Ammo can storage.

Alright, What do you guys use to store your ammo cans in? Im thinking of something like a job box, like you see on construction sights, they usually have built in locks also. Any ideas?

A closet. If someone tries carrying 'em all up the stairs, don't bother about sending the po-po... Send a bambalance...

if your concerned about theft of ones in long term storage just loop a chain through all the handles and chain em to something immovable or at least very heavy.

In a lockable cabinet....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/Rembrandt51/reload%20room/ammostorage-2.jpg

Old Fridge

(with lots of open Baking Soda boxes)

Stacked on shelves in my bedroom, right beside my head. If anyone breaks in and feels like making off with 'em while I'm not here, they're welcome to the hernia they'll get trying to lug 'em all down the stairs and out of the house.

20mm cans don't really lend themselves to being stored. They're just put up against the wall spread far enough apart that I hope they never break through the floor.

They're just put up against the wall spread far enough apart that I hope they never break through the floor.Pretty much so - I have to spread them across three rooms, since I was storing them on the second floor. I'm debating moving them to the main floor and finding a better home for them.

One thing I've been told to never do is put them in an enclosure of any kind that might allow a buildup of pressure in the event of a fire. <shrug> I'm no FireMarshallBill, but that seemed like good advice to me.

Storage room, below my wall racks.. Pretty secure and hidden where I have them for the time being.

I keep my ammo cans in a bedroom closet (on the floor) and in the garage. I spread the weight around a bit. The ammo that I'm likely to be using is in a metal storage cabinet in their factory boxes. When the shelves start to sag, you know it's time to move some of it to another location.

The lockable job box is a very good storage idea if you want to lock the ammo up.

ok, i have a shtf footlocker i had to put on casters so i dont get a hernia moving it, all "extra ammo is in cans stacked in a closet. either way youd have to be built loke swarzeneger to move the lot

I have them stacked in my safe, due to my small rifle/shotgun collection. Once that grows, we'll worry about where to store them

Contractor's job box from Home Depot. Too heavy to tote off when it is filled with loaded ammo cans.

Neither the safe nor the job box ideas are especially smart. You're putting powder into what becomes an enormous hand grenade shell. When the gases build up -- *BOOM*

I'd designate a closet or build a reinforced one up on a ground floor and install an exterior grade steel fire door on it with a decent Medeco lock or better and a steel surround.

Neither the safe nor the job box ideas are especially smart. You're putting powder into what becomes an enormous hand grenade shell. When the gases build up -- *BOOM*
The ammo can is many times more airtight than a safe or job box.

On purpose-built shelves in a cool, dry, dehumidified crawl space...

The ammo can is many times more airtight than a safe or job box.

There is a way around that. It isn't pretty, and it involves a drill, some silicone, a rubber stopper, and a mallet.

PA, you got written-out plans for your shelf system?

PA, you got written-out plans for your shelf system?

Nope, sorry. I just measured the cans & my space, then built to fit. Shelves are made with 2x3 frames and 1/2" ply for decking. Frames are screwed together, attached to the uprights with carriage bolts, then decking is glued and screwed to the frame. Not going anywhere (I have a tendency to overengineer stuff, but we're talking some weight here). :D

A lockable steamer trunk works for me. I snagged an old one at a Habitat for Humanity Home Store for $25.

PAshooter, That's one heck of a nice setup.

I have a four foot tall, concrete floored crawl space. Been thinking of doing the same. Great idea. What type of stencil did you use to mark the cans?

I cut the stencils myself. Traced what I wanted on cardstock using a plastic stencil, then cut them out with a razor knife. Took a while, but gave me something gun-related to do on days the weather was too lousy to head to the range :D

They have stood up quite well, and I've been pleased with the results.

I am jealous of PAs set up, but my cans serve double duty in the secure/ tornado proof room as furniture.

PAshooter.

I hate you.

You have made me feel inadequate.

(note to self: buy more cans at Knob Creek. Make nice labels. Move all the baggied .38 and .223 from the file cabinets. Make PA feel inadequate.)

