds in a dry environment there's little concern of problems at a later date.
One of the biggest issues with moisture is that corrosion can occur at the interface between the bullet and case neck which can result in a significant increase in neck tension/bullet pull values which can lead to excessive chamber pressures. With rifle ammunition it's not a bad idea to seat the bullet a few thousandths deeper to break any corrosion bonds that have formed. I've done that with a few hundred rounds of Federal Gold Medal Match 168gr that I was given by an ex girlfriend who managed (manages) a gun shop. She'd had the rounds under her bed for years.
Ammunition does tend to be quite durable though if stored under reasonable conditions. I've shot a lot of Vietnam era ammunition (.45 ACP 230gr FMJ) that my father-in-law gave me and this stuff had been stored in a hot and humid warehouse in Hawaii for decades but no issues at all.
One of the biggest issues with moisture is that corrosion can occur at the interface between the bullet and case neck which can result in a significant increase in neck tension/bullet pull values which can lead to excessive chamber pressures. With rifle ammunition it's not a bad idea to seat the bullet a few thousandths deeper to break any corrosion bonds that have formed. I've done that with a few hundred rounds of Federal Gold Medal Match 168gr that I was given by an ex girlfriend who managed (manages) a gun shop. She'd had the rounds under her bed for years.
Ammunition does tend to be quite durable though if stored under reasonable conditions. I've shot a lot of Vietnam era ammunition (.45 ACP 230gr FMJ) that my father-in-law gave me and this stuff had been stored in a hot and humid warehouse in Hawaii for decades but no issues at all.
North Idaho Wolfman
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I just have all my ammo cans packed with desiccant packets that I reset every few years.
My BB gun BB's and air rifle pellets stay all nice and cozy.
My BB gun BB's and air rifle pellets stay all nice and cozy.
Back in 1974 I bought many boxes of .38 Special military ball ammo from a guy I worked with. Still in the original boxes, and I still have a few of those boxes and every so often shoot out a box. Works just fine, no misfires. Ammo was probably old when I bought it in 1974.
My seed collection lives in a cool, dehumidified space. .22LR, 9mm, .45ACP, shotgun, 5.56, 8mm Mauser and 6.5 Creedmor. Quite a bit of the 8mm is very, very old and never fails to do as intended.
Andreas
Andreas