Ammo Storage thoughts

[357smallbore]

I keep all my ammo in ammo cans that are in excellent condition. They are in a spare room I use as my reflection room. Room is temperature controled. I was thinking about getting a couple of large Job boxes I can put them in and lock up.
I have 70 ammo cans all full. I want to make sure they don't go anywhere.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

How about bicycle chains? You could chain 3-4 together which would make the bunch too heavy for one person to carry- and cutting 15 chains would be a major PITA for most thieves.

 

[Bfh_auto]

How about bicycle chains? You could chain 3-4 together which would make the bunch too heavy for one person to carry- and cutting 15 chains would be a major PITA for most thieves.

Cables are more annoying to cut than chain.
I would go with wall lockers before job boxes. They are lighter. But still a pain to get open.

 

[John G C 1]

I'll be over tomorrow with a few of my pistols. Please set up the targets at 10 and 15 yards. I will bring donuts and help you reduce the number of boxes you need to work with.,

 

[rdnktrkr]

A friend uses the job boxes he picked up at a surplus store cheap, uses 1 outdoors with his outdoors tools locked up and the smaller ones inside with guns and ammo, he has one that the front opens also making it easier to access everything inside. I like the idea and if I found them at good prices I would probably purchase one or two.

 

[DustyGmt]

I had to admonish my uncle for storing a bunch of bulk ammo in his bathroom cupboard. Potentially the most humid place in the house with 2-3 showers going on daily. At least some of it was in ammo cans. I brought him 3 .50cal cans on monday too so he doesnt have so many exposed boxes.

I know we all hate Walmart but they have brand new .50 cans for $12. If I go to my LGS they want $20 for cans that have literally gone through the war. I think .50 and .30cal cans are the way to store. How to secure them I leave to you because everybody has a different situation. As of now I just have a mountain of cans in my bedroom but once I stop renting and buy a home I plan to have my safe in a 10x10 cage with ammo lockers that are bolted to the floor and walls....

 

[Bfh_auto]

I had to admonish my uncle for storing a bunch of bulk ammo in his bathroom cupboard. Potentially the most humid place in the house with 2-3 showers going on daily. At least some of it was in ammo cans. I brought him 3 .50cal cans on monday too so he doesnt have so many exposed boxes.

I know we all hate Walmart but they have brand new .50 cans for $12. If I go to my LGS they want $20 for cans that have literally gone through the war. I think .50 and .30cal cans are the way to store. How to secure them I leave to you because everybody has a different situation. As of now I just have a mountain of cans in my bedroom but once I stop renting and buy a home I plan to have my safe in a 10x10 cage with ammo lockers that are bolted to the floor and walls....

That still wouldn't get me through their doors. I buy my cans from Academy.
Use a couple desiccant pouches in each can if you store ammo in them.

 

[DustyGmt]

That still wouldn't get me through their doors. I buy my cans from Academy.
Use a couple desiccant pouches in each can if you store ammo in them.

+1 on the desiccant. I get lil packs of them almost daily because electrical fixtures and fans always come with them

 

[Harriw]

+2 on the desiccant. I make my own from kitty litter and coffee filters, which makes them dirt cheap. You can also buy then pre-made at Amazon, among other places.

I had the same thought process on rusty old boxes vs. Brand new from Walmart for $12... I bought mine before they went off the deep end though. Harbor freight has them for about the same price as well, but I'll warn you that they're a slightly different size (at least compared to the walmart version). I don't know ammo cans well enough to say which one is "non-standard."

 

[Craig_AR]

Acknowledging the OP question was about securing ammo cans, the thread has shifted to the cans and sources. I realize some folks are not happy with Harbor Freight, but the prices on their Bunker Hill cans are pretty good. Current coupons let me buy four .30 Cal cans, regular $6, for $3.50 each.
A YouTube video testing the cans showed that they seem to seal just fine. There are many such test videos:
https://www.google.com/search?q=harbor+freight+ammo+box+youtube&rlz=1CAPPDO_enUS733US733&oq=harbor+freight+ammo+box+youtube
The larger .50 cal cans seem to be quite popular, but a .30 cal can about 2/3 full with loose 9mm is about as heavy as I want to handle routinely.

 

[Trey Veston]

FYI, most states limit the amount of powder and primers that you can store in your home, and some anti-gun states limit the amount of ammo you can have in your home. New York state limits subjects to 200 rounds of ammo, IIRC.

Pretty sure I've probably exceeded the limit of powder and primers I can legally store in my home and most reloaders I know have way more than my modest amounts. Not really a thing now, but I guarantee the anti-gunners will be using that angle to target gun owners in the near future.

 

[Texas10mm]

FYI, most states limit the amount of powder and primers that you can store in your home, and some anti-gun states limit the amount of ammo you can have in your home. New York state limits subjects to 200 rounds of ammo, IIRC.

Pretty sure I've probably exceeded the limit of powder and primers I can legally store in my home and most reloaders I know have way more than my modest amounts. Not really a thing now, but I guarantee the anti-gunners will be using that angle to target gun owners in the near future.

