Excessive amount of ammunition on hand!

[sigprosp2340]

Question all, as this looks like a good place to get the answer.

My friends at work, shooting friends, say that I have too much ammo on hand. They say that it is against the law to have that much ammo on hand at my house. I live in Nevada and I own my house. Right now I have about 25 weapons and about 20,000 rounds of ammunition. I buy ammo in bulk and get a good price, I bought a lot of this a couple of years ago when I saw that ammo was on the rise.

What do you guys think;

Do I have too much ammo?

Is there a law about how much ammo you are allowed to have?

Thanks,

SIGPROSP2340

 

[gc70]

You put more than one caliber on a rack?!

 

[moharrow]

as long as the floor will support it its not too much ammo

if the floor won't support it,,,,reinforce the floor

 

[Drusagas]

of course that's not too much. Get More

You'll need it when the Zombies come

 

[armoredman]

Check in state and local law for storage of haz mat, and what, specifically, is defined as haz mat. If your ammo falls under that, start shooting. BTW, Fed law exempts small arms as haz mat for shipping reasons, at least.
I can say I am envious! I think your buddies have ammo envy.

 

[Gator]

Not too much at all.

I have over 25,000 just in .22s.

 

[Regolith]

Yes. You have entirely too much ammo. You should ship half of it to me so as to make certain that you are not overdoing it.

 

[green-grizzly]

Check the local fire codes.

 

[RoostRider]

There are also laws against "hoarding" in some places..... that may be the issue they are referring to....

 

[guntotinguy]

I live in Nevada and I own my house

I also live in Nevada (Las Vegas)...I have triple amounts of ammo you have and many more guns than what you mentioned also...nothing illegal about it...your 'home' is your private domain!I would suggest you have your ammo and guns,in a 'safe,locked up' place as like a gun safe(s) but otherwise...

If you have questions you can check some legalities for your own reassurance...I think you'll discover your legal and safe'.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

A Good Start

My friends at work, shooting friends, say that I have too much ammo on hand.

How odd.

And in what part of Nevada might this be?

Up around Carson City and Reno, your 20,000 rounds is generally considered a good start.

And if you have "friends" dispensing this kind of advice, I'm not sure I'd be sharing sensitive information with them.

When I was living in Carson City, although I had fewer guns, I had nearly as much ammo.

As long as you're not engaged in activities that attract the attention of the law enforcement guys, I'd say you're fine.

What kind of company is it that you work for?

 

[IronSightRot671]

Yes, you have way more then you need! You must share your ammo with all of us

Btw, You can never have enough of a good thing. I'm jealous, yet, again

Also, welcome to THR. I almost forgot. I got caught up looking at your ammo:

 

[jrfoxx]

Check the local fire codes.

+1 there are no federal laws about ammo amounts or storage, so it would be up to local laws or codes to set one, if one exists where you are. I have never heard of any state or local law on ammo ammounts/storage, but HAVE heard of some places with fire code regs. about it, so check there.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I hope your friends don't introduce you as "the guy with the ammo cache." You could be attracting all of the wrong kind of attention. Then again, I guess the crooks have to weigh their chances of leaving with all your ammo vs., well, leaving with all your ammo.

 

[Rabid Rabbit]

20,000 really isn't that much. Now if you had 20,000 of 600 nitro I would either wonder why are so masochistic or be in awe that you can take that punishment.

If you care what they think tell them buying in bulk saves a lot of money so you can buy more ammo, which saves you more money to buy more ammo which saves you money to buy......by the time you get through you are making money by buying ammo.

 

[209]

Perhaps they were referring to some city/town ordinance concerning storage of ammo being a fire code issue. Check your local laws. There is a [possibly it's an urban legend] story out there where some cities and towns have limited the amount of ammo as a fire code violation.

But 20K rounds isn't much. Two or three good days at the range can use most of that up.

 

[btg3]

Assuming supply-and-demand still applies...
YOU AIN"T HELPING THE COST OF MY AMMO!
(j/k -- but I am jealous.)

 

[glink]

What would make you feel like you had to tell them?

 

[TAB]

My friends at work, shooting friends, say that I have too much ammo on hand.

How odd.

And in what part of Nevada might this be?

Up around Carson City and Reno, your 20,000 rounds is generally considered a good start.

hell in some place in NV thats 1 range trip worth...


AS was mentioned, check your local fire codes. Other then that your fine.

 

[ctdonath]

1,000 rounds per gun is a minimum. Any less than that, it's time to restock. Seriously, a single session at the range can use up most of that.

Prices doing what they are, call it "investing in precious metals" - and get more. I hate to shoot my .308 'cuz the stack I paid $500 for is now worth at least $2000 and rising fast.

 

[W.E.G.]

The fire code varies from state-to-state, and from locality-to-locality. Your local fire marshal should be able to tell you exactly what code your locality uses. Typically, a locality adopts one of the "model codes" (BOCA, NFPA, etc), and then usually adds their own amendments/changes in the local code of ordinances.

Kind of a PITA to research, and rarely is available online in any format that will leave you satisfied that you have complete information. Yes, its the 21st century, but this is one area of the law where you will be remiss unless you dig into the actual books.

Primer storage usually is the area where shooters are over the line on what is allowed by law. Don't ask whether primers that are part of a loaded cartridges count toward the tally, because NOBODY can answer that with any clear authority.

 

[FuzzyBunny]

I would not store it in a visible location like that.
I would also tell your friends they are right and you have been shooting up your excessive ammo. Let them think you have shot most of it up.

After a month or so ask your buddies if they can loan you some ammo. When times get tough they will remember your pile of ammo and might try and come take it.

Same with food. If someone sees you have 6 months worth of food in your pantry then they will remember that when there is a food shortage of some kind. It is a personal security issue and you need to deal with it.

 

[EOD Guy]

Check in state and local law for storage of haz mat, and what, specifically, is defined as haz mat. If your ammo falls under that, start shooting. BTW, Fed law exempts small arms as haz mat for shipping reasons, at least.
I can say I am envious! I think your buddies have ammo envy.

No, it doesn't. Small arms ammunition is classed as a Division 1.4G explosive material by the Department of Transportation. If packaged properly in small amounts, it can be reclassed as ORM-D (Other Regulated Material - D) which is still considered a hazardous material.

As to residential storage, as several people have stated, it is usually covered under the Fire Code, although California has some powder limits in the Health and Safety Code. Most fire codes that I have seen only limit powder and primers. There is usually no limit on loaded small arms ammunition.

One other thing you may have to consider is response to a fire. If ammunition starts popping off, many fire departments will back off and let it burn, even though there is very little danger to fire fighters from burning ammunition.

 

[Nightwing]

Can I just suggest that you buy an 80 dollar cheapie key lock gun safe at Walmart, put a few shelves in it, and lock your ammo up?
I'd be pissed if my house got broken into while I was gone and somebody took a bunch of it. Ammo's worth a bunch.
Just sayin... I keep almost all of my ammo locked, except or a small stash in 2 rooms for personal protection.

 

[xsquidgator]

Wow! That's a lot of store-bought ammo! I see a number of plastic boxes so I assume you reload above and beyond your store-bought stash? I think I'll save this picture and show it to my wife when she complains I'm spending too much on components!

I'd check your local laws. IN FL I'm not aware of any laws like that with the exception of how many pounds of smokeless powder can be kept in a residence. It's probably not a problem, but I second the idea of letting people think you've gotten rid of it and no longer have so much. Here people will admire your stash, but out there people will get the wrong idea and assume you're up to no good, or at worst, might come looking for some in the event that having ammo was critical.