Storing Ammo

Thomasofmel

How do you store your ammo at home? My gun safe is now getting full with 2 rifles and 1 shotgun and there us not much room for all the ammo :eek:

I am thinking of getting an additional ammo safe - any suggestions for reasonable priced safe :rolleyes:

Sparks

The safes sold in Woodies and B&Q look fit for the job - you don't need anything too massive really, just a lockbox.

johngalway

Sparks wrote: »

The safes sold in Woodies and B&Q look fit for the job - you don't need anything too massive really, just a lockbox.

Don't think 1000 shotgun carts would fit in one of those

I've got an internal ammo safe in my gun safe, then an extra safe as well. But I don't store too much ammo really so it's not much of an issue.

Sparks

johngalway wrote: »

Don't think 1000 shotgun carts would fit in one of those

True!

Thomasofmel

Thanks - I'll have a look what woodies & B&Q offer

Cass

I bought an 8 gun safe and "retro-fitted" it with shelves. Probably not the cheapest option, but it holds everything i need and is as secure as my firearms.

tfox

Thomasofmel wrote: »

Thanks - I'll have a look what woodies & B&Q offer

I got a small safe with a Yale wirefree alarm from B&Q, great job

Only €100 including alarm

FISMA

Depending on what kind of ammo we are talking about you may be able to use it to your advantage.

My safe (really a security cabinet) is bolted to the wall. However, my firearms still have plenty of clearance at the top. So I put the ammo at the bottom, evenly on the bottom, still in their boxes. Works great.

Better yet, it makes the cabinet really heavy. Should anyone ever try and steal the cabinet, it is an easy extra deterrent.

Also, I think it is only fair to the fire brigade to have some kind of warning in the vicinity of the area where the ammo is located.

Tackleberrywho

I have 3 safes, the largest one is a 8 Gun a 4 gun and a safe safe.

The 8 gn could hold a lot of ammo, so too the 4 gun.
The safe is for bolts

Grizzly 45

Cheap and cheerful,go to your army surplus store and try and get the 40mm grenade ammo boxes.They will hold appx 1000 shotgun rounds,[boxed in 25 packs].To secure them is easy enough.As they are quick pop off tops,the lid is not hinged.It only takes a couple of bolts and a padlock to secure them.
Will get some pics up of this tomrrow for those who are intrested.

Sparks

Well, padlock, cable and a ring set in a structural wall

Grizzly 45

Not bad ...How about 4 hilti bolts set in a concrete floor??:D
Seriously,this is so you can move the box and actually use it as a secure storage box while out on the range or for whatever other purposes you want it for.Not just storing ammo.:)

Sparks

Sounds like a decent enough solution for long-term secure storage to me to be honest - in case of fire, I'd want something that could be picked up and chucked out a window relatively easily since we're not allowed use easy-burning wooden boxes for this sort of thing.

And if you can pick it up and bring it to the range, well that's just convenient!

cavan shooter

For the record the finger print safe in woodies will hold 500 shotgun shells (as in two cartons),
I also have a key operated which is retailing around €75 which I can get 750 into its approx twice the size of the finger print one.

Sparks

Yeah, the fingerprint mechanism is usually much larger than the simple key mechanism (and frankly, it's not worth it - the key mechanism is far more secure because you can keep the key in your pocket, while you can defeat any of the fingerprint mechanisms - even top of the line models - with less than ten euro's worth of materials, about 80-90% of the time).

Grizzly 45

Hi all,
well as promised here is a simple and very cheap way of taking a surplus ammo box and making it secure and lockable.
First off,as I said this is cheap.So dont expect this to withstand a very determined person with a hack saw,but then again it might last longer than the average cash box on offer these days.I put this together from bits I had lying around the shop,so I'm sure those of you who have access to better tools,metals,etc could produce a neater and stronger job or more refined product.
Please do,I would like to see it.I'm just providing the basic concept,[of a lockable ammo box] for those who can to refine it.
Second ;apart from the bolt size all measurements are approximations.Feel free to modify or improve as you see fit.
So here goes.
First off get a surplus ammo box.The most common ones for sale around our army surplus stores and gun shops are the top two in pic one.The bottom one,is becoming scarce,but holds a vast amount of shotgun shells[I'd estimate 1000 thrown loose without packaging]But it weighs well over 40lbs loaded.The middle box will hold 1000 rounds of 9mm in the 50s box,or appx 300 12 ga shells loose.The smallest will hold I est 1,000 rounds of .22lr,400 rounds on 9mm,or200 12 Ga shells loose.

So find one that suits your needs. Dont expect to pay over the odds for these boxes.The biggest should run appx 30 euros and the smallest 20 euros appx.A note on the big box.You will have to do this procedure on both sides of this box,as the lid is completely removeable.So that means two bolts locks etc

Tools you need are;A drill with a 6mm bit and a 10 or 12 mm bit,two adjustable wrenches, a bolt, I used an 11X52 mm with one washer and nut.[Just because I had one handy] a grinder or metal file is useful,and a drill press,although I think some could do this freehand with a vice annd hand drill.
There isnt really much to this;
Simply drill a hole in your box in the middle grove when it is at rest.[ Pic 5]
You might notice it is slightly off centre:(.My fault for not paying attention.However a few minutes with a rat tail file,if this happens sorts out the mis alingement,and the washer covers the hole nicely.
Fit the bolt and washer so it doesnt interfere with opening and closing the box.Pic 7
Remove the bolt and either grind or file a slight flat surface on the threads appx1cm down the bolt shank for the drill bit to grip.I'm sure this could be done with a good quality drill press,but my rattly,chattery Chinese yoke wasnt up to this precision work.:( pic14
Drill a hole in the bolt on the flat surface I used a 6.5mm bit for the lock
to fit.
Replace the bolt in the box with the washer and the extra nut on the outside.Tighten up with the two adjustable spanners as much as is possible.Close the box and see if everything fits flush and without hinderance.Put the padlock thru the hole, lock it .Job done.!
Pic 19 Is what you should end up with.:)
Cost about 25 euros.[The box is the most expensive],time to do this 15 mins.
Regds
Grizz.