Ammo Storage Away from Home

[vmassarano]

Over the years leading up to retirement I acquired a good amount of ammo in various calibers. There was a fire this past week in Sylmar, CA that apparently may have been triggered or worsened by ammo stored in a garage. There was at least one fatality but it's not clear if it was the result of ammo cooking off.
Does anyone have any suggestions of where ammo can be stored safely (and economically) away from home?

[JoyfulJoker]

Ammo does not fire by being burnt. At the Action Range , live rounds are often found on the ground at the end of a stage . These are collected. When all the shot up target sticks are burnt in a barrel , they dump in all the collected live rounds. Nothing happens except for lead melting. I was surprised myself to see them dumping rounds on the fire. Nothing shot off.

[vmassarano]

JoyfulJoker - Thanks. I've read and heard the same. My concern is that I also have smokeless and black powder for reloading. If that burns, it's a going to be a problem, along with firemen hearing any rounds that might cook off. As of now, I have my ammo stored in a couple of Stack-on Cabinets and various metal and plastic ammo cans. Just trying to find a safer or 'off-site' option for storage (but I can't think of any other than burying it in the yard, Lol).

[M1NM]

Watch actual ammo in a fire videos. It's not as dangerous as MSM wants you to believe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=3SlOXowwC4c

[JoyfulJoker]

Our club has an Action Pistol range with 7 or 8 Bays just for Competition and Training. There is a lot of live ordinance left behind and when brassing the bays, they are collected separately. Shot up target stand wood is also collected and burned in a barrel. The RO’s literally take buckets of live rounds and dump them on the fire. They don’t go off, the lead just melts. This was news to me.

What will cause a problem is powder stored in a sealed container,i.e. some clamped down lid on a 30 gallon container full of powder jugs . The pressure can cause an explosion. The state recommends no more than 25 lbs of powder in a wood container with a loose fitting lid .

I’m not sure if a sealed ammo can has enough pressure in a fire to cause an explosion. If it did , the metal container itself flying apart is probably as dangerous as the projectiles.

Edit: the double post was very weird. Hope this helped.

[vmassarano]

M1NM - I suspect that's the case. My concern is that any firemen responding to the call will likely back off and let the fire burn if they hear ammo cooking off. Per local news reports, that's apparently what happened in the Sylmar fire a few days ago.

[ar15robert]

media and fire departments want you to think its gonna fire off bullets into every direction and kill everything in a mile radius when it actually just pops and bullet goes a couple of inches

[Batman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnfDtVV7dHs

[newshooter650]

That video was amazing

[edgerly779]

Black powder is an explosive. max you can have is 1 pound. Do you have proper storage for your powder per regs.

[Bansh88]

If ammo is cooking off, your house is already a bonfire. Firemen no longer needed.

[CAL.BAR]

OP, that incident is now (rightly) being investigated as a murder suicide. He likely SET that fire. There really isn't any reason to go through the expense/hassle of moving your ammo and reloading off site.

[OCEquestrian]

If ammo is cooking off, your house is already a bonfire. Firemen no longer needed.

^^^^ Nailed it!

[baih777]

If you have a fire in the house. Do you have any way to put out the fire ?

For my kitchen. I have a fire exringusher at each doorway.
One in each room.
Where my ammo is stored. 2 fire extingushers by the ammo and two more at the door.
Ammo in the house. 2 more fire extingushers.

I buy 2 more fire extingushers every time Costco has them on sale.

That fire in Sylmar is been investigated as a murder suicide. Thats why it wont up in flames so fast.

[mikeyr]

Black powder is an explosive. max you can have is 1 pound. Do you have proper storage for your powder per regs.

5lbs is max
At least that is what the fire marshal told me, 1lb would not cover my 3 types of BP I need, FFFFG, FFFG, FFG

And all my powder is in a wooden box, 1 1/4" thick even though regs says 1" I had 1 1/4 handy, no lock/latch on the top