doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: keeping shells dry

A friend who does conservation in Zambia has asked me about keeping shotshells dry:

"the scouts that work for me tried to fire off some rounds while they were arresting some poachers last week. And nothing happened. So I got a quick tutorial from an semi-ex-mercenary friend and identified the problem: wet ammunition.

How do people normally solve this problem? They guys are using pump action shotguns and carry the shells around separately, so the shells are I think prone to getting wet."

These shells are likely to be carried for years before being used and it is wet for six months of the year. Any suggestions?

Many thanks.

Coat the shells including around the primer with lacquer or shellac. The primer area is probably the most critical but moisture can migrate from the crimp as well. The US military has been sealing primers with lacquer for years and seldom has misfires due to moisture killing the priming compound.

The easy solution is to put them in a plastic freezer bag, the kind that is re-sealable.

addendum: I'm assuming they are not carrying many cartridges. If there is concern for the bag life, double bag them. Change the bag whenever a hole or damage is noted on the outer bag. Start with fresh clean cartridges for each scout. Get rid of all the present ammunition in their possession.

I hunt coastal WA and it rains the whole season my shells stay in my blind bag in Ziploc Freezer Quart bags, heavier duty than sandwich bags, the ones that got put in my pockets get set on the kitchen table in front of the pellet stove before going back in the bag. I still have to fight rust on the shell head, with a green scrubbie and Johnsons paste wax.

I spend a month in Alaska every year fishing for the Rainbow trout that feed on the eggs and flesh of the returning salmon. On a daily basis there will be Brown bears up close and personal, feeding on the waning salmon.
I load my own 45 Long Colt bear loads and the revolver gets submerged or at least wet on a daily basis, as do the bullets.
I apply clear nail polish(one could use a color I suppose) to the primers. I need to have full confidence these will perform properly if needed. Never (yet) have I had any type of misfire or squib. I test the loads regularly and have been doing this more than 5 years.
I believe one could apply polish to both the primer and the crimp and be quite certain that moisture would not reach the powder.

I also have used clear nail polish and it has worked well on primers and the crimp area

I have used candle wax on loose crimps since I was a kid. Just light the candle and let a drop of wax fall on each crimp, dead center. Could probably do the same thing with the primer, or just rub the unlit candle across the primer and wipe off flakes with a rag. Probably easier to find candles in the bush than nail polish.

X2^^^^ I find beeswax to be better than paraffin wax, if you can get it. It's more flexible, and seems to stick better.

X3 on the wax. I started waxing the crimp on paper reloads, I used for waterfowl hunting in the mid 60's, before plastic hulls became prevalent.

When plastic hulls replaced paper, I stopped the waxing practice. I never did seal the primer pocket, but I'm sure usiing wax around the primer would work equally well.

We always used paraffin wax on the crimped end for our waterfowl loads. Simply melt it in a small container and apply it with a small hobby paint brush. Actually it was the same wax we used to remove down and pin feathers from the birds after the hunt, just applied with a larger brush. I am not sure I would use wax on the primer for fear the heated wax would eventually cause issues with the firing pin. Perhaps the nail polish is a better choice on the primer. I might also worry about the nail polish on the crimped end because when heated upon firing it may redeposit on internal barrel surfaces. So for me, wax on the crimped end, nail polish on the primer and then placing them in a plastic bag should give you shells that will last a life time.