I may end up pissing some folks off again here, but if I were in your shoes, I'd take a long look at the local laws for Colorado Springs. I think that small arms ammo in amounts anywhere near what you are talking about could bring you a LOT of trouble in case of a fire in your home. I have a friend down there who keeps a significant amount of ammo on hand and he maintains a special locker/vault for their storage. I don't know for certian, but I believe that he is licensed to store ammo to a certain quantity.

I'll call him and get the facts for sure and post them here as soon as I can get in touch with him.

As to what can happen with stored rounds in a house fire? Even if they are stored in an ammo can, they can and usually will cook off individually. As the rounds are not contained in a chamber, the projectile will have very little velocity, but it can still be enough to kill within a few yards. Until I have better info, I'd recommend that you keep the ammo in the factory containers and in a corner of your basement. That way it will be against concrete on at least 3 sides and limit the danger area.

I also know for sure that any facility where ammo is stored on any military installation, has to be licensed and inspected for the types and quantities stored. Even if storing 50 rounds of .22 LR.

I'll post more on this when I get it.
[pirate]