What items for buttstock storage?

[Plainsman]

I have an NEF SURVIVOR 12ga and put 3 shotgun shells in the Storearm. They rattled to begin with too, so I wrapped each in a couple of cleaning patches and the rattle stopped! It also gives me some more tinder material.

As to rimfires firing in the stock, that would take quite a beating! A rimfire needs a sharp, pinpoint hit to ignite, such as a firing pin. A broad force is unlikely to ignite the priming in the rim as it would be tough to dent the rim enough. Also, if one did go off in a stock, there would be nothing to contain the pressure, hence the stock wouldn't blow apart.

Ammunition going off in a fire is an interesting topic! The bullet is the heaviest component of a cartridge and therefore will be the last thing to move if a round is cooked off. A centerfire cartridge will blow the primer out to release the pressure. A rimfire will more than likely crack the case and allow the pressure to release, if anything flies it will be the case.

So said, I carry spare ammo in most of my stocks. With wood stocks, I drill a series of long holes under the buttplate and feed them in end to end like a TUBULAR MAGAZINE!

 

[Old CW4]

I lived in San Diego in the early 50s. The city fathers tried to pass an ordinance banning keeping any kind of firearms ammo in the city. The excuse they used was the extra danger for first responders especially firemen. One of the local fire department captains happened to be a gun nut and he set up a demo at one of the local sports stadiums.

The firemen dug a shallow hole and poured in a quart or so of gasoline which was then ignited. The fire captain placed a couple of fifty round boxes of 22 ammo and a 25 round box of 12 gauge shells in the fire. He then placed a heavy cardboard box with some slits in it over the fire and sat down on it. You could hear the ammo popping and fizzing but nothing came out of the box. The local media was all there with their film and tv cameras and the captain's demo was quite a local sensation. The city dropped the proposed ordinance.

The real danger for firemen is when there are loaded and chambered guns kept in a burning house. Any rounds in magazines will merely pop open and fizz but chambered rounds will, of course, fire and can be a real hazard. I want to also mention lever action rifles and many tube magazine 22s which have rounds in place nose to primer in the tubes. So long as round or flat nosed ammo is used, these are perfectly safe. I've never had a qualm about several rounds of 45-70 in my lever action Marlins, 30-30 Winchester, etc., mag tubes. Never a problem.