Does anyone have any ideas how to make cartridge boxes? I've bought a lot of bulk (loose) 308 rounds and I'd rather not have them banging around.
tough to beat the premade plastic boxes at midway, 50 or 100 rd, but for my bulk loads I just use heavy ziplocks
Midway sells cardboard ammo boxes too.
Price isn't too bad.
The plastic Kool Aid powder containers work well...Rinse them well, dry and use...
I store my empty brass for reloading in various empty food containers. Coffee cans, cool whip containers, stuff like that.
You could store new ammo in that too, I guess.
I doubt your ammo was loose when you bought it... what did it come in? A battle pack with the light duty cardboard? Or is it the Cabelas stuff that comes in a large volume ammo can?
Now, I put my reloads in Dillon/MTM/Frankford Arsenal/etc cases. 50rds per case. And a 3x5 note card describing the load data and # of times reloaded.
When I first got into reloading, I just re-used the plastic trays and cardboard liners that I bought my retail ammo in. Though I would cut the box at the glued seam and turn it "inside out" and reglue it so that all my boxes were a uniform cardboard grey color and I could write load data on the blank cardboard.
You could also get stripper clips and a magazine guide, then put all your ammo on stripper clips. I've got a few hundred rounds of .223 stashed away like this. That way, it's all of a 10 second operation to fill a magazine from empty to ready.
But just "making cartridge boxes" is hard because you need some sort of plastic form to keep the cartridges separated. If you have the plastic forms from old ammo boxes but got rid of the boxes themselves, you could cut replacement boxes from cereal boxes or similar sized light cardboard.
The old GI 20 round boxes used a cardboard divider. One long piece that ran the length of the inside of the box (10 rounds on each side of it in the box). Smaller (nine of them) pieces of cardboard fit perpindicular to the long piece so that each round is surrounded by carboard. The long piece has slots cut in it far enough to allow the smaller pieces (which also have slots cut in them) to slide down onto the long piece while locking them in place.
As others have said. I just put my reloads in a GI can (when there is enough to fill the can). A lot fo the reloads go into the empty 1 lb. powder bottles (plastic these days with bigger lids that the old metal powder cans). Last trip to Ramseur I had 30.06 reloads in a clear plastic jug. I told wildman that it was a hillbilly ammo can - you can see how many rounds you have left every time you reach your hand in to get another handful to load in the M1 clips. ;D
For .308 I like the M14 Re-Packs that Fred sells. A six pocket cloth bandoleer with 12 - 5 round stripper clips and 6 cardboard sleeves. Each bandoleer holds 60 rounds. You can get 3 bandoleers in a 30 cal. ammo can. As a bonus each of the "kits" included a mag filler. I've seen these advertised elsewhere but don't remember where.
I know that this thread has had recent activity and thought I would add as well... I live near Champions Choice and always pick up a couple of the MTM reload slip sleeve boxes to hold 5.56mm ( .223 ) or 7.62mm ( .308 ) and they fit neatly into a Military Ammo Can... They are only $2.00 each and you couldn't ask for any cheaper price than that... Here's the link if anybody doesn't live close to Middle TN. : http://www.champchoice.com/detail.aspx?ID=1547
(http://www.champchoice.com/images/webmedium/J20M.jpg)
I hope that helps :)
WK2