r/canadaguns • u/donzi39vrz • Apr 04 '26

Buy recommendations Ammo storage

I currently store my ammo in a lockable container that hides it pretty good. I am building out a small 8x10 gun/hunting/fishng room. I am looking for something to store ammo other than ammo cans (locks cost too much to add to every one of them) that is nt insanely heavy (ie no safes) and is lockable. Any suggestions?

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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9

u/XxXGreenMachine Apr 05 '26

Canadian Tire sells a three door locker advertised for garage storage. I was thinking of buying one of those and using some scrap wood to make a shelf within each section. Store my ammo and few other items in it. Then that way I only need a couple of ammo boxes for when making trips to the range depending on what I wanted to take that day and how many rounds I wanted to put down range. Cuts down on number of ammo boxes and locks as you can organize and fill based on what you need/want for range days

I was also thinking about picking up a cheap 8/12 gun cabinet and making a wooden shelving system inside that for storage…they go on sale cheaper than the 3 shelf locker I linked below

Canadian Tire 3 tier locker

Edit: I’ll also add that this goes on sale for about $230 and think it may have just been on sale last week. Just keep an eye out online for sales.

4

u/MustardTiger88 Apr 05 '26

This goes on sale at Cabela's every once in a while for $299.

2

u/donzi39vrz Apr 05 '26

I've debated that many times, my main worry with it is the amount of wall space it will take up. In such a small room both floor and wall space are at a premium.

3

u/donzi39vrz Apr 05 '26

That is a great idea! I thought about the 8/12 gun cabinet idea and doing woodend shelves too. My hold back on that was it seemed half ass though might be a good option to ensure I can get the most ammo in.

1

u/XxXGreenMachine Apr 05 '26

Exactly…you can make the space between the shelves to whatever height works best for you. And if things change down the road you can easily dissemble it and rebuild it to fit your needs at the time. You could always do a dry fit test run to see how it goes and paint the wood black. Only need something like 1x1 for the legs and some plywood 1/2 or 5/8 would be good and provide lots of strength……I made shelves just like this for my locker at work. Except I put down a rubberish material similar to what you’d find in kitchen drawers.

This is what I’m 90% settled in doing for my own place. I thought about buying a double wide locker but without adjustability on the shelves it’s hard to say how they would work out for me in the long run.

If you go with a cabinet style like above, you could make a shelf above it that houses your empty ammo boxes and their locks.

And if you want to have labels for your boxes…grab some Velcro and attach one half to each box then make a label for the other side of the Velcro…again keep them next to the boxes. So if you want to label what’s what at any point in time you just need to slap on the Velcro

8

u/baconpizzaman Apr 05 '26

Depends on the budget, I grab shotgun shell ammo cases from Princess Auto for 5$ on sale (10$ normally) and then buy some numerical padlocks in bulk off amazon for 5$ each. Not cheap but reasonable enough

Ammo Boxes

Padlocks

11

u/Boattailfmj Apr 05 '26

I set my numerical locks to 911 so I can say I dialed 911 first and not be lying.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Boattailfmj Apr 06 '26

I would have cut it off by 030

1

u/donzi39vrz Apr 05 '26

How do you find those locks? They seem much cheaper than I am used to finding so wondering quality.

1

u/baconpizzaman Apr 05 '26

I love them, I bought a few multipacks so far and use them for the gym, a locker at work, etc. They seem solid enough, and easy to recode if you want to. At the end of the day they're on plastic ammo boxes so I know that I don't need a super high end lock, and either way, if somebody wants to cut through a lock... There's not many that will actually survive.

For 5$ each, they're great and it's a good enough deterrent to know that nobody in the house has access to guns or ammo except for me

1

u/donzi39vrz Apr 05 '26

Oh yeah cutting is easy. I more so meant in terms of grab it with your hands and break it open. I bought one last year from another brand and when locked i could pull it open using a single finger. I figured at that point it is a latch more than a lock and is zero security/use. Most ammo cans I think I can break into in under 30 seconds still though lol

1

u/baconpizzaman Apr 05 '26

So far they're pretty stout, if I pull hard on it it doesn't unlatch so that's a good sign

2

u/donzi39vrz Apr 05 '26

Just ordered a pack that's good enough for me. Thanks for suggesting them

5

u/[deleted] Apr 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

-4

u/donzi39vrz Apr 05 '26

It won't meet the legal standard for a secure storage room. Also with how the house is that door needs to be open for HVAC to flow well.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/donzi39vrz Apr 05 '26

My understanding was in order to be considered a secure room for the purposes of firearm/ammo storage it needed to be an exterior door, not just drywall on the walls and no windows or windows with bars.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/donzi39vrz Apr 05 '26

I don't think there is a real definition of it. However from what I can find there is multiple cases showing a higher standard than I have. From my knowledge I am not wanting to put myself at a higher risk of a charge should someone break in.

