22LR Ammo transport and storage
Introduction
When your interest in 22LR shooting evolves beyond casual plinking at the range, you’ll likely start experimenting with different batches of ammo to determine which ones work best with your rifle. Once you’ve found the ideal batch, buying it in bulk to last through the season becomes the logical next step.
However, since match-grade ammo can be expensive, purchasing training ammo that offers similar performance in bulk will result lower costs. And nowadays, it also solves the availability issues that seem to become more of problem.
In my case, I prefer RWS Special Match for competitions, while I use RWS Target Rifle for practice. After testing both with a chronograph, I discovered that although the RWS Target Rifle has a slightly higher extreme spread (ES) compared to RWS Special Match, their average velocities are the same, around 330 m/s. This consistency allows me to use the same scope adjustments and holdovers in both training and competition.
Buying ammo in bulk does come with its own set of challenges, particularly in terms of storage and handling. I prefer to keep my match ammo pristine, avoiding any unnecessary contact, scratches, or bumps.
Another challenge is that ammo typically comes in boxes of 50 rounds. During a training session, I usually go through at least 150 rounds, which means lugging around three to six small boxes. I often end up with partially used boxes, and I need to consolidate them periodically to keep track of my remaining stock and determine when it’s time to start batch testing again.
With these challenges in mind, I set out to better organize my ammo storage and streamline the transport process to and from the range.
Components
My final solution ended up with a number of different components to them. Let us cover the storage solution first.
Ammo trays
Each tray can accommodate 150 rounds. The trays were designed to give sufficient clearance so the projectile tips are suspended.
Ammo tray-holders
Each ammo tray-holder can hold two ammo trays, which then fit snugly into a 30 cal standard ammo box and can be stacked to give storage of up to 1,500 22LR rounds in a standard 30 cal ammo box.
Range box
The ammo trays, can be transferred from the ammo tray-holders straight into a range box (or range boxes). The sliding lid is held in place by 5mm earth magnets.
The lid of the range box give easy visual indication of how much ammo are left in the range box, and the sliding lid makes it easy to drop 10 rounds at a time from the box. This makes the reloading of magazines between stages quick and efficient.
