ammo storage law?

[crashgordan]

overhead a man at a show discussing how some states and municipalities have laws regarding how much ammo you can keep in your home...

i'm pretty sure TN has no such thing regarding manufactured ammo, but maybe on powder... (black powder?)

what say yea...

[nightrunner]

Its a fire code if im not mistaken. But unless im mistaken, you can only have so much assembled ammo, so much powder and a certain amount of primers. They could care less about bullets and brass.

Personally its my house and ill keep whatever i dang well please inside of it thankyouverymuch.

Edited September 13, 2012 by nightrunner

[gregintenn]

Lord, I hope there isn't a law!

[Trekbike]

Its a fire code if im not mistaken. But unless im mistaken, you can only have so much assembled ammo, so much powder and a certain amount of primers. They could care less about bullets and brass.

Personally its my house and ill keep whatever i dang well please inside of it thankyouverymuch.

Like you said I believe that falls under the fire codes.

While I somewhat agree with your last statement, I believe if it is proven that you violated local fire codes you'd be looking at denied insurance claim for a fire at your house.

[Handsome Rob]

As far as I know (& I've been wrong before, so be warned...) the BATF states that you may store a maximum of 50 pounds of Black Powder in a private residence without a special license.

I believe, although you'd have to check, that because reloading powders are legally classed as a propellant, whereas BP is an explosive, there is no federal limit.

I have absolutely no idea as to State or Municipal codes though.

Please don't take my word for anything though, half the time it takes me several attempts to remember my shoe size. A quick call to the ATF will answer your questions.

[gjohnsoniv]

As far as I know (& I've been wrong before, so be warned...) the BATF states that you may store a maximum of 50 pounds of Black Powder in a private residence without a special license.

I believe, although you'd have to check, that because reloading powders are legally classed as a propellant, whereas BP is an explosive, there is no federal limit.

I have absolutely no idea as to State or Municipal codes though.

Please don't take my word for anything though, half the time it takes me several attempts to remember my shoe size. A quick call to the ATF will answer your questions.

You are correct. BP is considered an explosive unlike normal powders.

[dlm37015]

in my case by law i am required to matain 5,000,000.00 in lns for powder storage of more than 100 pounds

also must have haz mat saftey cert. to transport along with another 5 mil in ins for truck you are alowed to haul 55 kilos with out

i dont know why kilos instead of pounds but thats what it states in the regs

[crashgordan]

interesting... thanks guys... i looked online at TN.gov and found nothing specific...

[hipower]

Since it was referred to by nightrunner, I'm curious. Know of anything on the amount of ammo kept at home?

[gjohnsoniv]

I don't think there is one. I know of a person who keeps an insane amount of ammo on hand plus material to make even more.

[1gewehr]

There are no Federal or TN State laws regarding how much loaded ammo you can have, or how it has to be stored. As stated above, there may be local fire regs. Contrary to popular belief, loaded ammo is not a significant hazard to firefighters and doesn't explode like you see in Hollywood movies.

[ttocswob]

Related: I obtained a Reloader's Guide from Alliant last year (download PDF, or they mail a print version for free!) It has safe storage info reprinted from NPFA Explosive Material Code, National Fire Prevention Association. It's very specific as to amounts, storage cabined requirements, etc.

Unsure if this has force of law, but might be a good idea to follow for liability reasons.

[dlm37015]

ammo in factory boxes with the case marked ormd is ok

loose ammo ie ammo cans is classified as an explosive

i paid a lot of money to find this out thats why i only sell or carry ammo in boxes marked ormd

[Hershmeister]

Related: I obtained a Reloader's Guide from Alliant last year (download PDF, or they mail a print version for free!) It has safe storage info reprinted from NPFA Explosive Material Code, National Fire Prevention Association. It's very specific as to amounts, storage cabined requirements, etc.

Unsure if this has force of law, but might be a good idea to follow for liability reasons.

Great tip!

Are there any municipalities which have their own fire codes, or is there just a state standard?

[crashgordan]

ammo in factory boxes with the case marked ormd is ok

loose ammo ie ammo cans is classified as an explosive

i paid a lot of money to find this out thats why i only sell or carry ammo in boxes marked ormd

sounds as if you have some valid experience in this area...

please explain?

[Guest Lester Weevils]

There are also typically fire codes about how much gasoline one can store at a residence, and how it should be stored. Some codes are perhaps "frivolous" or "onerous" but on the other hand some codes make pretty good sense. For instance, a house wired according to code is probably a safer place to live than a house wired so as to break numerous codes. If the neighbor lives in a fire-trap, well fires sometimes spread to nearby houses.

On that ORM-D issue, am curious-- Wonder if a 50 cal ammo can filled to the brim with loose 9mm would in reality be "more hazardous" to store in the basement, than a 50 cal ammo can filled to the brim with 100 rd dillon plastic 9mm boxes? Or filled to the brim with cardboard box factory 9mm ammo or whatever? I can see perhaps shipping or transport of the ammo can loose-filled could possibly be in reality more hazardous, but dunno one way or t'other whether passive residential storage would be different one way or t'other?

A 50 cal ammo can full to the brim with loose primers might be something to avoid for practical safety reasons. Just curious of practical aspects as well as the legal aspects. It probably isn't a dumb ordinance which would prevent a neighbor from storing 200 gals of gasoline in his basement, in old clorox jugs, ferinstance.

[klamb5]

Could the cans have the sticker applied and be ok, as its just a warning as to whats in side ???????

[dlm37015]

no it the packaging and its not the fire code people it the dot/fed highway saftey folks.

take primers in a case of 5000 you have to have a 1000 pound on 1 skid before its haz-mat but powder 25 kilos

its all screwd upat least once a month i have to take another class on some aspect of haz-mat

and yes they use kilos for powder and pounds for primers

primed brass is not haz-mat but you cant mail it

if i drive to a gunshow thats more than 600 miles i have to find a safe haven to park my trailer about 150.00 per night

it used to be fun but the goverment can ruin just about anything

[gjohnsoniv]

it used to be fun but the goverment can ruin just about anything

What's the quote? If we gave the government the Sahara, we would have a sand shortage in a year?