Any limit on the amount of ammo in the home?

[JackDaniel]

Hi y'all - First post here. I've been lurking around this site for years - looking forward to being on board.

I’ve read a pamphlet that delineates the amount of powder and primers you can keep in your home (or structure, IIRC) and how they are to be stored.

Is there any limit on the amount of ammo you can store in your home or a free standing structure?

 

[Squeaky Wheel]

Welcome!

Probably not, but consider the hazards for a fire in the home.

 

[ngnrd]

Your insurance company may have something to say about it, as may your local fire department.

 

[dpote]

I'm still trying to find the limit.
Y'know, every time I pull the handle, another cartridge pops out. They just keep piling up. Soon, I won't be able to get the car in the garage.

Dave

 

[1911 guy]

Someone will probably come along and correct me, but I think this was discussed a while back. The result, if I remember right, was that there is no federal or state laws regarding ammo, but there may be local ordinances.

 

[InkEd]

If you are concerned you may have too much, you can store the excess at my place.

 

[Queen_of_Thunder]

See the thread http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=687125


I would aso suggest sending it to your local Fire Chief. It really opened my eyes as to how safe ammo really is in a fire.

 

[mljdeckard]

As I understand it, OSHA has writeen some safety guidelines, but there is no law.

 

[steveracer]

Yeah, my wife works in the fire marshall's office. There's really no danger to firefighters from ammo in the home.
Myths about bullets flying and explosions from movies have made this obnoxious idea become scary for some.
Here's the basics: Your lawnmower's gas can and grill's gas cylinder are FAR more volitile in a house fire than any amount of conventional ammunition.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

No limit on loaded cartridges. They really aren't a hazard. As said, limits and requirements on powder and primers.

 

[Grassman]

That will be the gun control of the future, they know they can't get rid of the weapons so they will tighten the screws on ammo, through insurance, OSHA, obamacare or what ever. The avenues are endless if you think about it.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Myths about bullets flying

There's myths and then there's actual experience.

They really aren't a hazard.

In 1995 my shop burned to the ground.
Along with a lot of other gun stuff, like 5 reloading presses, the shop contained about 23,000 rounds of loaded ammo, seven unloaded guns, about ten cans of powder and thousands of primers.

Judge for yourself if this is a hazard or not.

Most of the ammo, 22LR, pistol and rifle ammo was in steel 50 cal ammo cans.
Here's a few of the cans.











Note the bullet holes in the powder cans. Those bullets had to already go through a steel ammo can. There were also bullet holes in the shop (metal) walls.
The cans that blew up are Black Powder and WD40.





I found one (M1 Carbine) bullet buried in the house roof shingles about 40 yards from the shop. The bullet did not go through the roof plywood.
The bullet must have gone through the steel ammo box and the shop wall on the way to the house.


It was a very exciting day.

 

[bannockburn]

I could see if you live in a large metropolitan area that the county or some of the larger cities enacting various ordinances limitimg the amount of ammunition you could have in your home or apartment. All this would be done under the guise of safety for your family, neighbors, fire fighting personnel, and anyone else they may deem as being in danger from this hazard.

 

[Walkalong]

Check local codes and with the local fire department for not only how much you can store, but how.

 

[Walkalong]

Here is an outstanding look at how ammo behaves in a fire.

http://www.saami.org/videos/sporting_ammunition_and_the_firefighter.cfm

 

[Midnight Oil]

mythbusters did an experiment with ammo in campfires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAK2dDQ-S4Q

 

[WardenWolf]

Note that ammo stored in an ammo can can still build up pressure to gain velocity, whereas ammo stored loosely or in cardboard boxes cannot. Basically, had those ammo cans been open at the time, they never would have developed enough pressure to do more than dent it. Bullets in a housefire normally just pop off and fly a couple of feet at most.

Legally, there's no limits that I know of on the amount of ammo one can store in a house. There is a limit on black powder, however. Federally you're limited to 50 pounds of the stuff, as I recall. Primers are also unregulated.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

WOW M2! Maybe time to rethink in some small ways.

 

[marksg]

WOW. That was a good video Walkalong. Wish i had all that ammo now

 

[JackDaniel]

M2 Carbine’s placing of the cartridges in an ammo can appears to change the outcome from what the SAAMI and Mythbusters videos depict.

I may have to change my plans of storing my ammo in those cans unless I can come up with a fireproof ammo vault.

Anyone with ammo vault experience that can provide info?