gun safe

[parrott1969]

just purchased my first gun safe and ITS TOO SMALL!. i thought 48 gun safe was plenty but by the time you put a few guns and thousands and thousands of rounds in it, its too small. Either I need an ammo safe and a gun safe or I need to shoot more. May be a good thing my son in law sells safes, LOL.

[geargnasher]

Not all safes are advertised correctly or realistically. Some advertise that their advertised capacity is realistic. In the end, they will always be too small. Just buy good quality and keep adding them. You know, the "frequently shot" safe, the "pistol, document, and jewelry" safe, the "Shotgun" safe, the "ammunition cupboard", the "Antique and collectable" safe.............

Gear

[imashooter2]

I never understood why folks put ammo in their safe...

[runfiverun]

ditto

[parrott1969]

MIne is more of a safety issue. Our fire department will not attempt to extinguish a fire where there are large quanities of ammo, any primers or powder. They cite saftey issues. In the reloading shop I have 20,000 primers and here at the house I have 25,000 primers and about 30,000 rounds of ammo. If they are contained in a safe they consider it safe to work. If I have a fire I want my fire department to respond and not just watch my home burn.

[Dill45]

I ran into the same problem when looking for a safe. I eventually decided to construct my own to my own dimensions. While its not made out of steel, it is made out of mahogany and is there mostly to keep honest people honest.

Fits everything like a glove!

[geargnasher]

That's why I said "ammunition cupboard", not safe.

I store my ammo (well, I won't ellaborate too much) in a fireproof place that is secure but not strongly contained as it would be in a traditional safe. And where it is, fire won't reach it until the sun consumes the earth.

Gear

[Doc Highwall]

I have 5 safes and I am out of room just wondering where to put the 6Th one.

[XWrench3]

forget putting the ammo in the safe, just stack the ammo in ammo cans in the basement, putting the pointy end either towards the ground, or facing into the wall (which is dirt). as for the primers, those should fit easilly in the safe. if you do not have a basement, store the ammo in the garage or shed (as long as it is secure). ammo itself is not inherantly dangerous. besides, who on the fire department is going to know you have +-30k of ammo? and, if they actually do know about it, they will probably stay home anyways. by the way, NICE STASH!

[Ron]

Down here in Australia, a condition of retaining your handgun licence is that unloaded firearms in one safe, ammunition in another locked recepticle. There are heavy fines for not doing so and the risk of losing your licence and guns.

[winelover]

I have 5 safes and I am out of room just wondering where to put the 6Th one.

Ever think about building a walk in vault. I'm having a 10' X 10' one designed for my new retirement home I'll be building.[smilie=w:

Winelover

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Yeah, we are thinking of building a walk-in closet out of concrete block with a steel door . . . also the safest safe is out of sight . . .

[sav300]

Ron,and to make matters worse.Each bloody state is different!

[Doc Highwall]

If I was to build a house a walk in safe would be one of the first things.

[imashooter2]

MIne is more of a safety issue. Our fire department will not attempt to extinguish a fire where there are large quanities of ammo, any primers or powder. They cite saftey issues. In the reloading shop I have 20,000 primers and here at the house I have 25,000 primers and about 30,000 rounds of ammo. If they are contained in a safe they consider it safe to work. If I have a fire I want my fire department to respond and not just watch my home burn.


How do they know which houses have primers, powder or ammunition in them? How much ammunition is a large quantity?

Ammunition, powder and primers pose no danger to firemen in standard turnout gear. If your fire department really has this policy, then it is 1) not based on any true safety issue and 2) completely unenforceable.

[cajun shooter]

To our Australian pards, I see that y'all have some of the same stupid laws as we do. I know that yours goes a lot further though. It would be nice to find out what each person that votes for such laws enjoys doing for fun after work. Then be able to add laws to their fun time that makes it hell to enjoy. Boating would require they go to a 6 week survial school in case of being lost at sea. Golfing would require a 6 week course on safety and medical rescue. I wonder how long they would keep quite.

[mdi]

Just like a tool box, and a tackle box, items placed inside a gunsafe will expand to fit the area. So, all tool boxes and tackle boxes and gun safes are too small...

[RP]

Bullets in fires are not a big deal I think reason for is I have had them in fires before. I have a burn barrel and for some reason some 7.62/39s got in it yesterday they all went POP. They blew out the primers and the steel cases were blew apart right under necks one the three or four i found. Did not count the POWS but around 10-15 easy only danger I i see was from flying cases which since they were in a barrel the could only go up then land. Now I wonder about my ammo I have stored in ammo cans If they get hot enough to fire the rounds off inside would it be a large BANG or more like popcorn in the can?

[alfloyd]

Quote:
Ever think about building a walk in vault. I'm having a 10' X 10' one designed for my new retirement home I'll be building.

Winelover

10 x 10 ft is going to be too small in a very short while :)
Better make it bigger.

alfloyd

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Most newer homes (1980) on, that have a cement front porch, have such a room. The front porch is poured with the foundation and is just as deep as the basement. The porch is then filled in and poured on top. I have built many homes and it never fails to amaze me that the owner did not want this extra room. Check your blue prints and see if this is the case with your house. The foundation wall can be cut out and the fill taken out. Then you have a secret room. No windows. At least this is the case with a house with a basement.

[geargnasher]

Where I live basements are created by diamond-point drills, large quantities of dynamite, and hydraulic hammers mounted on backhoes.

Anybody remember seeing pictures of the basement of the late Charlton Heston's home? I want one of those!

