I recently had to revisit my spare-magazine storage arrangement. For a long time, I’d kept the various pistol and rifle magazines that were not in daily rotation in a variety of plastic bags, cardboard boxes, plastic food-storage containers and, well, pretty much whatever else was laying around the house within reach. I basically relied on remembering which bag had which magazines in it, and where in my basement workshop that particular bag might be.
You can see where this is heading, can’t you?
Sure enough, one evening before a full day recording episodes of “I Carry,” I found myself rooting through the large collection of bags, searching for a couple extra magazines to help speed up filming. As I dumped bag after bag out on the floor, looking desperately for the magazine in question, I realized I needed a better system for storing my extra magazines. A quick glance around the workshop and I had a brainstorm: The folks at MTM Case-Gard have a large line of plastic-storage-box solutions!
Folks probably know MTM Case-Gard best for the company’s line of ammunition storage boxes. These translucent red, blue and brown boxes have been storing pistol and rifle rounds for more than half a century. MTM Case-Gard offers far more than just ammo boxes, though, with a line of shooting rests, cleaning accessories, clay throwers, target stands and more. Part of the “more” are large plastic storage boxes aimed at bulk ammunition storage, and that’s where I went for my magazine conundrum.
Just four boxes and the vast majority of my spare magazines had a safe, dry, stackable place to be. It’s so much better than the series of cardboard boxes and plastic bags. My favorite are the Divided Ammo Crate, with plastic dividers creating four separate areas perfect for keeping Glock magazines from 1911 magazines and everything in-between. An Ammo Crate Utility box had plenty of room for my rifle magazine (everything that’s not for an AR-15; those have their own large plastic totes…), while a smaller Ammo Crate was large enough to house my collection of rimfire magazines.
Check out the various storage solutions from MTM Case-Gard. There’s almost certainly something you can use to clean up the messiest of gun workshops—believe me, I know. I’d wager you might want to grab some ammo-storage boxes, too: if you’ve been buying in bulk during the lull times, you might have a couple boxes or two of loose ammo. The translucent covers allow easy identification; I’ve had great luck using the existing label on bulk purchases to tuck on top to show the caliber, bullet weight and manufacturer (complete with lot number). MTM has a bunch of storage solutions, and a bunch of gear you probably didn’t even realize it stocked.
