Do we all keep ammo in gun safes??

F

FLChinook

New member
Here's a thought. I added a tongue-in-cheek comment to another thread about having more space in my gun safe (for more revolvers, of course) if I didn't store so much ammo there.

That got me thinking... do I need to store my ammo in my gun safe?

We lived in the UK for a number of years and you not only had to keep all your ammo in a safe but the police could appear at any time and do an inspection (are all guns accounted for? is all ammo accounted for?). We are not at that point (yet) but that's where I got into this habit.

So, where do we store our ammo?
 
In a locked cabinet, in a completely different area of the house than the guns.

NRA Life Member
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"There are some ideas so preposterous that only an intellectual will believe them." - Malcolm Muggeridge
 
Not the same safe, but a secured "locker". More like a closet with a metal exterior door with dead bolt lock in it. Plus the "gun room" that contains the safes, ammo locker, work bench, and reloading bench is also secured with a metal door with 2 dead bolt locks. No windows, 3 concrete exterior walls, and the partition wall is also framed with metal studs, reinforced, then dry walled on the outside, exterior wood paneling on the inside. In addition it is in the back of a laundry room with cloths racks in front of the door so it is not as noticeable. Then of course there are the alarms.
 
Steed cabinet

In a locked metal cabinet bolted down, this is just for storage. I keep a loaded weapon in the house at all times.
 
I literally have it stacked up in boxes ...on top of my safe / by caliber...

Kids are all grown / when grandkids are here...my shop is locked ...so noone is in or out of there unless I or my wife are with them.

No, its not locked up.../ although if I had a reason to...it'd be easy to make a shop cabinet plywood box - with a simple door on it / and a padlock or whatever....
 
When we talk about "locked metal cabinets", what do we mean? Like an office cabinet (light weight) or something more substantial? That would obviously not be fireproof and in a house fire could perhaps put fire fighters at risk. Is fire-proofing not that important?

In my youth, I seldom had more than one carton of ammo at one time but the situation is considerably more complex now ( many calibers, many bullet types, etc).
 
Note to Moderator

The reason this thread is under "Revolvers" can be found in my opening query, i.e., the need to have more space in my gun safe for REVOLVERS...

OK, it's a bit of a stretch but that's my story and I'm sticking to it...:o
 
I just keep most of my ammo in a drawer. I rarely have more than 200 rounds at any given time so I see no reason to find a better place for it.
 
I don't see why ammo would need to be locked up. It is not going to do anything by itself. We never had an issue with our kids, or when I was a kid, by having ammo stacked on shelves or in unlocked cabinets. I have way more ammo than would fit in even a large safe or two. I have one HD shelving unit loaded with ammo cans of ammo and components and more ammo boxes on another shelving unit and a couple of cabinets. I keep some HD ammo with the guns but all the range and reserve ammo, and components are on the open shelves.
 
Funny you should ask. My shotgun ammo is locked up in the safe. A holdover from when my daughter was younger and I kept everything locked up. I need more space for revolvers too and asked myself "What the heck do I need these shotgun shells in the safe for?"
 
I've got some ammo in the safe and other ammo in military ammo cans outside the safe. I don't think firefighters would be at risk from the ammo in the cans in the event of a fire.
 
When we talk about "locked metal cabinets", what do we mean? Like an office cabinet (light weight) or something more substantial? That would obviously not be fireproof and in a house fire could perhaps put fire fighters at risk. Is fire-proofing not that important?
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This topic comes up fairly frequently.

Ammo is actually far more dangerous in a fire when it's contained in a strongly-built and tightly-sealed container. This allows internal pressure to build up to extremely dangerous levels. The term commonly used for a strong and sealed container that contains gunpowder is a BOMB. :eek:

Uncontained ammo will "pop" harmlessly in a fire, like a July 4th firecracker. The flying bits of metal from the case and primer are only dangerous within a foot or two. The bullet actually won't travel as far as the other pieces because it's so much more massive.

The International Fire Code states that ammo and powder should be stored in ordinary wooden cabinets. Wood burns and won't contain much pressure, so the ammo inside won't cause a dangerous explosion.

The protective gear and face shields worn by firefighters are more than adequate to protect them from uncontained ammo fragments, even if the ammo were to ignite while the firefighter is standing right next to it. Ammo in a strong and sealed container, on the other hand, may kill someone several feet away, even if he/she is standing on the other side of a wall from it. :eek:
 
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I don't see why ammo would need to be locked up. It is not going to do anything by itself. We never had an issue with our kids, or when I was a kid, by having ammo stacked on shelves or in unlocked cabinets. I have way more ammo than would fit in even a large safe or two. I have one HD shelving unit loaded with ammo cans of ammo and components and more ammo boxes on another shelving unit and a couple of cabinets. I keep some HD ammo with the guns but all the range and reserve ammo, and components are on the open shelves.
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I agree, I just store my guns, extra ammo, laptop computers, and other stuff locked up in case of a thief entering when I'm not home.

I would like to have a fire resistant safe, but I would need a MUCH bigger house to put the darn thing in. I have a heavy gage steel gun cabinet with drill proof locks, but it is not fire resistant.
 
Without a barrel around it to contain and direct the discharge there isn't enough powder in a cartridge to cause any major issues. There was actually a myth-busters episode that covered it.
You wouldn't want to be right next to it, but if your house is burning so hot that your ammo starts popping while you're in the room some minor lacerations are going to be the least of your worries.

I keep mine in a footlocker
 
When we talk about "locked metal cabinets", what do we mean? Like an office cabinet (light weight) or something more substantial? That would obviously not be fireproof and in a house fire could perhaps put fire fighters at risk. Is fire-proofing not that important?
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I use a metal cabinet similar to those used in offices. I could be locked but it is never locked in my house. I am not worried about the "metal cabinet" becoming a "bomb". I am not particularly worried about a burgler taking my ammo either. That is a lot of weight to lug out of the house.
 
A safe is too expensive to keep ammo inside. Also, in a fire I don't want cooked rounds bouncing around striking the valuable firearms.
 
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