Part of being a responsible gun owner is knowing how to keep it safe. Research shows that one-third of American households with kids have a gun in the house. Considering how curious kids might be, there’s always a chance they’ll locate your firearm and start playing with it.
Things could go wrong if they unintentionally pull the trigger. Therefore, you must have a solid plan to secure your gun. But how can you do that? Read on for some helpful tips on how to store ammo.
1. Buy a Gun Safe
A gun safe is one of the best purchases if you need somewhere to keep your firearm safe. The benefit of a gun safe is that it conceals the gun while preventing unauthorized individuals from gaining easy access to it.
For first-time gun owners, a perfect gun safe should be fire and theft-proof. If thieves try to steal your firearm, they’ll have a hard time attempting to break the safe with whatever power equipment they use.
Furthermore, gun safes are available in multiple sizes and forms. The conventional ones are compatible with ordinary handguns. There are cheaper models without the latest security features but opt for the premium model if you want to play it safe.
Some premium safes are fingerprint-access only since they come with biometric security features. Specific models feature a radio frequency identification (RFID), meaning you need a key fob, sticker, or access card to open them.
2. Bolt Your Gun Safe Down
The safe will become heavy, making it difficult for a robber to move or topple it. You’ll need to ascertain that your floor can withstand the safe’s weight. You may have to install more joists to sustain the safes and fasten system weight.
3. Discuss Gun Safety With Your Kids
While keeping your gun safe is a great idea, teaching your kids that they should never touch it in your absence is equally essential. If you deny your kids access to firearms and lead them to believe it’s a guarded secret, they’re likely to be more curious than when you teach them about gun safety.
It would be best to consider playing imaginary scenarios games with your kids. For instance, ask them what they’d do if their best friend said they wished to see your gun. By having open discussions, you can enforce boundaries and help your kids understand the dos and don’ts of gun handling.
4. Keep Your Gun in a Hidden Location
If you don’t have the financial means to afford a dependable gun safe, you can temporarily keep your firearm in a strategic location. As a general guideline, you should conceal your gun such that it’s not visible to others. The space behind your mirrors and clocks may be the perfect hiding area. To achieve this, you may need to adjust your wall’s appearance.
You’ll need to configure a little compartment on your wall and conceal it with a clock or a mirror. You can even use covert concealment features built into furniture, such as bookcases, to keep your gun out of sight. Nevertheless, remember that these choices are only sensible if you live alone. Keeping guns out of their reach is the safest option if you live with children.
5. Remember Your Ammo
Knowing how to store ammo ensures your firearm remains in good condition. You should keep your bullets away from dampness and high off the ground. Ammos are very impact-sensitive. Consequently, you should buy some ammo cans and use rubber seals to prevent dampness from getting in.
In addition, ensure that your bullets’ storage location is cool and dry. Preferably, you can maintain the temperature at or below 150 degrees. If the temperature rises above that, condensation will occur.
It would help if you also got your ammo in order. Add labels on ammo cans so you can tell which ones are for training and which are for emergencies. Moreover, adhere to the “first in, first out” principle. That guarantees your bullets’ freshness.
6. Check on Your Gun Routinely
If you don’t use your firearm regularly, it’s easy to put it away and forget about it. Open the gun safe once every few months and perform an audit of the following things:
- Firearms
- Ammo
- Other weapons you’ve kept inside
To help you remember, you might want to write down the list and put it somewhere other than the gun safe.
7. Store Each Ammo Separately
You may consider placing a small lockbox inside the gun safe to relocate ammo to an entirely different location. Nevertheless, the best way to secure ammo is to protect it from the firearm. That way, if thieves break into a gun safe, they won’t have immediate access to the gun and ammo.
8. Add Security Cameras Near a Gun Safe
Whereas most people do this after a burglary, a security camera may help you determine who has been accessing your gun safe and act as a source of evidence if someone steals your gun.
9. Consider Tactical Advantage
If you reside in a region where burglaries are somewhat common, and no kids are around, you can keep your gun close. Among the acceptable places to store a gun is the master bedroom.
You should put some money into a fast box or a gun safe and tuck it away under your mattress. If anyone attempts to break in, particularly at night, you’ll have quick access to your firearm.
The kitchen’s pantry is yet another safe and secure location to keep your firearm. In a daytime invasion, you’ll easily access your gun. Most burglars will go to the master bedroom rather than the kitchen when they break in.
10. Use a Trigger Lock
You ought to prioritize using a trigger lock before storing your firearm. It helps guarantee that the gun won’t inadvertently fire while preparing it for storage. You may buy a trigger lock at any local hardware store. You might also purchase them on the internet for a lower price on specific websites.
However, you’ll need to research beforehand to determine which brand is compatible with your firearm. Depending on where you get yours, you may expect to pay anything between $15 to $20 on average.
11. Reduce Humidity
Rusting happens even with minimal exposure to moisture. The National Firearms Museum recommends keeping your firearm at 70 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. That’s because any drastic temperature changes can force the wood stock to expand and compress, resulting in irreparable cracks.
Furthermore, temperature fluctuations might cause your gun’s rubber and plastic parts to crack. A 50% humidity level is optimal because anything below that might cause stock damage, whereas more than that may result in quick rusting.
Stabilizing the environment is of paramount importance. Various products exist to help you protect your firearm from rust and corrosion while it’s in storage. They include rust-preventing vapor capsules and VCI storage bags.
12. Disassemble Your Gun Before Storing It
When putting your firearm away, ensure it’s disassembled to the greatest extent possible. The disassembly prevents unskilled individuals from using the gun if they get their hands on it. But you might have guns in your collection that you’d rather not disassemble because it is difficult to do so or you need to use them regularly.
13. Keep Your Gun Clean
You must routinely clean your firearm even if you rarely use it. A gun in long-term storage necessitates less cleaning than a gun regularly fired, which requires cleaning at least once per week.
If you rarely utilize your gun, consider applying gun grease or gun oil at least once every six months, even though more regular cleanings are preferable. The chances of a gun jamming or deteriorating reduce with proper cleaning.
Final Thoughts
Safe storage is one of the most important aspects of gun ownership. You must have a solid understanding of certain fundamental guidelines if you’re a first-time gun owner. That’s because a gun is a lethal weapon capable of killing someone if they get hold of it by accident or malice. So, you ought to keep it secure when not in use.
We hope our guide on how to store ammo will help keep your gun safe.
Suggested prepping learning:
Seven Key Elements Your Home Defense Plan Needs
Must-Have Knowledge to survive any medical emergency
Excellent advice. Also suggest storing long guns, barrels pointed down. In typical barrel pointed up storage, over time, excess oil runs down the barrel into the receiver, trigger and firing pin. On bitter cold opening days of deer season, the oil congeals and can cause a misfire. The excess oil can also discolor the wood around the receiver area. From personal experience. Blessings to all you do.