I thought that that ammo limitation was New York City, not state.

 

[BobABQ]

I know this isn’t cheap but how about gun safes? Not the. Big heavy expensive ones but the Stack On made ones that are lighter in weight? Once anchored to the floor they should prove to be a clean safe way to store ammo. Reasonably secure too.

 

[Craig_AR]

how about gun safes? Not the. Big heavy expensive ones but the Stack On made ones that are lighter in weight?

Gun safes are fine for keeping snoopy hands off of your goods, but ammo storage should also protect against moisture. Those basic lock boxes do not do that. Ammo cans have a rubber gasket seal to add the moisture protection. Several of the YouTube videos on the list I linked above are about testing for water leakage. Choosing new manufacture as opposed to true army surplus cans is also about the quality of the new versus aged gasket.

 

[rodregier]

Lockable door multi-shelf storage cabinet for the ammo cans. The tricky part is to confirm the per-shelf weight limit is at least 200 lbs each.

Here is a Canadian example: https://www.uline.ca/Product/Detail...VhMDICh0MCgCZEAQYASABEgLoA_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[rodregier]

found this:

What's the FDNY 200 round rule? FDNY fire codes state that you can only have 200 rounds of ammunition max in your home in NYC. Not 200 rounds of each caliber, it's 200 total - period. more than 200, counting each round of ammunition and each primer separately.Jul 26, 2013

 

[George P]

found this:

What's the FDNY 200 round rule? FDNY fire codes state that you can only have 200 rounds of ammunition max in your home in NYC. Not 200 rounds of each caliber, it's 200 total - period. more than 200, counting each round of ammunition and each primer separately.Jul 26, 2013

That's not even a flat of target shotgun ammo...........I'd like to see them enforce that rule

 

[reddog81]

Gun safes are fine for keeping snoopy hands off of your goods, but ammo storage should also protect against moisture. Those basic lock boxes do not do that. Ammo cans have a rubber gasket seal to add the moisture protection. Several of the YouTube videos on the list I linked above are about testing for water leakage. Choosing new manufacture as opposed to true army surplus cans is also about the quality of the new versus aged gasket.

But anything kept in a climate controlled house will be protected against moisture as much as it needs to be. I can leave the ammo, gun powder, primers sitting on my basement shelves for decades without any additional protection against moisture and it'd be fine

 

[Buzznrose]

That's not even a flat of target shotgun ammo...........I'd like to see them enforce that rule

Probably only enforce it when you get your fine AFTER the fire’s out....

 

[George P]

Probably only enforce it when you get your fine AFTER the fire’s out....

Makes me glad I left that place a LONG time ago

 

[Texas10mm]

That's not even a flat of target shotgun ammo...........I'd like to see them enforce that rule

Not even a brick of 22 LR.

It's a nonsense rule that's designed to make it harder to exercise your Second Amendment rights.

 

[Speedo66]

No doubt some political appointee or politician with no knowledge in the subject matter wrote that rule.

That's the way most laws are written there.

 

[trekker73]

OP, 1-2 of the larger gunsafes on used market can often be an economical way to store ammo. They have better metal thickness than most other containers. Some other tips should you get one.

1. place in corner of room, so walls protect two surfaces.
2. Bolt things down, removal of boxes and safes is a common method for stealing. Also, toppling a safe makes it easier to work above it with a pry bar to flip the door open. Upright it is much harder to deal with.
3. Have door swinging open towards the unprotected side. This is because in order to flip a door while it is standing you need to insert the pry bar and drive it the opposite direction, which will be blocked by the wall on that side.
4. bolt down other room furniture or other objects near the safe, you can even make it a bit of a maze to get them out, felons will have to do a lot more cutting to get them out. This can include bed, beef fridge, cabinets whatever.
5. Hide or lock away any powertools, thieves often will use what is available.
6. Disguise the items, blankets over them, or even large packing boxes whatever. These gunsafes with silly spoke handles and hunting logos over them are too obvious.Unscrew or cut off the spoke handles and just use the knob. Vault handles are only needed for moving door boltwork weighing a ton. They are a sales gimmick on guns safes.
7. Dont tell anyone what you have. People talk, even extended family- one day the wrong ears overhear at work or a bar and you might get a visit one night. Most safes can be beaten pretty easy if a thief has a gun to the owners head.

 

[FROGO207]

Well there is kind of a paradox here. you want to keep your ammo secure and dry so a safe seems like a good choice. The problem with that is if you do this the nature of a safe is it is sealed better than Fort Knox and will turn into a bomb if it is in a fire due to being so well sealed if you have more than a few boxes of random ammo in it. You would be better off finding an old refrig and re-purposing it to hold your ammo. Just add a hasp and padlock to make it secuure.

 

[O C]

BATF has rules on storing powder and primers at home. They have specs on containers, sizes ect. Google it and see if it makes sense.