Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Ok, I have 2 children in my home, ages 7 & 12, so in the interest of safety I have a gun safe. Problem is I have accumulated quite a bit of ammunition in various calibers and now I need some wher to keep it. I currently keep it in the safe but I am running out of room for the guns that I keep acquiring. Due to space restrictions, as well as money, another safe is out of the question.

Let's hear some good ideas.

Foot locker in the closet. Keep a lock on it and load it up. We keep our ammo in these plastic ammo boxes and in the safe but we really don't have that much. With as much ammo as you're talking about the foot locker would be perfect.

You need to find some other type of suitable storage that keeps the ammo in a cool dry place. A foot locker sounds like a good idea.

Also, ammo should never be stored with the guns.

The foot locker sounds like a good idea, problem is my closet has that organizer setup that has th full lenght legs that run to the floor and doesn't leave enough space for a foot locker. I know the ammo shouldn't be stored withe the guns but things got out of hand too quickly. I started with one hand gun in a small lock box, but the bug bit me & I was buying way too fast. Not to mention the ammo frenzy, I felt like I had to get it when I could. Now I need to make some adjustments.

... defensive rounds with the guns IN the Safe. Unsure what the "norm" is but I have twice the ammo (SD's) of mag's (have six 15/rd mags - so 200/rds total - if I can't get the job done defending the home with 90/rds, there is a much bigger problem at stake).

... range ammo/hunting ammo - locked in a suitable storage container (mine is in the garage, high up off floor - at least 8ft, so even me at 6'1 has to get a step-stool or ladder to access; in plastic with a bunch of those silicone drying packs (they come with shoes, some clothes, etc). no small ones in house, but the foot locker idea works - the main thing is that it is not accessible by either little fingers, errant fingers, or water/moisture; mil-surplus contianers with locks work well; as a temporary solution, old suitcase with lockable hinge/handle also works well, same premise, off the floor, not easily accessible by little ones, etc.

Here is what I suggest. .22 short, .22lr, .380 ACP, 9mm Makarov, 9mm Luger, .40 S&W, 7.62 Nagant, 5.56 Nato, .30-30, .30-06, 7.62x54R, .410 ga., 12 ga. and 20 ga. can all be safely stored in my basement. PM me the address to pick these up and I will ensure that no children have access to them. I may have limited storage facilites for other calibers, post what needs to be stored and I will advise as to whether I can help or not.

I use ammo cans for mine. They are airtight.

Heya, 40,

Wish I had your ammo problem. So far all I have is the kids.

Try thinking out of the box, if you'll pardon the pun. You just need lockable storage, preferably in climate controlled space. Maybe you have a closet that can be fitted with a deadbolt? A file cabinet w/locking drawers? Maybe disguise the foot locker as an ottoman or coffee table, or put a lock on a kitchen cabinet.

Another consideration: powder mfgrs. advise NOT storing powder in a strong, tightly sealed container, in case of fire. You want the products of combustion to vent without building up pressure. I'm not sure if or how this would apply to finished rounds cooking off.

Regards,

George

I'm gonna look into a foot locker, I just hope it's large enough. My wife says I take up too much space with my toys.

Will the foot locker fit under the bed?. Then the only thing you'll have to worry about is evicting a few dust bunnies.

I have lockable filing cabinets in the basement. You can find them in varying sizes to fit your needs. I keep some in the safe, most in a filing cabinet in my basement.

My kids are 15 and 19, so the only problem I have is them burning through my ammo at the range.

If you want to stay with a safe type you might look around say on craigs list, from time to time they will have a safe that will fit on top of your gun safe. One bolt or maybe 2 back straps will make it totally safe on top empty. If loaded it will be no problem at all. You can set combo's the same too.

See my problem?

and yes theammo on the right is stacked front to back.

Man, I WISH I had your "problem."

The problem is that you don't have enough long guns.

Thought I had a bunch. Looks like you still have plenty of room on the long gun side to stack em up. Also, several trips to the range might be in order. Gary's idea sounded pretty good though. I'm sure he's got plenty of room...

40shooter wrote:See my problem?

and yes theammo on the right is stacked front to back.

No, I do not see a problem.

I see your problem, too much empty room in your safe.

Nice problem

gregj wrote:I see your problem, too much empty room in your safe.

If only I had that problem.