I created this instructable because I was surprised to see that I could not find any real means of organizing shotgun ammunition in a 50 cal container. The reason why I wanted to better organize my ammunition was so that I could EASILY handle/manage the ammunition and track inventory.

My primary goals in order:

1. Find a means of organizing that would not take up too much room in the container

2. Be reasonably priced,

3. Easy to duplicate.

4. Be relatively durable,

Note that durability is the last line item. This not intended to be a means of regularly accessing / handling. Just organization for storage.

Step 1: Required Materials

1. Heat Gun and Scissors.

2. "1 inch" heat shrink tubing. I paid $1.00 per foot at a local electronics store.

3. A-Zoom snap caps (Aluminum)

4. Super Glue

Step 2: Heat Shrink Tubing / Molding

1. Cut the heat shrink tubing to 1 inch sections. You can use scissors or I used pizza-slicer looking thing that my wife uses for cutting fabric.

2. Use the A-Zoom snap caps to heat-shrink over. Be sure to make sure that the tubing is low enough that it wont catch the radius of the snap cap. The A-Zoom snap caps are recommended because they are able to withstand the heat from the heat gun. Image shows before and after.

Obviously, using a mold that is susceptible to heat damage is not suggested. THIS INCLUDES LIVE / NOT-LIVE / FIRED AMMUNITION OF ANY KIND. THE HEAT GUN WILL DESTROY THE PLASTIC HULL AMONG OTHER THINGS. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING.

Hint:

I had a section of "3/4" metal rod that was a smidge smaller than the snap caps lying around. If I had a section of heat shrink tubing that would not shrink small enough, I would install the tubing on the steel rod and reapply the heat from the heat gun.

Also, the tubing tends to not want to shrink perfectly straight. If that bothers you, this instructable may not be for you.

Step 3: Glueing the Heat Shrink Molding Together

I used the A-Zoom snap caps installed in the heat shrink tubing to help me align the tubing.

Use superglue to adhere the newly formed heat shrink tubes to each other in a row as illustrated above. Be careful not to use too much!

I glued together 8 tubes in a single row so that I can take a row out at a time, and it will fit into the can in several directions. Glueing together 6 at a time would make retrieval very easy if you're taking some out.

ONLY AFTER the glue dries you can install the shells into their holders as seen in the attached image.\

NOTE: The main purpose of this is for STORAGE and ORGANIZATION. I suspect the tubes will hold up find in the ammo can, but there is no expectation for them to withstand any kind of transport.