Getting in on the conversation a bit late I’m afraid….I believe in 1,000 rounds minimum for every gun in the house….I have a bunch of guns….just started building an Ammo bunker.
Now for the bad news….Ammo should only be kept for a maximum of 1-2 years. After that it becomes extremely unstable and should be shipped immediately to some dude who calls himself AMMOTOAD for disposition and demilitarization. I’ve been an AMMO troop for most of my adult life and still work in Weapons Test and Evaluation so I’m somewhat of an expert on this……send me a note on the side and I’ll send you my shipping address.
Seriously though, DDGator got it right. Cool and dry, household temps will do. Use surplus ammo cans with the rubber seal and toss in a bag of desiccant if you aren’t sure. But bottom line, the ammo will outlast danged near all of us, and then some. I have some WWII era 30.06 black tip armor piercing ammo in cans. Now these cans are hermetically sealed so a bit more capable of exceeding most storage limitations, but I open a can and it looks like new. As for care, once loaded, ammo brass should not be polished or lubed. Certain lubes will penetrate the primer. I could write a page on what all bad things that can do, but just trust me on that one. Discolored brass, unless obvious corrosion, is not cause to reject the round. I’ll see if I can look up the chart and post it soon for some examples. Small dents are acceptable, but if questionable, don’t use it. The dents can cause overpressure when fired. If storing on a concrete floor, use some dunnage, like some 2x4 lumber between ammo container and floor. Keeps moisture away. Hope this helps a bit. If you need more detailed information, let me know and I’ll scan some current military tech data on small arms storage and inspection. When all else fails, see paragraph two above.
