What type of container should I have for ammunition?

[junior]

I need ideas on what container/storage I should have for my ammunition.

any suggestions on what type and how the they should be kept/stored I only have category A B license.

Thanks in advance

[bladeracer]

I need ideas on what container/storage I should have for my ammunition.

any suggestions on what type and how the they should be kept/stored I only have category A B license.

Thanks in advance

I got two small wall-mounted lockable steel tool cabinets from Bunnings.
One is alongside the rifle safe for ammunition.
The other is above my reloading bench for primers, powders and primed brass.
I think they were only about $50 each.

I originally tried to get a steel school locker but couldn't find one anywhere.

[Deacon]

I got a big ass steel tool box at the masters closing down sale for home storage and a smaller steel toolbox for going out hunting or to the range

[junjun]

A 30 litre steel safe with digital keypad for $115 from Bunnings.

[Tripod]

Shipping Container, Minimum 20 footer. (And full in an ideal world)

[p3seven]

20 round factory centrefire ammo and 50 and 100 round 22lr containers fit well in a ex army (belted 7.62 mm) box. You can padlock it by putting the lock tab at 1/2 cock with the wire holder and the lock. 50 cal boxes if you need more room . They have a waterproof seal on the lid. Army disposal stores is where you find them. Mine was $15.

Mr Plod thought it was OK When we were stopped by a RBT check. They also slip (hide) well under the seat of the Patrol.

[Gwion]

Shipping Container, Minimum 20 footer. (And full in an ideal world)

I have been trying to stop myself since the first post from just posting:

"A BIG one".

Good call!

[brett1868]

I use the MTM 50Cal cases, the last 4 I bought were $44 but came with a smaller 30cal case as a bonus. Cases are numbered and locked with 2 x 40mm padlocks before being stored in the big ammo safes. As I hold a commercial ammunition buy / sell permit I went above and beyond but just the cases on their own fitted with a padlock are perfectly fine. Check the requirements in your state as they may vary from what I need to comply with in NSW and don't forget to review the storage requirements when transporting ammunition.

I bought a set of 4.7mm Letter / Number punches that I use to mark the keys and locks with.
http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Letter-Number-Punch

Bunning's sells a pack of 4 keyed alike 40mm padlocks
https://www.bunnings.com.au/master-lock-40mm-brass-padlock-4-pack_p4222666

[threeoh]

Have you bought your gun safe yet?

There is always the option to get one with the built in ammo compartments.

[bladeracer]

Have you bought your gun safe yet?

There is always the option to get one with the built in ammo compartments.

While Victoria Police generally _allow_ you to store ammo in a separate container in the gun safe, it is not strictly legal.
I would recommend a separate container entirely for ammunition, powder and primers.
90% of the time it won't matter, but if you ever are unlucky enough to have your safe stolen I'm sure it would be better if you can assure Police that ammunition was not stored in it with your firearms.
Besides, I find it far more convenient not having to open the safe every time I need powder or primers.
Of course, a safe that has an external ammunition container would be fine.

[bigfellascott]

Lockable filing cabinets go alright for storage of ammo (great for slabs of 12g I find), I've got a 3 draw one among a few other storage setups for storing all my ammo and reloading gear.

[Lokvo]

I'm illogically wanting to store ammo in a traditional scruffy looking metal ammo box. Are these good to have? advantages etc? or no.

[Mitch]

I've got a 10-12 gun safe that I use for my ammo.

Put a couple shelves across it. One shelf for powder, these rest for ammo.

It has a lockable ammo compartment up top where I keep my primers

[Supaduke]

Look up MTM ammo box, they make a few larger ones that are o-ring sealed and have padlock tabs. Not overly expensive and hold quite a bit of ammo. Most LGS's sell them for 30-50 bucks

[Lorgar]

Any cartridge ammunition for the firearm must be stored in a locked container separate from the receptacle in which the firearm must be stored.

Hmm.

I have a Cat H compartment built into my safe which I use for my ammo. Obviously this is much more secure than something like a locked toolbox.