Gear

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SIe4HYvG_CI/AAAAAAAAHpw/Jh3RFeNkuVo/s1600/080723-heston4.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SIe4HJQdPyI/AAAAAAAAHpo/X2Q6EiMaYGQ/s1600/080723-heston3.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SIe4HMmZJsI/AAAAAAAAHpg/aqtDAYxlrms/s1600/080723-heston2.jpg

[winelover]

Quote:
Ever think about building a walk in vault. I'm having a 10' X 10' one designed for my new retirement home I'll be building.

Winelover

10 x 10 ft is going to be too small in a very short while :)
Better make it bigger.

alfloyd

Prolly won't live long enough to out grow it! Wont have any money left for toys either, after building a house!!:violin:

Winelover

[Ole]

I kinda like the idea of a walk in gun vault. If I ever move and build a house, this will be a high priority. :)

[fredj338]

I'm not a big fan of storing ammo in a gun safe. Just seems like a bad weigh to go, think of it as a large chamber. Just move the ammo to a lockable cabinet.

[stephen perry]

I think we are all pushing the limit of what a home fire insurance policy would find acceptable for ammunition and component storage. Nobody I know of notifys a police or fire dept about quanities of ammo or components. I don't count how much of anything I have. I was fortunate to get my friends powder caddy when they closed their shop. One of the early partners in the shop was a cabinet maker and made the powder caddy to City requirements. The caddy is 64x48x16 inches and is on casters. The caddy was approved each year as a routine fire dept inspection of the shop. I was there 25 years of the safety inspections. Of coarse I live in a different City and the caddy was for a commercial license that I don't have.

Having the caddy is nice for me. It has split doors and made of 3/4 inch plywood. The caddy empty weighs a couple hundred pounds. Rolls easy.

I like the idea of a walk in vault. Never knew of any residential vault that couldn't be broke into. But in having a vault keeps out the amateurs. If possible I would suggest having several vaults in several locations other than where you live. Good Luck we all need it.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR

[Crash_Corrigan]

I have a 6 rifle gun safe. Presently it is full. I have a Baker double barrelled shotgun in the truck and I keep a Norinco pump shotgun handy by the front door.

I have three handguns secreted in various locations around the house but very handy and enough ammo to let me fight my way to the shotgun. Under a seat cushion near the shotgun is a nylon shotgun ammo bandolier with 45 rounds in it.

I keep the gun safe at another location away from my tin trailer. I have ammo stored everywhere. My truck has a neat plastic compartment on the rear cab wall which is presently holding ammo for every gun I own in a decent quantity.

The gun safe is where I keep my really nice hanguns and rifles which I cannot afford to lose. The two CA revolvers and the Llama .380 which are in the trailer are not expensive nor difficult to replace. Ditto for the Norinco shotgun which is a copy of the Winchester Model 97. As for the truck shotgun.....it cost my Dad many years ago maybe $30 and I paid $100 for it and a 1929 Vintage Winchester 94. The last time I looked that lever action was worth over $900 but I will not sell it. It is just too much fun to shoot.

As far as primers and powder go I do not want to get into a discussion about that. I do have about 6 old non working refrigerators and they make a dandy place to store the aforementioned. Suffice to say that when I find a decent buy on any of that stuff...I buy a lot. My lead stash is also at another location from here. I go get some when I need it.

Nobody in my neighborhood knows that I reload ammo or that I even have a gun. This neighborhood is so nasty that when the cops stop somebody...they use two cop cars. Hence when I leave my trailer for any reason whatsoever I am armed to the teeth.

A couple of women mugged an 95 year old lady in a supermarket parking lot two block away from me 10 days ago. She died yesterday. The muggers were middle aged illegal immigrants of hispanic description with umbrellas. They certainly will not stand out in this area. I am sure that their mutual children are also of a very high moral character and upbringing.

As far as the illegal immigration problem......make the penalty death for being in this country illegally. If the authorities can prove that this person is not an American citizen then the death penalty should be enforced on everyone.

No amnesty. No BS. Close down the border like the East Germans did prior to 1980. Instead of shooting to death those that would like to escape....let's give a green light to our Border Cops to kill those who are trying to invade our country.

No trials....no lawyers...no BS.....spring for the bullet and death on the spot for illegal immegrants.....do you think this may help to solve the problem?

[a.squibload]

As far as the illegal immigration problem......make the penalty death for being in this country illegally.

I think it would prove to be a strong deterrent!

An amnesty program would be nicer, here's the only one I would accept:
Illegals have a 2-week amnesty to get the hell out of here.
After that they are fair game. For LE, I mean. Not advocating hunting parties.
Illegal gets caught stealing, killing, crashing into my car drunk on Friday night, you're done.

Of course the situation we have now is a tax-funded set of rewards for breaking our laws.


I know a guy who bought a safe door and frame, then made the 5 other sides of plate steel.
They bolt together on the inside. When he moves he has a stack of 300+ lb plates, instead of a ton of safe.

PS: Charleton Heston's basement: COOL!

[MtGun44]

IIRC, this was shown to NOT be Heston's gun collection.
I believe this is more internet nonsense.

Heck of a collection, tho.

Bill

[geargnasher]

Ok, Snopes says its a fugazi. Sorry for propagating more urban legends, I could have sworn I saw a similar photo of "his" basement in the issue of AR that contained his obiturary, but my rememberer is starting to get confuzzled.

Still want one, though.

Gear