Geeze guys, you're makin' me feel bad. It was just a fun (and slightly anal) project to occupy the winter months. Don't hate me because I'm (I mean... because my ammo is) beautiful. :D

That' okay. I'm sure more than a few are harboring private opinions that the cans are probably full of his wife's Beanie Babies!

(Crap, are all those "fat fifties" actually FULL?)

:what:

I use heavy-duty metal shelving from Lowes (I think it was?) myself. Supposedly, it supports five hundred pounds per shelf or something outrageous like that. I'm not quite pushing it yet, and I've spread some of the joy elsewhere, but I'm a second-story bet hedger as it is. After all, in a bit of a panic it's easier to work with gravity insted of against it.

Regular, not fat, .50's... and a smattering of .30's

As to how full they are... well... some are... some aren't. :evil:

Seriously, the little yellow tags you see are pieces of cardstock with the exact contents printed thereon. They're slipped into self-stick clear plastic sleeves (like you'd use to label the spine of a 3-ring inder) stuck to the cans.

The yellow dots signify cans of "range ammo" - i.e. cans that get opened from time to time as the ammo supply ebbs and flows. Non-dotted cans are left sealed (long term storage). All contain dessicant bags.

I should be good for a while...

Well, at least I don't have obsessive/compulsive disorder... :)

On the down side, I tend to have to open at least six or seven cans every time I go looking for something...

(including 30mm cans....)

So... I shouldn't mention the complete inventory kept in a spreadsheet on the computer... I guess.

So... I shouldn't mention the complete inventory kept in a spreadsheet on the computer... I guess.


Ummm .... No !



Just kidding!

The concrete basement floor works well - if you have a basement.

I got tired of trying to read little labels that I put on the cans, and sometimes fell off, so I got a sheet of yellow vinyl letter and numbers from an office supply. I labeled each can with the letters/numbers and stuck a piece of that clear packaging tape over them so they wouldn't fall off.

The bright yellow letters stand out against the OD background and I can read them even in dim light. It really matters for me as I have to stack the heavy cans vertically, about 6 high. It's no fun getting at the bottom cans only to find out it's not what I was after.

:D

That, PaShooter, is why I want a basement one day.

It's not the *only* reason, but it is sufficient.

timothy

I slap a piece of duct tape on the can and write type and quantity on it with a fine point sharpie. I can take the ink off with a rag and some solvent. I ran out of silver duct tape and have used some aluminum tape recently that works pretty good.

Living in Kansas, stacking them in the garage or the barn isn't an option, (temperature swings are just too large). I'm not real comfortable with having an ammo dump in the basement, (the wife has a rather strong opinion also) so I have minimized the basement storage. I've also read the "fire marshall" posts about storing them on or near the floor.

I have a heated/cooled shop out in my barn, so I started out stacking them on the floor against three walls of the shop - the fourth wall isn't available. At about 30,00 rounds I ran out of "low storage" space. I have since used up a considerable amount of 2x4 and 3/4" plywood lumber to accommodate the overflow, but I do need to find some other space.

at what point do you have to start spreading your ammo out?

at what point do you have to start spreading your ammo out?

Usually when the floor starts making funny sounds.

We all got that feeling when you ask a girl out and she says NO! And you heart just drops to the bottom of your stomach.. And you can feel the slow but solid thumps from your heart.

You can also feel a slight pulse in your ears as they get rose red:evil: Pa shooter I Hate you also:neener: You have a nice ammo rack. Man I need something like that. famous words from borat... "Very Niiiicce":D

PA nice little storage system. I don't have a basement and my crawl space is dirt floored; so I guess your approach is out for me. :)

I have to admit that I tend to open more than a couple ammo cans before I go out shooting. I even have them labeled. (Nothing fancy; duct tape and magic marker) Maybe I need to label by brand for 22LR? Right now it is all grouped together which sort of fits my filing system. Awkward at times....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v322/pighelmet/motivator9851924ps8.jpg

:D

mine just sit on the bottom of my reloading bench. holding it down, in our semi-finished basement. if nothing else, it should keep a tornado from getting the reloading stuff. at least as a whole lot. and i have no idea how you could ever get enough "gasses" out of an ammo can to be able to ignite anything !?!? we are not talking gasoiline vapors.

