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Storing loaded in safe


Scruit
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I store my home defense guns in condition 1 (AR) or 2 (DA/SA pistols). In the event of a fire, could this be a hazard? I know that bullets that cook off in the heat won't hurt anyone, but the one in the chamber will go off like, well, like a shot.

Edited by Scruit
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I store my home defense guns in condition 1 (AR) or 2 (DA/SA pistols). In the event of a fire, could this be a hazard? I know that bullets that cook off in the heat won't hurt anyone, but the one in the chamber will go off like, well, like a shot.

your safe's good for at least 30 minutes, no?

I'd imagine that even if a round managed to go off, the wall(s) of the safe should slow it down quite a bit, plus you'd be outta the house by then.

:dunno:

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your safe's good for at least 30 minutes, no?

I'd imagine that even if a round managed to go off, the wall(s) of the safe should slow it down quite a bit, plus you'd be outta the house by then.

:dunno:

I should be out by then but there are other people gonna be around like firefighters etc.

The pistols don't worry me too much as they probably wouldn't even pass through the wall of the safe, but the AR points up and is in the basement. Hopefully it won't get that hot down there. I could mitigate that risk by putting a sheet of 3/8 mild steel on top of the safe.

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Why do you need one in the chamber of an AR? Charging the bolt isn't going to make that difference, especially in a basement safe gun. IMO, this is a safety issue (fire concern isn't the issue). To each, his own. Free country .... for now.

Edited by C-bus
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I think the chances of a firefighter standing directly above a safe engulfed in a fire that hot at the exact moment a chambered round goes of are pretty Final Destination-esque.

A much greater concern to firefighters is standing below a heavy safe in a structure compromised by fire.

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The safe I keep my 380 in has 1/8" thick steel walls. If a round managed to make it through those, I doubt very highly it would have a lot of knock-down power left. A higher caliber gun may have a bit more force, but safes are designed to withstand a lot of force. I wouldn't be too worried about it.

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+1 brn6604, "A much greater concern to firefighters is standing below a heavy safe in a structure compromised by fire."

My guess is that if its hot enough in your safe to cook off a round, the part of the house above it would be in the basement with the safe and nobody would be standing in there.

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I don't see the point of keeping the loaded gun in a safe especially if its not going to be in an area you will be near by. If its a defense gun what exactly is your plan? Run past the bad guys to the basement unlock the safe and return before they do harm to your family? Or gather your family and move them to the basement and make a stand there?

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I don't see the point of keeping the loaded gun in a safe especially if its not going to be in an area you will be near by. If its a defense gun what exactly is your plan? Run past the bad guys to the basement unlock the safe and return before they do harm to your family? Or gather your family and move them to the basement and make a stand there?

Depends in where I am at the time. If I'm watching TV in my den and someone starts to kick in my door then the basement safe is closer and quicker to get to than the bedroom safe and I can get to it without being visible from the door.

I keep them in a safe because I have a child, so leaving loaded guns around the house is baaad, m'kay? I can access each safe in just a few seconds, all keypads.

Not gonna make a stand in the basement - no other way out. Plus there's no way to be sure my family will all be close enough to "gather" before the BG gets in, so my wife is trained in gun handling and shooting too. No matter where we are, we're always closer to a loaded gun than anyone who tries to kick the door is is to us.

Edited by Scruit
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I don't see the point of keeping the loaded gun in a safe especially if its not going to be in an area you will be near by. If its a defense gun what exactly is your plan? Run past the bad guys to the basement unlock the safe and return before they do harm to your family? Or gather your family and move them to the basement and make a stand there?

Maybe his camera control center/bedroom is in the basement too, because, ya know, Scru it.

But if not, I agree that it doesn't really seem that helpful to have a loaded weapon in a (generally) difficult to get to location AND behind a locked safe door. If you have enough time to make it to the safe and unlock it, you probably have enough time to rack the slide.

Edit: Agree about the child, and of course you can do whatever makes you comfortable. I like the idea that parks posted above for an AR of keeping it with mag loaded and bolt locked back. Hit the mag release and you're ready to go, but it mitigates your worry about the round going off in a fire.

Edited by fizzer
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Maybe his camera control center/bedroom is in the basement too, because, ya know, Scru it.

But if not, I agree that it doesn't really seem that helpful to have a loaded weapon in a (generally) difficult to get to location AND behind a locked safe door. If you have enough time to make it to the safe and unlock it, you probably have enough time to rack the slide.

I keep them loaded so I get one extra shot.

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Why are you guys bagging on him for using a safe in a house with kids?

Quite the opposite from me. I just don't see the reason for having one in the chamber. But again, I don't have any skin in the game. Scruit is anything but careless.

I have five safes in the house. The storage safe houses guns and ammo separately. No gun is loaded (all treated as if loaded, of course).

All the others are mini vaults (or similar). Each has a firearm with loaded mag inserted. Not chambered. Accidents are for more likely to happen with the initial handling of the gun as opposed to the purposeful action of pullingback the slide. My $.02.

Edited by C-bus
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I definitely keep a select item with a chambered round in the safe, but it's not a long gun. If I have to get into the safe in a hurry or under duress, a long gun just isn't maneuverable enough to do much good. If you want to keep a loaded clip in the AR, you can retrieve it and chamber a round on the way to the location of trouble. That would eliminate your concern of a round cooking off in the rifle and causing collateral damage.

Actions are not cocked in any weapon that I keep in storage, with the above hand cannon the exception. I don't think that there is any danger to springs loosing tension over time with most weapons, it's just my mind set. Just like I don't keep loaded clips in storage - bad for them. And if I do, I don't max load the clip.

One other general thought about weapons in safes, especially long guns... When I put mine in the safe, they are there for storage. They are lubed for storage. Keeping a round in the chamber of a rifle that has been lubed for storage serves no purpose and could create issues. When I'm ready to go shoot, the weapon comes out and is prepped for firing - surplus lubrication is removed and pre-fire conducted. This is my peace-time protocol. IF things were to escalate, weapon prep would change significantly.

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In a fire rounds can cook off weather they are in a chamber, a mag, or in the box.

The issue is, if they're in the chamber the explosive force is the same as pulling the trigger. Not nearly the same as unconfined explosion out of the chamber.

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maybe it's just me but I don't think anyone that calls a magazine a clip has enough knowledge to argue gun safety with Scruit or anyone else for that matter.

Wow... really?

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Yes really... you are arguing gun safety and then you call a magazine a clip as soon as I see that everything else you have said goes out the window. Like I said maybe it's just me but even my 12yr old knows the difference.

Clip -- A clip is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm.

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So unless your safe is using AR400 or better walls of at leas 3/8 thick a centerfire round will pass through it like a hot knife through butter.

Also, most gun safes are nothing more than rolled steel and for whoever said yours is 1/8 thick, you should do some serious research. 1/8 thick rolled steel is a complete joke for a centerfire round.

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Yes really... you are arguing gun safety and then you call a magazine a clip as soon as I see that everything else you have said goes out the window. Like I said maybe it's just me but even my 12yr old knows the difference.

Clip -- A clip is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm.

All righty then, guess you told me...:D

I wasn't aware that I was arguing gun safety. Merely adding some input to a situation that I've recently considered in my own home. Never thought I'd end up arguing my choice of words over something so trivial... I'll proof my posts better next time. :rolleyes:

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