Sunday afternoon my house was destroyed by a EF3 tornado. Luckily my family wasn't home. I live in Gifford IL. I would like to share my experience with my firearms. I have a modest collection of a few rifles, a couple of shotguns, and a couple of handguns. My house was roughly 1200 square feet. Half of it was blown inside the neighbors house behind me. The other half flew over their house and landed in their front yard. My guns were stored in a a large security cabinet. It had been secured to the floor and wall with lag bolts. I found my gun cabinet on the road behind my house roughly 75 yards from where it was in my house. The guns inside only received minor scratches. Now for my losses. Most of the shotgun shells that were in boxes are now spread around my neighbors yard. I lost quite a few boxes of .22 and those are also sprinkled around. I had purchased some of the plastic ammo cans and had them full of various calibers. Out of the 6 I had one stayed together the rest were broken open. I lost quite a few magazines for my Glock 19 and browning buckmark. I did find most of my ar magazines. I did have one surplus ammo can. It made 75 yards over my neighbors house with no damage to it or the ammo in it. After this experience I think I will buy more metal ammo cans. The most important thing to survive through it was my 8 month old boxer puppy. We found him 4 hours later in a void in the pile. He was roughly 20 feet under a combination of my house and my neighbors.
Tornado and guns.
- Thread starter gfpd707
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Deltaboy1984
Member
Prayers sent for you.
I am sorry for your loss. It very easily could have been us just a few miles away. Hopefully any other missing property is found and returned to everyone in Gifford. A small community gives me hope that everything stays "in the family" so to speak.
Knowing that your puppy made it through the carnage is good to hear. I know that I would give anything to save my rescue kitten, guns and ammo be forgotten. My best thoughts go out to all of my fellow Illinoisans.
Now... to inventory my ammo cans....
Knowing that your puppy made it through the carnage is good to hear. I know that I would give anything to save my rescue kitten, guns and ammo be forgotten. My best thoughts go out to all of my fellow Illinoisans.
Now... to inventory my ammo cans....
WardenWolf
member
Don't be surprised if you receive a visit from the police soon, looking to "secure" your firearms and magazines. This is Illinois, after all. I'm glad you and your family are safe.
Reloadron
Contributing Member
Guns and the material things in our lives can be replaced. Our lives and those of our loved ones can't. I am glad that you and the family are OK, as well as the puppy. I hope your insurance covers all of the losses for you. Will keep you and yours in our thoughts and prayers.
Ron
Ron
ColtPythonElite
Member
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I am glad the dog made it. Boxers have been my breed of choice for years.
Sorry for your losses. I live in a tornado prone area and I believe a heavy gun safe is a great investment. Ammo is always best stored in STEEL ammo cans for a couple of good reasons.
They can survive tornado's
Then are made to open up slightly to relieve pressure in a fire yet still contain any explosions that might occur.
Put your name and address on the outside of every can.
They can survive tornado's
Then are made to open up slightly to relieve pressure in a fire yet still contain any explosions that might occur.
Put your name and address on the outside of every can.
Outlaw Man
Member
Glad you and your family are OK. I helped in the cleanup of a local tornado, and it is amazing the devastation they can produce. It's equally amazing how the destruction can be so randomly distributed. The most fragile things - like a puppy - can be perfectly fine but surrounded by things that look like they were hit with a missile.
I hope your lives can get back to a sense of normal as quickly as possible.
I hope your lives can get back to a sense of normal as quickly as possible.
On An Island
Member
I'm glad you, your family and the puppy are all okay. FWIW, you'll be in my thoughts in the coming days.
Thanks for the info on the ammo storage containers. I'll be replacing the few plastic ones I have with more of the mil-style metal ones ASAP.
Thanks for the info on the ammo storage containers. I'll be replacing the few plastic ones I have with more of the mil-style metal ones ASAP.
Good to hear you made it through intact. I had several friends affected by the tornadoes (one hit a few blocks from where I grew up, in Pekin).
Things have been a bit crazy around here this week.