I built a sturdy shelf, roughly h4xw4xd2, it is way too small. PAShooter's setup is awesome. I am going to get some stencils and yellow paint for my ammo cans.

and i have no idea how you could ever get enough "gasses" out of an ammo can to be able to ignite anything !?!? we are not talking gasoiline vapors.

It's the ignition of propellants inside cartridges inside a metal shell designed to resist force. The resulting gases have nowhere to go and rapidly overpressure the metal shell (think cans, safe, site project box) and result in beaucoup shrapnel, pronto.

i understand that if there was combustion inside of an ammo can, it would generate shrapnel, and a fine and ugly mess it would make! but how are the cartridges, or any fumes, vapors, gasses, whatever going to ignite? they are in ammo cans, designed to store ammunition, on battlefronts. unless the house catches on fire and there is enough heat to cause combustion. its not like the "gasses" or "fumes" would build up inside the cans and self ignite. there has to be an ignition source. besides that, i have had ammo in storage inside one of these for many years for many years. the most i have ever smelt was a faint odor of gunpowder. certainly not strong enough to ignite.

Of course there would have to be a source of ignition. Nobody is talking about spontaneous combustion from an accumulation of gases within any sort of closed metal storage device.

It is not remotely the same thing, but I remember making improvised claymore mines in my combat engineer training using old ammo cans, blocks of C4, leaves for wadding, and spent brass and rocks for shrapnel. for storage.. um.. I guess we buried those.

Nice

if your concerned about theft of ones in long term storage just loop a chain through all the handles and chain em to something immovable or at least very heavy

A burglar could just open them and slide the tops off; they do come off quite easily. Granted, they'd be harder to carry that way.

I keep mine on a bookshelf my mother in law overbuilt years ago; it's holding up quite well.

woultnt the rubber oring seal in the lid give way first, ir the sides mushroon out along the top edge first? before it turns into shrapnal? i mean a lot of time and designing must have gone into these, along with worst case scenarios such as a fire in the armory...

i guess my point is this. you could have an open flame in front of a stack of ammo cans for 10 years, and there wouldnt be enough leakage of any kind to allow combustion or fire of anything other than the initial flame. #1) there just isnt much (if any) flamable gasses leaking, from either the cartridges themselves, or the ammo cans. #2) even if there was some leakage, it would not be enough to ignite (there has to be enough of a concentration percentage wise for combustion to work. #3) even if there was enough fumes escaping for ignition to occure, the flame front would not get back inside the ammo can to ignite the the "fumes" inside of the can, and #4 even if all the above could happen, the ammount of fumes would not be enough to make the ammo can an explosive device. these were designed for long term storage of ammunition, both in armories, and under battle conditions. if there was going to be danger of these things turning into bombs, with out someone purposly making them into bombs, they would have been redesigned so the danger was no longer a threat. it's just not going to happen! i hope we can put this to bed now. i am done with it.

There is no such thing as "ammo fumes."

A loaded ammo can tossed into a fire, or a can in the midst of a raging house fire is another matter entirely. But "fumes"?

Sheesh! :confused:

:)Another vote for the construction type boxes.I prefer the Greenlee box,once loaded with 50 cal cans it will not walk off.I was able to purchase a few of these over the years,if you dont see these on display ask sales people and they may have in back of store.Dont keep all your apples in one basket.

i guess my point is this. you could have an open flame in front of a stack of ammo cans for 10 years, and there wouldnt be enough leakage of any kind to allow combustion or fire of anything other than the initial flame. #1) there just isnt much (if any) flamable gasses leaking, from either the cartridges themselves, or the ammo cans. #2) even if there was some leakage, it would not be enough to ignite (there has to be enough of a concentration percentage wise for combustion to work. #3) even if there was enough fumes escaping for ignition to occure, the flame front would not get back inside the ammo can to ignite the the "fumes" inside of the can, and #4 even if all the above could happen, the ammount of fumes would not be enough to make the ammo can an explosive device. these were designed for long term storage of ammunition, both in armories, and under battle conditions. if there was going to be danger of these things turning into bombs, with out someone purposly making them into bombs, they would have been redesigned so the danger was no longer a threat. it's just not going to happen! i hope we can put this to bed now. i am done with it.

