ammo in gun safes ?

[S & W 642]

I just purchased my first gun safe it is a Liberty Cent. I put my guns in it and then put my ammo in it.  I was talking to a friend and He said not to put ammo in it because in a fire it would get hot and explode.  So my Question is are you supposed to store ammo in the gun fire safe or not.  The safe is a fire safe.

[KN]

I have small amounts of ammo in mine. But do not store powder in it. If that were to touch off you could have a real mess on your hands.   KN

[S & W 642]

I dont have powder in my safe, but I do have some ammo in it , and I was told that if a fire occurred that the safe would get hot and the bulletts would start going off.

[KN]

If its a fire safe it's not very likely. If it's not insulated that may be a different story. I have never heard of ammo cooking off inside a safe. Even if it did the temp would be so hot that all your guns are already wasted.   KN

[ShadowMover]

Even if you don't put powder and ammo inside the safe, put a sign on the outside saying you do. I will sure make a would-be safe cutter with a torch think twice  :eek:

[darrell8937]

This should be sent to ""myth busters"" I would love to see just how hot it would get inside a insulated safe as well as a non insulated one. and at what temp the ammo started to start to pop. and what damage would be done from the low velocity ruptured cases and projectiles. I suspect stocks would be ruined and any aluminum warped before the powder in shell ignited. scopes burst etc.. lots of damage before ... I would tune in..Hell,, I'll see if they have a web site.. I love that show. what a way to make a living.

[darrell8937]

I sent in the idea to mythbusters.. That would be a good episode.

[mjbgalt]

actually smokeless powder BURNS, not explodes. you can hold a match to it and it MIGHT ignite. most likely not.

guys have said this about exploding cartridges but there is a guy who did the test on the net. he actually tossed them in a fire. no big deal apparently. all about pressure and chemicals apparently, not heat.

-Matt

[KN]

True about smokeless powder burning and not exploding. A pound or so of powder in a safe may not cause a catastrophy but store enough in it and you have a very large pipe bomb. Its all about containment. just like the powder in a bullet case. Unsuported it would just pop the projectile out and maybe rip the case. But contain it such as a rifle chamber does and see the difference.   KN

[hillbill]

anybody noticed that the difference between a fireproof safe and a non fireproof safe is a single layer of 5/8" drywall board on the inside underneath the cloth upholstrey.doesnt make me feel real safe.

[MZ5]

actually smokeless powder BURNS, not explodes. you can hold a match to it and it MIGHT ignite. most likely not.

I assure you, it will ignite very easily.  I've burned piles of it from pulled bullets or just for fun on many occasions.  As you say, it will burn rather than exploding like black powder, but smokeless ignites with just a moment of exposure to a match.

[alsaqr]

Small arms ammunition loaded with smokeless powder does not "explode" when burned.  It does make a subdued bang.  The bullet and casing fly a few feet and that is it.  Burned about two billion rounds of the stuff in my 50 year career in Explosive Ordnance Disposal.  Steel cased small arms ammo does make a larger bang when burned than brass cased ammo does.