2

u/gspotcowboy Apr 05 '26

The law is vague for a reason and there is no reason why you shouldn't take extra precaution if that's what you feel is correct for your own specific circumstances. Don't listen to the bad advice here

1

u/AssignmentPutrid3197 Apr 06 '26

I'm not even aware of a single lone case for just this specific law. Its a tack on offense.

1

u/NeruLight Apr 14 '26

There was a legal case from 2012(?) that found a wooden crate with the hinges on the outside was considered secure storage. I think this whole “room built to spec” thing was just advice the rcmp once put out there. It’s not the legal minimum. A Canadian tire safe or most locks can be defeated sooo quickly

5

u/ReturnOk7510 Apr 05 '26

Filing cabinet. They can usually be found at office auction places for next to nothing.

2

u/waitwhatnothing Apr 05 '26

This is what I did, I have a three drawer lockable filing cabinet with one drawer for shotgun ammo, one for rifle ammo and one for reloading equipment. I got it for free on kijiji and then got replacement keys for like $5 online. 

2

u/Straitbusinesss Apr 05 '26

I mean the other option is a cabinet or locker type setup. If you worried about the cost of locks though, nothing about shooting is cheap

1

u/donzi39vrz Apr 05 '26

I give myself a gun budget every year. The less of it I spend on stuff like storage and cases the more I can spend on ammo and guns. My budget is decent but not unlimited lol

2

u/New_Patience_8938 Apr 05 '26

You can usually find cheap gym lockers on fb market place. Easy to move, one lock and you can stack the cases high.

2

u/FedInformant Apr 05 '26

I bought a metal 2 door locking cabinet from home depot. I keep all of my cleaning stuff, ammunition, magazines and miscellaneous stuff in it.

2

u/Unlikely_sniper Apr 05 '26

My gun room has 2 double door steel cabinets at house 90% of my ammo

1

u/Accomplished-Beat779 Apr 05 '26

I got an old school locker years ago and fitted it with a hasp and some wooden shelves. Holds a ton of ammo

2

u/justinsurette Apr 05 '26

I bought a safe for my guns, can tire had a good sale before Christmas, Turned my old cabinet into ammo storage, just drilled holes through it into short 2x10’s and added 3 shelves, solid, very handy, I keep the key for the cabinet locked in the safe,

1

u/swift_gilford Apr 06 '26

Late to party on this, but if just for ammo try looking for a second hand highschooler/gym/changeroom style locker. They're relatively cheap and if you're just storing ammo it is more than adequate.

other than ammo cans (locks cost too much to add to every one of them)

Assuming you are talking about the stackable (usually plastic) ammo cans - you could always just run a cable through all the lock eyelets and then just use one lock.

1

u/Mysterious_Sleep7443 Apr 05 '26

Name one time a sole charge of unsafe storage of ammunition has ever been laid against someone

Do you have a door with a lock on your home/condo?

My entire house is one lockable container

2

u/gspotcowboy Apr 05 '26

Look up the Thompson decision. He had ammo on another floor of his house from his firearms and that's what they were trying to nail him to the wall over.

My entire house is one lockable container

Terrible advice

1

u/NeruLight Apr 14 '26

You can display your non restricted firearms on the wall of your house (unloaded, with lock on them and no ammo with them.). You can also display restricteds similarly (but attached to the wall).

1

u/NeruLight Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26

You can also drive around with a shotgun on the dash of your truck. Just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Op Has some sensitivity and is just trying to be as safe as possible and that’s fine too

2

u/Mysterious_Sleep7443 Apr 14 '26

Or in the back window of your truck like people use to do in the 70s and 80s