Regardless, I would interpret the above as, and argue that, my ammo is in a locked container and that the container is in the same receptacle as the firearm.

The ammo and firearm do not share the same receptacle. They are each in a separate container as required so are legal.

My interpretation aside, I'm sure all the safe manufacturers have confirmed that it is legal before they manufactured their products.

Saying all that though, the legislation could definitely be worded better/clearer.

[doc]

I have a Cat H compartment built into my safe which I use for my ammo. Obviously this is much more secure than something like a locked toolbox.

I have a compartment built into my safe as well - but I have taken the ammo out of it now and moved it to a less secure option being a toolbox sitting on the floor (in a different room).

My reasons for doing so are two fold:

Due to what bladeracer has mentioned. Police have used their discretion to 'allow' this even though the regs say otherwise, but it just takes one decision to reverse this and a whole bunch of legal owners have just become criminals.

The other reason is that with no ammo in the same room, there's no chance of me dropping ammo and missing one .22 bullet when picking them up that the police might find lodged between the safe and the wall or something stupid like that when doing an inspection. (Dont' say it doesn't happen - I've found a .22 later accidentally I didn't realised I dropped previously. If that had have timed with an inspection, I'd have lost my guns and being charged!)

This way, I protect myself - because if I make the same mistake in the future, it's not in the same room as the safe, the cops have no need to inspect it, so less chance of being charged for a simple mistake.

Toolbox may be less secure in case of a breakin - but in a different room - more secure from being charged by the police, either by a chance of mind by the commissioner, or by a silly overlook by myself.

[happyhunter]

I'm a fan of purpose built gun safes with separate lockable ammo storage, although might be a bit small a space for people who keep a lot of ammo. I've been looking at getting another small safe for valuables and doing some research on what makes a quality unit and the aussie made Lokaway brand seems to be coming up trumps. Their pistol safe is independently rated at $10,000 (insurance rating for keeping cash) and nothing in the same price range came close.

[Lokvo]

So If I do store my ammo in the dedicated ammo storage compartment that safes have and it has its own set of keys that are different from the gun safe, is that good enough/legal for ammo storage?

[happyhunter]

So If I do store my ammo in the dedicated ammo storage compartment that safes have and it has its own set of keys that are different from the gun safe, is that good enough/legal for ammo storage?

Yep.

[wade06]

I only have a small lokaway gun safe and the in-built ammo storage box won't be enough if i ever get a 12 gauge.
A friend uses a fridge with padlocks for ammo storage. Is this legal in NSW or does it need to be bolted down?
I was thinking about a lockable metal tool box which i could screw to a timber stud wall.

[bladeracer]

So If I do store my ammo in the dedicated ammo storage compartment that safes have and it has its own set of keys that are different from the gun safe, is that good enough/legal for ammo storage?

Yes and no.
I would expect VicPol to accept it as "good enough", but in court the law would say it's not strictly legal.
I did find a document from VicPol that says that a secondary internal receptacle "that is purpose built for storing ammunition" is legal.
But as ammunition storage is pretty relaxed, I don't know how you'd determine that anything is "purpose built" for the task.
A plastic box with a padlock complies with the ammunition storage requirements so the lockable bolt storage compartment of a gun safe would seem to comply with that. But again, that was a VicPol document, not a Law.

Personally, I don't see any advantage to storing my ammo in the safe. An ammo box that is not attached to the building is far more useful, and an ammo cupboard mounted to the wall above my reloading bench is much handier than the gun safe.

I haven't seen any requirement to allow Police to inspect your ammunition storage, but I would expect them to inspect any compartment inside your gun safe to ensure there's no ammunition stored with your firearms. Anybody that's had an inspection recently able to elaborate?

I have a guy coming out this arvo to give me a quote for an alarm system to protect my safes.

[Wylie27]

Wade,

For NSW

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/__data/ass ... 6_V1.7.pdf

[happyhunter]

So If I do store my ammo in the dedicated ammo storage compartment that safes have and it has its own set of keys that are different from the gun safe, is that good enough/legal for ammo storage?

