Ammo Storage Question

[kayaker55]

Just realized I've bought lots of ammo in the past few months. Can't afford another safe right now. Any ideas for safe and appropriate storage ?

[zfields]

in the closet in an ammo can....

[Paperchasin]

in the closet in an ammo can....

+2....plus I throw in some desiccants for safe measure

[bsg]

i store ammo in ammo cans, in a locked area of my home.

[scarville]

How much room do you have? Unless you are planning on storing it for a long time you don't need anything special. Surplus ammo cans or a steel cabinet from Lowes is good enough. I use an old, dead freezer in the garage and a padlock for most of my ammo stash.

[JeremyS]

Just store it. Find the space somewhere that isn't visible to people.

I have a little workshop in the back yard, and have an ammo shelf in there. There's a dessicant pack in each of the ammo cans, which hold mostly .303 British and some 9mm HST, more shot shells behind the shot shells that are visible in the pic (about 1,000 total rounds of 12 ga), plus two cardboard boxes full of 9mm boxes (about 1,900 rounds of 9mm).... at least 1k rounds of .22LR... The workshop has a door with a locked deadbolt, but I don't feel the need to keep ammo in a safe. The guns are in a safe and ammo isn't useable unless you have a gun anyway. Plus anybody over 18 can go buy ammo if they want to.




^^^ you'll also see a blue brining bucket, a bunch of jars for canning stuff, and a few types of hardwood bisquettes and a couple racks for my Bradley smoker ... Oh and there's a whole bunch of shoot-n-see targets underneath the ammo cans, which helps to keep them flat.

[kayaker55]

Thanks guys. Sounds like ammo cans are the way to go for now. Has anyone seen or used sealed plastic buckets ?

[bubbapug1]

Ammo should be locked up out of reach of children. Buy a 3/8" x 1" bolt, drill a 3/8 hole in your ammo can, drill a hole in your bolt, insert the bot into the hole with a backing nut, and you have a locked ammo can.

Take about 4 minutes to make them lockable.

[osokne]

Locking file cabinets, or a hasp/padlock on one. You can sometimes find these for free (freecycle, craigslist, etc). Large, lockable toolboxes. There's those big, plastic rolling tubs, that are set up for use with a padlock... but they're plastic, if you have a preference, otherwise. Those metal Stack On cabinets are not as expensive as a full-blown safe. Big 5 (my local one) just started carrying the smaller green Stack On cabinet. Cheap safes at Harbor Freight Tools (YMMV).

[JAGACIDA]

Safe storage is key, but heat affects shelf life of ammo too. There are no doubt local ordinances on how much you can store privately.

[wjc]

Ammo should be locked up out of reach of children. Buy a 3/8" x 1" bolt, drill a 3/8 hole in your ammo can, drill a hole in your bolt, insert the bot into the hole with a backing nut, and you have a locked ammo can.

Take about 4 minutes to make them lockable.

FYI, they also make gizmo's that attach to your ammo can so you can use a padlock on it. I saw one at my local Army Surplus store recently (I don't have kids so no need for me).

http://www.ammolock.com/

http://www.armygear.net/ag/store/0517.html

http://www.armysurpluswarehouse.com/featured/ammo-can-lock-a-3-piece-can-it-system.html

btw, I also store my ammo in 30 and 50 cal ammo boxes.

[Ubermcoupe]

I keep all of my live stuff in the closet, in cans. Some stuff is in locked containers but I have run out of containers, so it now stays in a locked closet.

[sequoia_nomad]

The guns are in a safe and ammo isn't useable unless you have a gun anyway. Plus anybody over 18 can go buy ammo if they want to.

^^My nomination for the Naive Statement of the Year award.

If you are being burglarized they are not necessarily looking to shoot anything or anyone, they are most likely looking to steal things they can sell. I don't care how old the crook is, if they are a thief then selling a $20 brick of ammo they just stole for $10 will suit them just fine, gun or not.

[mnh2obuff]

I use tool boxes with a small combination lock.

[Hopalong]

I had several boxes is a dresser drawer for about 17 years.

I remember the time I bought these, because I bought my 92fs at the same time.

No problems,