Your ammo cache in a safe or not

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When I out grew my last safe I bought a pretty big replacement, now I use the old safe for ammo storage. Probably wouldn’t buy a safe for ammo but I had it so why not put my ammo in it.
 
What would be the point of keeping ammo in a safe? A burglar won't be stealing bulky ammo in preference to the guns themselves. (Generally, burglars' time is limited and they take portable and high-value items. If they have, say, a whole weekend to ransack an unoccupied house, a safe won't stop them. They'll just take the whole safe.)

As it is, many collectors have barely enough room in their safe(s) for their guns. Putting ammo in a safe is a needless luxury.
 
AlexanderA said:
What would be the point of keeping ammo in a safe? A burglar won't be stealing bulky ammo in preference to the guns themselves. (Generally, burglars' time is limited and they take portable and high-value items. If they have, say, a whole weekend to ransack an unoccupied house, a safe won't stop them. They'll just take the whole safe.)

As it is, many collectors have barely enough room in their safe(s) for their guns. Putting ammo in a safe is a needless luxury.
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And now the toilet paper is crowdin’ some folks’ guns out of their safes. :scrutiny:
 
357smallbore said:
How many fine folks keep their ammo cache in a quality safe? I mean locked up to where you only would have access to it. I have shall I say enough to be concerned if it were not locked away, it could be stolen and that would just suck. Let alone several thousands of dollars of down the drain.
I am going out with my stimulus check and buying me a Liberty Safe to coincide with the one I keep my weapons in.
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I live in a pre-1990's house. Definitely could not put in the safe in basement as it would be too heavy for the flooring. (depending on size of course) I suppose I could buy a smaller one and lug it up the stairs and bolt it in a closet somehow. Please let us know how you make out. This is an idea I didn't think of (stimulus money wise) Thanks. I have been considering a new lever action rifle.
 
AlexanderA said:
What would be the point of keeping ammo in a safe? A burglar won't be stealing bulky ammo in preference to the guns themselves..
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When there's room in the gun safe for it, like my previous, situation, it makes sense.

(Generally, burglars' time is limited and they take portable and high-value items. If they have, say, a whole weekend to ransack an unoccupied house, a safe won't stop them. They'll just take the whole safe.)
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Ammo is heavy. If you have room in the safe, loading it with ammo makes it less portable.
Like in my case, getting the empty safe up and down the stairs was annoying but not difficult.
Then loading it with a couple rifles, a shotgun, a handful of pistols, and a full can of ammunition for each left to bounce around in there made getting it down the stairs without drawing attention impossible.

Otherwise, it's a distraction. A safe is tempting. It's unlikely they'll take two. So that at least cuts down the chances they'll take the more important one.
 
Sorry, I don't have enough safes to hold all my ammo.

There is also no reason to think anyone would want to steal ammo, especially burglars. They are only interested in small, high-value items.

Locking up ammo in a safe is wasted money and space that could be better utilized holding firearms. Not that Liberty safes are "safes", which they are not. They are just strong boxes.
 
I have 4 ammo cans in my safe. But they need to come out and be with the rest of my ammo. Why 4? Cause that's all that fits with the rest of my stuff. I put it in there because it's humidity controlled, which I guess isn't really a huge factor. I plan to build a large wooden crate to hold everything and put the crate on legs in case of a basement flood (very unlikely but always possible) . I need to get on that. With all my extra time lately I've filled a few more ammo cans and the bullets are piling up without any shooting lately. Not a had problem to have, but I'd rather be shooting.
As far as all ammo simultaneously exploding in a house fire, that's not realistic.
 
I have my ammo in 30+ ammo cans in my bedroom. I would need a few large safes if I were to secure it. When I retire, I am going to have a house built with a large gun/reloading room in the basement which will be made of reinforced (rebar and filled) concrete block, a vault door, and will have the SecureIt panels on the walls. Ideally, I’d still have a few safes in there for my more valuable guns and ammo and then be able to display/keep on the walls other guns and accessories.
 
I used to think that I had quite a bit of ammo.

Some of you are floor-bending back-breaking concrete-busting make-the-earth-wobble-on-its-axis MASTER accumulators. Reading the posts in this thread makes me realize that by comparison I'm really just a rank beginner.

Something to aspire to!
 
I've enjoyed this thread but have to say ...having ammo "cooking off" inside your safe should not be a big concern ...unless I'm missing something. Most house fires burn at an average of 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, don't last long enough to consume an entire structure, and requires constant fuel like wood or cloth in order to develop what is thought of as any "blow torch" intensity. Plastics and synthetics and melting items won't do it. Modern safes mostly have fire resistant panels and materials to guard against rising temps, with the short time of an accidental fire, even documents should be undamaged.

I had this very conversation years ago with a bud our DI named FIREMAN ...(he loved the flames more than boom) ...spent 10 years in EOD and transferred to NBS during their bomb impact studies at Aberdeen Proving Ground. For installation of two safes in our place, he selected a far wall that would not be surrounded by tables, chairs, firewood, etc., then clipped some carpeting from both interiors. He put these in a glass saucer and torched them. One safe is an old Browning made in the 70s, the other is a Sportsman Steel made in the late 80s. (Both had belonged to family.) The Browning carpet was fine, he said, might crisp or melt but wouldn't burn. The Sportsman carpet was garbage, in fact a potential combustible, so we removed that and cut new from a purchased remnant.

The most important lesson I learned: if ammo is located elsewhere in the house and not sealed properly ...so that it really can cook ...and a few rounds go off, a jittery line officer could pull back any firefighting measures placing the structure at risk.

The other thing we did is follow the route of electrical line that ran into theses safes for lighting purpose, then used a high temp caulk to seal the penetration tight as possible. He had seen important docs pulled from safes with smoke damage that somehow got through those holes.



https://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-fire-ratings/2/
 
I don't have all that much ammo. I keep it all (minus 12ga) in a Stack On strong box, located inside my gun safe. It is an electronic keypad with backup key entry. At most, it is an extra layer of security. Ammo is sorted by caliber and type (SD/target). Space being limited in that room makes storing ammo problematic so I am always considering better options.
 
I keep mine on a high shelf near my gun bench and work bench in the basement. Separated by caliber in 50 cal MTM ammo cans w/ a label for each caliber. I don't keep as much on hand as many here, as I don't get to shoot often so don't go through it as fast. So, my one can per caliber probably isn't the norm as far as quantity in these parts.
 
Safe it under lock and key where youngsters might get curious. They want to pull bullets in a vise. They want to hit primers with a nail. Don't ask how I know.
 
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HB said:
As long as they aren’t druggies, bad neighbors are usually a blessing in disguise and an asset for security.

I had one neighbor that would sit in a lawn chair in his front yard and drink a 30 pack of natty EVERY single day. When I got off work, he’d usually be coherent and I’d walk over and drink a beer with him. He knew the goings on of the block and every neighbor, mailman, or car that drove by.
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This sounds like the perfect neighbor. I would go over and drink a beer or two with him and make friends. Probably invite him to some of our Cookouts, Crawfish Boils or Fish Fries.
 
lightman said:
Heck Gunny, Everyone looks like they are out of ammo compared to you! You're an inspiration to the rest of us!:)
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It cost me just over $10,000 to get to where I am today, well, that’s what the last divorce cost.:mad: But now I have plenty of money to spend and no one to complain about it.
I have more ammo that should be here any day. Just two thousand rounds of 22lr ammo.
 
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