Ammunition is as much an investment as the firearms in which it is used. Whether you spend a few dollars on target rounds or hundreds on specialty hunting loads, that is money you do not want to lose to poor handling. Sadly, many gun owners care for even their cheapest firearm but then toss their ammo supply behind a truck seat, in an unused closet or behind the workbench in the garage. The result is useless ammo and lost money. Some advice will help you avoid that.

The guidance–dark, dry, and cool–is a long-held standard for ammunition storage. Each rule made sense in the era of powder, ball and wad. Such a location protected ammo from humidity, chemical breakdown and fire or explosion. Today’s ammunition is more stable than kegs of powder, but still susceptible to damage.

Humidity is by far the single greatest danger when it comes to ammunition. Even a little bit of moisture can promote rusting or similar corrosion, something many people think is only the result of getting wet. It takes very little moisture to cause failure, especially if it penetrates the primer or the main cartridge case. No matter what else you do, if you cannot keep your ammunition as dry as possible, it will eventually be ruined.

Darkness does not prevent fire, but it does prevent premature breakdown of seals and packaging matters. Think about what happens to a shirt or hat left in your vehicle for an extended period. The material discolors, becomes faded, and eventually becomes unused. The same holds true for ammunition. Even if the case appears well cared for, prolonged exposure to light can weaken seals and damage packaging, setting the stage for compromised ammunition.

Now we come to keeping your ammo cool. This is one area where the modern requirements differ greatly from those needed to protect early powders. Where original powders were unstable and could react violently to heat, modern ammo is far more reliable. Despite the saying “dark, dry and cool,” “cool” has come to mean “free from temperature fluctuations.” Nowadays, it is not necessarily extreme cold or heat that is dangerous, it is the frequent temperature fluctuations that cause damage. Ammunition is more than capable of withstanding temperatures in excess of 100 degrees or below freezing, but cannot be subjected to constantly changing temperatures.

So, now that you know what you need to protect your ammo from, it’s time to decide where to put it. If money and size were of no concern, you could do what the military does: construct large, concrete-lined, underground bunkers. Being underground provides protection from temperature changes. The concrete or steel lining can keep out moisture or keep it at manageable levels. This construction also protects from direct sunlight. You would meet at three portions of the “dark, dry, and cool” scenario.

But who has the ability to build such an elaborate storage facility? You need an alternative. Luckily, most homes have spaces suitable for long-term storage. Almost any space can be converted into a proper ammunition storage area if it stays dark, dry and cool.

Once you have selected a location, it is time to decide how you will store your ammo. You can always purchase a large safe, similar to those used to store firearms, which will protect from environmental threats as well as theft or unauthorized use. But doing so can be very expensive, and not everyone has a situation suitable for a large, heavy safe. If you are on a budget, live in an apartment, or do not have a stockpile large enough to justify a safe, there are other options.

The easiest means of storing ammo is to do so the same way manufacturers do: by simply keeping it in the original containers. Although cans and original boxes are the best means of storing ammo, there are a host of other ways to store and organize ammo as well. Loose rounds can be stored in buckets, coffee cans, or even large heavy-duty ziplock bags. Some people have even used vacuum food savers, literally sealing the stored ammo in long sleeves. The bottom line is, you can store ammo in almost anything, but you still need to protect it as much as possible from the elements. Even if your container is placed inside a room, safe or other area selected for its protection, anything can fail, and it is the container that provides the final level of protection.

Modern ammunition standards have, without a doubt, surpassed anything that could have been imagined 100 or even 50 years ago. There was a time when even the best-carry ammo had a surprisingly short shelf life. That is no longer the case. Where ammunition was once capable of being safely used for only a few years after manufacture, modern ammo has a shelf life that can stretch into decades.

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Tom Burrell is a retired Waterways Conservation Officer, veteran and lifelong outdoorsman. He now spends his days hunting, fishing and sharing his experiences with readers.