I downloaded 2.5 hours of sheriff's dept audio archives this week, the Pekin tornado was on the ground only 15 seconds after the sirens went off. People had no time to prepare. We were lucky there weren't any deaths. The one in Washington looked to be on the ground for 2.5 minutes before the sirens went off. They were hit far worse, and did have one casualty.
Mother nature has some awesome power, and these storms moved FAST.
Things have been a bit crazy around here this week.
I downloaded 2.5 hours of sheriff's dept audio archives this week, the Pekin tornado was on the ground only 15 seconds after the sirens went off. People had no time to prepare. We were lucky there weren't any deaths. The one in Washington looked to be on the ground for 2.5 minutes before the sirens went off. They were hit far worse, and did have one casualty.
Mother nature has some awesome power, and these storms moved FAST.
I'm relieved to read you and your family are well.
The point about plastic vs. steel ammuniction cans is well made. I had a friend drop a plastic one on the stairs and after the first "bounce" it came apart spewing boxes and ammo down the stairs.
The point about bolting to a wall vs. something like a slab is also well taken.
The point about plastic vs. steel ammuniction cans is well made. I had a friend drop a plastic one on the stairs and after the first "bounce" it came apart spewing boxes and ammo down the stairs.
The point about bolting to a wall vs. something like a slab is also well taken.
Your post got me thinking about how/where I store things.
I have a 60' hill leading down to a lake on the northeastern side of my home. If a tornado hit my house, most of my belongings would require scuba gear to collect; they'd end up in the 20 acre lake if the storm tracked along the prevalent path.
I have a graffunder safe bolted to the rebar reinforced basement slab. So that isn't going anywhere. But my basement isn't really a basement. It's only got 4' of earth covering the front side, and the back is zero grade. So if a tornado hit close, it'd sweep my foundation clean, with nowhere being particularly safe. I have the kids huddle along the west-facing wall next to the stairwell (at least 4 foot of earth there, which is better than nothing).
I really should get a proper shelter dug out.
I also should move my ammo supply to a more protected spot. It's on shelves along the zero-grade wall right now; which wouldn't survive.
I have a 60' hill leading down to a lake on the northeastern side of my home. If a tornado hit my house, most of my belongings would require scuba gear to collect; they'd end up in the 20 acre lake if the storm tracked along the prevalent path.
I have a graffunder safe bolted to the rebar reinforced basement slab. So that isn't going anywhere. But my basement isn't really a basement. It's only got 4' of earth covering the front side, and the back is zero grade. So if a tornado hit close, it'd sweep my foundation clean, with nowhere being particularly safe. I have the kids huddle along the west-facing wall next to the stairwell (at least 4 foot of earth there, which is better than nothing).
I really should get a proper shelter dug out.
I also should move my ammo supply to a more protected spot. It's on shelves along the zero-grade wall right now; which wouldn't survive.
351 WINCHESTER
Member
Glad to hear that you and your dog made it. Prayers to the families who lost loved ones and all.
Arkansas Paul
Member
Glad everyone is alive and uninjured.
Thank you for sharing this. I live in central Arkansas and we have frequent tornados as well. Two years ago, there were a dozen or so houses completely destroyed not a mile from me. We were fortunate, but storing my firearms, ammo and reloading components was something that I thought about a lot afterwards and this certainly sheds some light on that.
I hope everything works out for you during the recovery process.
Thank you for sharing this. I live in central Arkansas and we have frequent tornados as well. Two years ago, there were a dozen or so houses completely destroyed not a mile from me. We were fortunate, but storing my firearms, ammo and reloading components was something that I thought about a lot afterwards and this certainly sheds some light on that.
I hope everything works out for you during the recovery process.
BSA1
member
I have lived in the bullseye all of life. The closest one on the ground so far was 1/2 away and a F5 probably a mile away so tornado protection is our most important home feature. We consider protection from tornado so high we have a custom built basement safe room with 12" thick poured concrete walls with Ft. Knox bank door.
I'm sure right now you are feeling somewhat overwhelmed. Once your short term housing needs are met you will be faced with rebuilding or moving to a new location. If you choose to own I probably don't have to encourage you much to add a underground safe room (although my wife has a Aunt and Uncle that did not after surviving the big tornado that hit OKC years ago).
