Ammo storage in safe?

[JDay]

Safes aren't air tight. There's enough airflow to allow humidity in/out.

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[elk hunter]

I do not store my ammo in my safe. The large portion of ammo is stored in a off site location with only a few hundred rounds on site but in another area. Primers and powder each have a separate well constructed vented wood box and separate from all other items.

[Sabesimpson]

also, if you have enough room in your safe for ammo, you don't have enough guns or ammo

This!

[as_rocketman]

If a safe seals air tight, won't that disallow most combustion reactions inside the safe due to a lack of oxygen? I would imagine after a few rounds cook off, that would deplete whatever oxygen was in the safe to start even more to where no combustion could happen.

Smokeless powder carries its own oxidizer. It'll ignite even in space.

Safes aren't air tight. There's enough airflow to allow humidity in/out.

True. Hardly any safe is airtight. But the flow path is pretty small, usually on the order of a couple square inches. That gets smaller still once fire seals activate around the door frame.

And when a properly designed fire safe reaches its working temperature, it absorbs incoming heat by giving off steam -- hydrates in either gypsum or concrete begin to vaporize. This keeps heat from entering the interior as long as the fire barrier lasts. But all this steam pouring out of the safe is enough to start a blocked flow condition. It effectively chokes the small ventilation holes. At that point, any additional gas generated inside leads to a pressure rise.

And if the safe reaches a sufficiently high temperature that ammunition starts to go off, the fire insulation works the opposite way -- all that heat and pressure stays inside the safe. The temperature climbs rapidly, and this can easily lead to a total cook-off within a matter of seconds. Very different than what happens when you burn ammunition in the open air.

With enough gunpowder, and no way for the pressure to escape fast enough, you could theoretically wind up with a situation like this.

[BrokerB]

No ...i stack wooden crates of ammo in the corner , same for ammo cans. Storing ammo in a safe to me is ridiculous. Maybe if i had a "safe room".. sure. My safes hold rifles and pistols.

No one is running down the street with more then 1,000 rnds of rifle ammo. No moving van is going to work here either. I have multiple neighbors who own and shoot guns. Few of them are retired and or work from home. ... only thing that would possibly work is a smash and grab. .. good luck carrying crates of ammo. Especially if its some cheap cheap x54r russian corrosive.

[Virus55]

No way I could keep ammo in my safe. It's so full I have to keep it in my closet.

[Steve1968LS2]

I have always stored my ammo in the same safe as my firearms. I recently read a subject on gun safes and mentioned not to store ammo in the gun safe. In case of fire, the ammo may cook off from the temperatures and do more damage with the contents. One of the storage containers recommended for ammo was the job box type. It's not fireproof, but good on security and I have one. I'm looking to see where others store their ammo.
I was also thinking about where to store my powder. Currently, it's just in a metal file cabinet. Probably wouldn't be a good idea to put the powder and ammo in the same job box!


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If it's hot enough in your safe to cook off ammo then your gun are FUBAR'd anyways..

Safes turn into giant convection ovens.. the whole "fireproof" deal is a scam unless you just want to protect sheets of paper.. lol

[Mitch]

I have always stored my ammo in the same safe as my firearms. I recently read a subject on gun safes and mentioned not to store ammo in the gun safe.

There reason you do not store your ammunition in your gun safe is because there is no room.

I'm surprised I have to explain these things.

I have separate storage for ammo and accessories.

That's nice.

Where do you keep your guns?

[JDay]

No ...i stack wooden crates of ammo in the corner , same for ammo cans. Storing ammo in a safe to me is ridiculous. Maybe if i had a "safe room".. sure. My safes hold rifles and pistols.

No one is running down the street with more then 1,000 rnds of rifle ammo. No moving van is going to work here either. I have multiple neighbors who own and shoot guns. Few of them are retired and or work from home. ... only thing that would possibly work is a smash and grab. .. good luck carrying crates of ammo. Especially if its some cheap cheap x54r russian corrosive.

You'd be surprised just how little that goes on outside those retired and work from home neighbors see.

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[JDay]

If it's hot enough in your safe to cook off ammo then your gun are FUBAR'd anyways..

Safes turn into giant convection ovens.. the whole "fireproof" deal is a scam unless you just want to protect sheets of paper.. lol

Paper will ignite before ammo cooks off.

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[JDay]

That's nice.

Where do you keep your guns?

In the safe. The lock boxes hold everything else.

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[Nickaru]

Here's a very interesting and informative video on ammo. It covers many areas and is worth your time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SlOXowwC4c

For people who have zero time/interest, here's one part of the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3SlOXowwC4c#t=740

I do not worry about ammo in a fire, being impacted, chain reactions, etc. In a house fire, ammo cooking off will not harm firefighters and your primary hazard is... the FIRE!

(Ammo loaded in a gun is still dangerous of course since the pressure of the round would be contained.)

This video was very good information. I'm moving my ammo to the job box to free up room in the safe. I've been storing ammo in my safe for over 20 years and never thought different.


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[Steve_In_29]

Mine's in the safe. One safe is dedicated to ammo only but the other two do still have some as well.

[postal]

I was also thinking about where to store my powder. Currently, it's just in a metal file cabinet. Probably wouldn't be a good idea to put the powder and ammo in the same job box!

Depending on city/county specific codes, then state fire codes...

The quantity of powder you own dictates how it MUST be stored.

Unless there are more specific city/county restriction in your area, I believe the when you get close to 20 pounds you reach the max allowed in one structure in a wooden or plywood box of 1" thick walls.

As a business, you can have more than 20 pounds but require 'powder magazines' with more stringent codes, and specific minimum spacing between powder mags.

Also find the minimum quantity in pounds before the 1" thick wooden box is required.

The last thing you would want after a house fire, is to find out your insurance company wont cover the damage because you didnt store your powder according to fire codes....

(the wooden box is not to stop the fire from burning the powder.... it's to provide more time for people to escape the fire before the powder ignites.)

I forgot the specific generic min max pounds.... research this yourself for your county