Ammo Storage

[wizardfitz]

Did a search found several threads saying don't store loaded weapons in case of fire the weapons is a total lose. Okay I get that. I keep the ammo in 50 cal cans with dessicants, and the safe also has a dehumidifier. My question is where to store the ammo? We have six cans full of 223, 45, 9mm, 357, 38, and 22 and several boxes of 12 guage. No kids in the house. My concern of break in would be the ammo walking out the door, thats why I keep it in the safe. But in case of fire the ammo would still explode in the safe. So after rampling on. My question is where is the best place to store ammo?

 

[HamsterStyle]

A seperate safe if you are worried about it being stolen.

 

[HavokCycle]

yeah these days, a .50 cal can full of ammo is worth as much as a gun. i've been thinking of buying another safe lately for such things.

 

[atalon]

Check the fire rating on the safe. Most of them are rated to take so many degrees for X amount of time before stuff inside is damaged. Then you might contact the local fire department to estimate how long a fire might last at your house before they can get it put out. Don't know if they will do that for legal reasons but worth a try. I am just spitballing here cuz I am still looking into a safe myself.

 

[XtremeVel]

Buy big enough ammo cans and load em up so they can't easily be carried off...

Try not keeping it all in the same location... If you just don't have alternate locations other than your home, maybe store what you have at different ends of your house so hopefully in case of fire, it wouldn't be a total loss.

 

[ApacheTactical]

you have to think out of the box. ammo cans are nice for the shooter to transport or store but the theif targets the ammo cans. you can store your ammo in places that dont raise i red flag to theives. most theives are smash and grabs not alot of time spent in the home or garage. they scan grab and go, not much interest in things they cant pon or sale.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Another safe would be the best answer. That's pricey, though. I did a review on an in-wall security locker that would store quite a bit of ammo. Absolutely no fire protection, but would slow a thief down.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...stack_on_in_wall_safe_iwc_55_full_length.html

If you were going to fill it with ammo, I would put some studs under it, though. That's a lot of weight and I wouldn't want to trust just lag bolts.

 

[HavokCycle]

in thinking on it a bit more, i could stuff a safe with ammunition and it'd hold more value than the ones holding the firearms.

 

[JoshuaW]

If your safe is in the closet of one room, put it in the closet of another. Just stack it up back there, keep the empty ammo cans in the same area as the guns. A their might grab a few boxes of ammo, but they aren't going to spend a ton of time grabbing dozens or hundreds of little boxes.

 

[EOC]

have insurance on all of it through your renters/home owners insurance I put an extra 5,000 on my homeowners and gave them pics and amounts for my guns and ammo and its all covered.. Thats if the worse comes to worse thou..

 

[seldon14]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SlOXowwC4c&feature=youtu.be

I doubt the rounds going off would do any functional damage to any guns in the safe. May put some gouges in the stocks, or mar some finishes though. Depending on the value/qty of your ammo you have a couple options. If it's on the lower end maybe just run a chain through the handles of your boxs and wrap it tight enough to prevent opening them, and then chain and padlock to a secure point. Bolt cutters would bypass this but it would stop or slow down basic smash and grab, without being to costly. You could also get a cheap stack on cabinet. These are more security cabinets than safes, and have fire protection, but around the holidays you can usually find them as low as $75. Some time with a prybar will defeat them, but again they will hopefully deter a non professional thief, and maybe even draw them away from your gun safe. Lastly you could attempt the hide them. If this is reasonable or not will depend on your location, decor, and amount of ammo.

 

[possum_128]

As a retired Firefighter I can tell you that rounds will not explode in a fire if that is your concern, however they can "cook off" if the fire is hot enough. As was said above little damage during a cook off and myself have been in a couple of fires where this has happened and could hardly feel them hitting me.

 

[wizardfitz]

thanks for all the great answers. a second safe sounds like the way to go. in guess instead of the next gun purchase we'll get a safe.

 

[03A3]

Go to Rural King or wherever and look at job boxes.
Metal and lockable. Not a bit fire resistant.
You can put a lot of stuff in the 4'x2'x2' size and it will be bigtime heavy.
We've had a few at work that weren't 4' wide but I don't remember the dimensions.

 

[schafe]

As a retired Firefighter I can tell you that rounds will not explode in a fire if that is your concern, however they can "cook off" if the fire is hot enough. As was said above little damage during a cook off and myself have been in a couple of fires where this has happened and could hardly feel them hitting me.

I've often wondered about this, and how firefighters responded to fires where it was known to contain ammunition, even stored in ammo cans. Rumors said that if firefighters learned that there was more than a couple of boxes of ammo in a house, they wouldn't even go in!!
It really raises questions in my mind about notification in case of a fire.

 

[wizardfitz]

job box sounds good also 03A3. Could go inn closet with a few lag bolts

 

[Water63]

I've often wondered about this, and how firefighters responded to fires where it was known to contain ammunition, even stored in ammo cans. Rumors said that if firefighters learned that there was more than a couple of boxes of ammo in a house, they wouldn't even go in!!
It really raises questions in my mind about notification in case of a fire.

As a long time Firefighter they sound more like firecrackers than being shot. The cases "pop off the bullet" not the bullet being propelled if that makes sense. I had no problem going into a house that had ammo or reloading supplies a can of black powder is far more dangerous or a propane tank stored in a garage for a grill. Most Fire Fighters just do what they are trained to do the ammo going off is just another day in the office or at least on my department it is.

 

[Chaz]

Something you guys might consider - altho sounds like fire might be a mute point - is using an insulation material called KAO wool. It's a ceramic insulation that I use in my forges. (I'm a blacksmith) I can get the temp north of 2500* in my gas forge and can easily put my finger on the other side of 1 1/2" of KAO wool. (there are other brand names for ceramic wool as well)
So if you are concerned about heat in your safe or even a Job Box, this may work for you. I know it isn't exactly cheap but it may be well worth it.
Just my .02.

 

[Lock n Load]

Before I purchased my safe I bought a couple of the Homak " cabinets" for lack of a better term... anyhow I now store my ammo in these. Bolted to the wall or ceiling and with 5k of 5.56 & 3k of 7.62x51 in ammo cans that stack neatly in 3 rows, plus some battle packs and other misc. ammo it's pretty heavy.

Helps protect against them being easily picked up walked out with and were under $75 back then, cheap insurance.

 

[bstewrat3]

As a long time Firefighter they sound more like firecrackers than being shot. The cases "pop off the bullet" not the bullet being propelled if that makes sense. I had no problem going into a house that had ammo or reloading supplies a can of black powder is far more dangerous or a propane tank stored in a garage for a grill. Most Fire Fighters just do what they are trained to do the ammo going off is just another day in the office or at least on my department it is.

If a round is chambered and reaches the point of cooking off, it will do more than just pop. We have a few guys on my department who have been hit by bullets that cooked off. It isn't a common occurance, but it does happen.