This isn't about "fumes" its about heat from a fire causing the ammo in the can to cook off and the resulting combustion inside the can turning it into a little bomb.

I sent a message to our own hotpig figuring if that has happened, he's seen it. I doubt he'll mind me sharing what he said.
So far all that I have seen was cook offs that pierced the cans. I have not seen a ruptured can even when the house burns down into the basement or foundation.

Unlike loose ammo I'm positive that the cooked off rounds that pierced the can could cause injury if it struck someone.
It sounds like the ammo can isn't going to build up enough gas to have a dangerous blow out, but you still wouldn't want to be standing next to one.

Just starting to think about storage. My wife is getting picky about it. The ammo cans look air tight -- can direct burial be okay? If so, I may dig a patch out back...

In my years of geocaching, I have seen ammo cans subjected to the worst outdoor conditions you can imagine, including one that was chained to a tree and spent an entire summer underwater. They never fail to keep the insides nice and dry.

WRT burying them. . . I would be worried about corrosion eventually eating the can away, but then again, we geocachers leave them outside in the rain and snow covered with moss, wet leaves and sticks, and they never seem to rot away.

ok, the miliitary has been using ammo cans for years in worse enviroments than civillians have. point is if there is a housefire then nothing is safe. anyway for a bullet to have any force it has to be in something like a chamber. you can toss a bullet in a fire and it is like a firecracker. no real force to it because ... the force is not contained and directed. think if a shape charge.
bullets in am ammo can will go off....and make a bunch of noise. hollywood is full of brown stinky stuff when the show explosions of bullets cooking off and killing people. if anything a bullet cooking off will leave a welt, ive had worse from paintball guns...

mudslinger and others... anyone able to explain the difference between a grenade and an airtight sealed metal ammo can with 1,000 rounds?

My concern would be th in a hot fire the ammo can would provide the compession to essentially turn it into 1 big grenade.

Anyone out there have knowledge?

Seeing how an ammo can with ammo in it would contain a bunch of little "cells" of powder, and not one big mass of powder, any resulting cook offs would probably occur one by one, like popcorn instead of a Kaboom.

It might eventually burst the ammo can but I cant imagine an explosion.

a grenade is a charge of explosive packed and sealed, tightly in a case that is also sealed. much thicker construction of an ammo can. pick up a grenade next time you see one. there is space between rounds in an ammo can, that wouldnt be filled unless you pack them with something fluid, like water.
you ever put a firecracker in a empty pop can? course the ammo cans and bullets are bigger, but same principal.

Where does one find ammo cans on the cheap?

gun shows, surplus stores, on line like cheaperthan dirt, places like that

I've had good luck with these guys:

http://www.armygear.net/ag/store/index.html

cooked off ammo would turn the ammo can into a machine gun, not a bomb. for bombs to work there must be pressure, what happens when the first cooked off round goes off???? pressure is released.

Many years ago American Rifleman Magazine did an article about ammo in fires. There was a picture of a .50 cal can full of .30-06 ammo that burned up in a house fire. The can was bulged a little and dented from bullets banging into the inside surfaces. The rubber gasket gave out quickly in the heat and vented the pressure build up. All the rounds just popped apart, some more violently than others, but no bullets made it out of the can.

A coworker I had once came to the company straight from 20 years at the Lake City Ammunition Plant. He said they took defective ammo out to some burn barrels, made of somewhat heavier gauge steel than normal, doused it with fuel and burned it. They put a heavy gauge metal screen over the top to keep the bits and pieces in. Then the scrap metal was sold for recycling. No big deal.

:D

... the corner? ;)

anyone able to explain the difference between a grenade and an airtight sealed metal ammo can with 1,000 rounds?

A grenade contains HIGH EXPLOSIVE.
A cartridge contains only nitrocellulose gunpowder.

The difference of explosive force is vastly different.

Where does one find ammo cans on the cheap?

You could also buy bulk ammo from Georgia Arms, it comes packed in ammo cans.