One underground design I like a lot is one made by Ground Zero that is installed in your garage. They simply cut a opening in your garage floor, drop in the prefab unit and pour a new floor over it. What I really like about is since it is inside the garage everyone and everything stays dry when getting in it.
As I am always looking for ways to use things for more than one purpose it would be great as a secure storage vault/room for your guns and other valuables. With a little preplanning you could custom design it to also be a great man cave. I saw one custom design that not only had storage chests under the bench (ideal for guns) but had a CCTV camera system to watch the weather outdoors, computer hookups, TV for viewing to help pass the time and a 2 way radio system. The owner had cleverly design the shelves so that everything used little space.
http://www.groundzeroshelters.com/flattop.html
I'm sure right now you are feeling somewhat overwhelmed. Once your short term housing needs are met you will be faced with rebuilding or moving to a new location. If you choose to own I probably don't have to encourage you much to add a underground safe room (although my wife has a Aunt and Uncle that did not after surviving the big tornado that hit OKC years ago).
One underground design I like a lot is one made by Ground Zero that is installed in your garage. They simply cut a opening in your garage floor, drop in the prefab unit and pour a new floor over it. What I really like about is since it is inside the garage everyone and everything stays dry when getting in it.
As I am always looking for ways to use things for more than one purpose it would be great as a secure storage vault/room for your guns and other valuables. With a little preplanning you could custom design it to also be a great man cave. I saw one custom design that not only had storage chests under the bench (ideal for guns) but had a CCTV camera system to watch the weather outdoors, computer hookups, TV for viewing to help pass the time and a 2 way radio system. The owner had cleverly design the shelves so that everything used little space.
http://www.groundzeroshelters.com/flattop.html
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HankR
Member
Sorry for your material losses. Glad that the humans and puppies are ok.
SunnySlopes
Member
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- Nov 3, 2011
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- 1,223
Friend, I am so sorry about your troubles. Here's praying that you get everything back, and in order, even better than before.
I'm just glad you're ok.
Best of luck to you and yours. Keep us informed re your progress.
I'm just glad you're ok.
Best of luck to you and yours. Keep us informed re your progress.
9MMare
Member
I am so sorry for your family's loss and very glad you found your puppy.
Schutzen
Member
Accessory Storage
I'm really glad to hear you ad yours are all well. I'm 50+ miles south of your area and the winds here told us you were getting hit hard.
Just one quick idea for all. Consider a metal job box for accessory storage. These are lockable metal tool boxes used on construction sites. Lowes and Home Depot usually have them in stock for roughly $300. Mine is an older off size model, but the new ones are roughly 24"X24"X36". You can lock up a lot of ammo and magazines for just a few dollars. An added plus is they are heavy and tend to stay closer to home than lighter boxes.
Good luck on your storm recovery.
I'm really glad to hear you ad yours are all well. I'm 50+ miles south of your area and the winds here told us you were getting hit hard.
Just one quick idea for all. Consider a metal job box for accessory storage. These are lockable metal tool boxes used on construction sites. Lowes and Home Depot usually have them in stock for roughly $300. Mine is an older off size model, but the new ones are roughly 24"X24"X36". You can lock up a lot of ammo and magazines for just a few dollars. An added plus is they are heavy and tend to stay closer to home than lighter boxes.
Good luck on your storm recovery.
slumlord44
Member
Guess having my gun cabinets bolted to the wall and the concrete floor is a good idea.
frankenstein406
Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2011
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- 816
Glad your okay
JFtheGR8
Member
I am so sorry for your loss but glad you and your family are ok. I live 8 miles away from the devastation in Washington and up until 2 years ago had lived in that community for 15 years. My old house is standing virtually untouched while everything around it is severely damaged or a complete loss. Many of my friends and coworkers have lost everything but they are alive and well with minimal injuries. Tornadoes are very strange indeed. I've wondered myself what would happen to my guns and ammo in such a situation. I have yet to buy a RSC and have been leery of keeping my guns in the basement due to the higher humidity levels. It looks like time for me to rethink my storage and get something done. My heart goes out to all those affected by this tragedy. Please help by donating to the Red Cross (November Tornado Fund I believe).
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