Yes and no.
I would expect VicPol to accept it as "good enough", but in court the law would say it's not strictly legal.
I did find a document from VicPol that says that a secondary internal receptacle "that is purpose built for storing ammunition" is legal.
But as ammunition storage is pretty relaxed, I don't know how you'd determine that anything is "purpose built" for the task.
A plastic box with a padlock complies with the ammunition storage requirements so the lockable bolt storage compartment of a gun safe would seem to comply with that. But again, that was a VicPol document, not a Law.
.

Yes and No? hahahha.. read schedule 4 and the information on the PTA form.

[bladeracer]

So If I do store my ammo in the dedicated ammo storage compartment that safes have and it has its own set of keys that are different from the gun safe, is that good enough/legal for ammo storage?

Yes and no.
I would expect VicPol to accept it as "good enough", but in court the law would say it's not strictly legal.
I did find a document from VicPol that says that a secondary internal receptacle "that is purpose built for storing ammunition" is legal.
But as ammunition storage is pretty relaxed, I don't know how you'd determine that anything is "purpose built" for the task.
A plastic box with a padlock complies with the ammunition storage requirements so the lockable bolt storage compartment of a gun safe would seem to comply with that. But again, that was a VicPol document, not a Law.
.

Yes and No? hahahha.. read schedule 4 and the information on the PTA form.

Possibly
I noticed afterwards that the question was asked from Qld.
Are you in Qld?
I don't think I can read the online Qld PTA without putting in a ton of information?

[happyhunter]

QLD has a nice brochure with the requirements.
https://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/ ... ochure.pdf

[Deacon]

So If I do store my ammo in the dedicated ammo storage compartment that safes have and it has its own set of keys that are different from the gun safe, is that good enough/legal for ammo storage?

Sure is. Just remember that it has to be locked even if the safe is shut and the keys can't be left in the safe. Sounds a bit obvious but I just keep cleaning gear and paperwork in the seperate part so I rarely lock it. If you're using it for ammo, component or bolt storage that's not an option.

[Lokvo]

QLD has a nice brochure with the requirements.
https://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/ ... ochure.pdf

I can't believe I've never seen this brochure before! but that one line passage alone has answered my question, much appreciated mate! I especially like how it has the QLD police logo on the brochure so I can whip the brochure out and cite it if the cops say I'm not following the rules for any reason.

[happyhunter]

QLD has a nice brochure with the requirements.
https://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/ ... ochure.pdf

I can't believe I've never seen this brochure before! but that one line passage alone has answered my question, much appreciated mate! I especially like how it has the QLD police logo on the brochure so I can whip the brochure out and cite it if the cops say I'm not following the rules for any reason.

No worries. Happy to help.

[JoeG]

I have recently broken my leg and cant get up the stairs to my bedroom.I have a bed downstairs. I was also recently served with a interim VRO, so they took my firearms and ammo. I forgot about some ammo in another safe, so doing the right thing, I handed it in a week later. All good. Yesterday I had 6 cars raid my house supposedly looking for more guns and ammo but all they found was 7 loose 410 shells in my office draw, in my bedroom upstars. Now I new they were there, but had no way of getting up there at the time I surrendered the rest of my ammo. Is this grounds for a not guilty charge or wont they care? Im in WA.
THANKS Joe.

[TassieTiger]

Sorry to hear Joe - been there myself and cost me a fortune to clear my name.
You have said, you knew the ammo was there - so you should have reported that when you handed other ammo in.
I’ve also had a broken leg and I rode motorbikes, climbed ladders and could certainly climb stairs. I’m sorry mate - but in my op, your prob going to have to ride the wave - but, I’d make a phone call regardless and see if they will be reasonable. If not - lodge a complaint with WA ombudsman (Tell the gops you intend to do this as well - might be enough for them to not bother), upload pics of stairs. Broken leg, any other evidence to online ombudsman’s complaint form to support your story. Good luck.