Ammo storage

[miglee279]

I have a couple well-behaved teenagers who are also hunters. Nonetheless I keep my guns secured at all times. Their friends are also well-behaved folks but I just want to secure the ammo based on principle.
I don't have a massive stockpile of ammo but between the shotgun loads, rifle rounds and blackpowder I could easily fill a 3 ft x 2 ft space.
I keep all the ammo in a separate location from the guns. I read that locking the ammo in a metal box would be really bad in case of fire.
Any ideas how to keep ammo under lock and key in a safe way?

 

[64Springer]

Millions of people keep billions of rounds of ammunition locked up inside steel gun safes around the world every day.

It's not a problem.

A few rounds cooking off inside a steel safe will not turn that safe into a hand grenade or a pipe bomb or a low yield nuclear device. Because most gun safes are not airtight and allow for venting.

Another urban myth put to bed.


Copious amounts of black powder should be kept in the original containers and stored inside a heavy wooden box with vent holes. That box will still come apart. But it will come apart less violently.

And a lock or two if thievery is a concern.

 

[necchi]

I read that locking the ammo in a metal box would be really bad in case of fire.

Well that's a myth that will never end because folks don't understand fire.
A "Fire" , won't ignite metal. A fire near a metal box will make that metal box hotter, turning it into a thing that we call an oven.
I bake things in my oven.
And that's what happens with firearm components stored in a metal box that is exposed to heat or open flame.
The metal box get's hotter,, "baking" the things inside, there is no flame, there is no ignition source for those items.
When ya "bake" powders,, it changes how they react.
If and when they go off because of the heat, it's a "poof" and "crackle", not a boom.
If ya wanna worry about stuff in a fire, it's not the ammo, it's the aerosol cans,, paint cans, hair spray, deodorant,,
Good luck,, you'll hear many sides and a lot of paranoia, but the facts and videos are out there too prove it.

 

[Eterry]

I hate to burst anyone's bubble. But it's a well documented fact black powder will cook off. It was recorded by many soldiers in the ACW.
Google says Black Powder Auto-ignites (cooks off) at 835°F. That's pretty low as far as structure fires go.
I've also seen a metal can of ffg detonate from a 243 Win round fired into it. It shook the ground around us, sounded like a howitzer, and made a huge cloud of smoke.

I don't think smokeless powder would detonate like that, but I'd hate to be around any locker full of holy black.
The only risk of loaded ammo is the brass shrapnel flying around, the bullets won't go far or fast. . I've heard firemen talk about getting nasty wounds from brass.

 

[medbill]

My buddy had a bad house fire, he had 223 stored loose in a GI 30 or 50 cal cans. They cooked off inside the cans and a few perforated the cans but like I said it was a bad fire. When I saw it I said HOLY you know what. It was a real surprise to me that it would or could do that.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I saw an ammo safe at the local farm store. It's a lockable see through cage. Looks like a gunsafe only see through. About 500 bucks.

 

[hanshi]

I keep powder, black and smokeless, in a large picnic cooler. It's plastic and I'm satisfied keeping it in there.

 

[Tumbledown]

Modern ammo can be kept in can, as modern powder is considered a propellant and rounds cook off without much damage to surroundings.

Black powder is best kept in original containers in a heavy wood box or an unoccupied structure. A wood box offers heat resistance and if the powder does ignite, the smaller containers will rupture rather than explode.

 

[medbill]

Buddy had a car fire with a few cans in the car. They just cooked off like giant fizzlers.

 

[TDM]

I keep all my powder in regular cabinets in my inside, conditioned shop. Closest neighbor is a mile away, so I don’t worry about endangering anyone. And there is no fire department in the middle of nowhere where I am. It is what it is, and I like it that way.

 

[Iceman]

I use a plastic garage cabinet I bought at menards years ago. Keep all the heavy items on the bottom shelf and the rest of my supplies, powder, parts, cleaning stuff, tools, bags, etc on the upper shelves. Its lockable with a padlock. I wouldn't worry if it was metal, a cabinet would never be air tight or strong enough to build pressure.

The plastic ammo cans at Harbor Frieght are also lockable if you wanted to keep some things separate.

 

[Rifleman1776]

If ya wanna worry about stuff in a fire, it's not the ammo, it's the aerosol cans,, paint cans, hair spray, deodorant,,

 

[Rifleman1776]

I've also seen a metal can of ffg detonate from a 243 Win round fired into it. It shook the ground around us, sounded like a howitzer, and made a huge cloud of smoke.

If you say you saw it, then it happened. But, frankly, I am surprised, I would never have thought that could/would happen.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I keep powder, black and smokeless, in a large picnic cooler. It's plastic and I'm satisfied keeping it in there.

My bp cans just set on a shelf in the basement shop.