Cheap and Efficient Brass/Ammo Kegs

[COSteve]

I've mentioned that I store my brass and excess ammo in plastic kegs. The larger ones originally held pretzels, medium ones held trail mix, and the small ones held dog treats. They are very efficient for storing brass and excess ammo that won't fit in the ammo cans as they clearly indicate how much you have and of course, they're free.

I thought I'd show you what I use as I speak of them and others might want to consider them.

This large keg holds 1,750 pieces of 5.56 brass.

Brass Keg - Large 2.jpg

It can also hold 2,500 pieces of .40 s&w brass and just over 2,000 pieces of .45 acp brass.

Brass Keg - Large.jpg

These can get pretty heavy so I only use them for empty brass that I store for future use and I have a lot of them.

These Medium kegs hold my working batches of brass that are in rotations. Currently, I have 12 of them in use.

Brass Keg - Medium 2.jpg

These kegs are smaller as I use them for excess loaded ammo. I have a lot of .357 Mag, 5.56 and .30 Carbine loaded so I use them for the excess.

Ammo Keg - Large.JPG

The smallest one holds 700 rds of .40 s&w or 350 rds of .45 Colt.

Ammo Keg - Small.jpg

[GunnyMack]

Not to mention you can see what's in them- that beat the heck out of having to open cans to see whats in a GI ammo can !

Sadly I'm not that fond of pretzels to get enough of em for all my brass.

Besides I have 10s of thousands of shotgun hulls taking up space!

[COSteve]

While not a shotgun hunter, my son has one and I've shot it a bit. A bud out at our range is a fanatic on shotguns and reloading them and he has 55 gal drums full of hulls!!

I can only imagine . . .

[GunnyMack]

Yup same here!

[stretch]

I use 'em from mixed nuts that we buy at Sam's club.

You can use a Sharpie to write right on the plastic to label what's in 'em.

The ink in Sharpies is alcohol-soluble, so when you empty the thing, just
wipe off the writing with alcohol and you're ready for the next load.

The smaller containers also hold loaded ammo - and you can label all the
particulars in Sharpie. (I think the bigger containers are too heavy with loaded
ammunition - YMMV.)

Be a hero in the kitchen - glass or plastic reusable containers can be labelled
with a Sharpie before they go in the freezer. Then when they're washed and
reused, wipe your label off with an alcohol wipe and they're ready for the next
batch of soup stock or leftovers. Your wives will think you're geniuses.....
(Okay, so maybe they know you better than that......)

-Stretch

[Grizz]

That's good stuff Steve
I save every one of every size and store tools, empty brass, fiberglassing additives, rice and beans, etc. They will go into the boat and act as flotation in the locker spaces. Even canned food can rest in one. All of my food stuff will be containerized this way. Becomes ballast and buoyancy at the same time. I put yaris size tools, wrenches and sockets into one size, and t4r size tools in another one. One goes in the yaris boot. 1/4" drive and the 10 and 12 and 14 and a small adjustable metric all go in there. dump everything into a gold pan when i'm wrenching . . .

[COSteve]

Grizz, I know what you mean. I actually got the idea from my wife about 35 yrs ago when she would take the kids Legos and put them in the big plastic kegs. That way they didn't end up all over the house and I could stack them away for the next time.

She still does things like that as she found a plastic tub with a lid at the store about 10" x 5" x 4" that she uses to store cooked bacon in. That way she cooks up a whole pound about once a week and stores it in there until it's gone.

All she does is heat it up while cooking the eggs and it's simple. And, that way, I only have to clean up the bacon grease from the stove every week instead of every day.

[Griff]

While not a shotgun hunter, my son has one and I've shot it a bit. A bud out at our range is a fanatic on shotguns and reloading them and he has 55 gal drums full of hulls!!
I can only imagine . . .

I'm quite fat enough to eat enough pretzels or cheese puffs to replace my ice cream tubs or coffee cans (plastic). I do use ammo cans for loaded ammo, the plastic is only for processed brass, until it's processed, it stays in my range bags, (I cut off worn out jeans below the knee, sew up the opening, instant range brass bag).

[marlinman93]

I've used old pepperoni plastic jugs for years to store smaller quantities of brass under my loading bench. But for larger amounts I buy generic bins similar to Tupperware I get from my local discount store. They are clear with a white lid, and rectangle shaped. About 8"-9" wide by 14" long, and 4"-5" deep. I prefer them because they stack, which allows me to use storage space better. They used to be $1-$1.50 each on sale, but I think they're more like $2.50 ea. now.