Thread: Separate Ammo Compartment in a Safe

Originally Posted by MB

Thanks for the reply, but WTF! What are you supposed to do with the key for the lockbox? Is this written down somewhere?

keep it in your prison wallet

My gun safe keys are hidden at home and lockbox key from the top of the safe is on my keyring that goes with me. The safe keys are big old style so don't want them on keyring. Separate ammo safe is a combi.

thank god we dont have a legal act for wiping your arse cause wed all be doing it wrong .

At the last FCAF meeting we were presented with statistics on gun thefts. A lot of them occured because the burgular auctually found the keys. Police are also very concerned with criminals being able to get their hands on ammo to feed their illegal guns, and they are doing everything to prevent crims getting their hands on ammo. So when you put those 2 issues together you can see why the AO's push what they have been told to push.

I'm breaking my rule of not providing sources, so please take this with a grain of salt, but a few points:

1) I believe the ammunition storage rules may be different for specific ammunition that fits an endorsed firearm also in the safe. I can't remember if it's only specific endorsements or all endorsements, but I remember that there was a difference in legislation between A category and all other endorsed categories. It's somewhere in the arms act or NZ police policies. Obviously the Arms Act is actual law, whereas police policies are their interpretation or infilling of vague Arms Act sections, so it pays to get a lawyer's input.

2) As has been posted, the most recent law changes added the clause saying you can't store your ammo and gun keys on the same keychain, and the key profile or combination must not be the same for ammo and firearm locks.
2A) The solution for this is to get combo locks for one, or both, and set the combinations differently. This' usually easier for ammo cases

3) While calling the FSA for guidance is one option, they tend to take the strictest, and often way beyond legal requirement interpretation of what could be done and present it as a legal minimum requirement. Take what they say with a large grain of salt because usually at least some of what they're saying isn't required, just something they'd like. While exceeding legal minimums is always a good practice, it's important to know your rights and obligations, especially because as firearms owners, we tend to get pushed around a fair bit by the FSA and police, so it's good to know when they're out to lunch and making stuff up.

In this case again, speak to a lawyer to get the actual legal requirements, rather than the FSA's wishlist on what the law would be if they wrote it.

I've got my ammo stored in a galvanised, locked toolbox in a different building to my rifles etc. The toolbox is also screwed to the wooden floor wit half a dozen wood screws from the inside. The inspector was really happy with it

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

I've got my ammo stored in a galvanised, locked toolbox in a different building to my rifles etc. The toolbox is also screwed to the wooden floor wit half a dozen wood screws from the inside. The inspector was really happy with it

Good for you, you had a reasonable inspector mine tried to warn me against having my ammo and bolt together in the same lock box which is inside a locked 20ft container same as the gun safe which is bolted to the container, i kindly said oh ok can you point me to the guidelines in the arms act you are carrying and then after reading she tried backtracking and waffling for abit. i mentioned that having to separate ammo and bolt that are inside a locked steel container which in itself counts as secured storage is all legal going by what the manual says and it is. Neighbour had to renew 6 months ago and pulled him up on his wood cabinet so he got one of them school type lockers to replace it and that's all good ticked the boxes apparently, i managed to get into his safe with a flathead screwdriver in 10 seconds so we could replace the lock when he lost the keys so no consistency anywhere

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

I've got my ammo stored in a galvanised, locked toolbox in a different building to my rifles etc. The toolbox is also screwed to the wooden floor wit half a dozen wood screws from the inside. The inspector was really happy with it

That's what I've gone for...A guy in Auckland came home late one night to find his front door (which he had left locked) open, and encountered the intruder pointing his rifle at him. The house owner assumed the firearm was loaded (it was) as he had stored the bolt and ammo together in the safe. Don't be that guy! Don't fixate on the law, do what is best for your safety.

Interesting comments, my approach has been to follow the legislation AND bearing in mind that I had to work bloody hard to earn the money that paid for my FAL, my rifles and my ammo.....so when it comes to security I've gone above and beyond....my safe is two compartments with individual doors and two different locks and it's made out of 6mm steel plate, it has 6 x 8mm screws going into structural hardwood and 4 going into the floor joists....and I put my house on top of a hill on 3 metre stumps and have 2 guard dogs.......my point being, when it comes to FA security, there's no such thing as too much....the law is the bare minimum, where else in life do you do "the bare minimum"?

Originally Posted by Zedrex

Interesting comments, my approach has been to follow the legislation AND bearing in mind that I had to work bloody hard to earn the money that paid for my FAL, my rifles and my ammo.....so when it comes to security I've gone above and beyond....my safe is two compartments with individual doors and two different locks and it's made out of 6mm steel plate, it has 6 x 8mm screws going into structural hardwood and 4 going into the floor joists....and I put my house on top of a hill on 3 metre stumps and have 2 guard dogs.......my point being, when it comes to FA security, there's no such thing as too much....the law is the bare minimum, where else in life do you do "the bare minimum"?

who said anything about bare minimum? and the point is FSA is not following there own guidelines in some respects

A locked ammo box inside your safe is fine according to the latest rules.

Originally Posted by John Duxbury

A locked ammo box inside your safe is fine according to the latest rules.

Not according to my inspector or what others hear from inspectors, to much interpretation going on when it comes to safe inspections for license renewals, change of address etc

Originally Posted by Carbine

Not according to my inspector or what others hear from inspectors, to much interpretation going on when it comes to safe inspections for license renewals, change of address etc

Funnily enough I recall ammunition didn't have to be LOCKED up at all,just stored seperated from firearms... It keeps changing.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Funnily enough I recall ammunition didn't have to be LOCKED up at all,just stored seperated from firearms... It keeps changing.

It has changed, yes.

Originally Posted by Carbine

Not according to my inspector or what others hear from inspectors, to much interpretation going on when it comes to safe inspections for license renewals, change of address etc

I don't disagree with you. In this case, it is in their own brochure about safe storage.