The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old February 1, 2006, 05:00 PM   #1
Larry Herren
Junior Member
 
Join Date: November 25, 2005
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Posts: 5
Disposing of loaded ammo

Problem, I inherited a large ammo box of reloads. Maybe a couple thousand rounds. There are at least five different handgun calibers. I have no idea what powder or how much was used. I couldn't find any data, or records of any kind. The guy bragged about how hot he could load his ammo. I don't want to take a chance and shoot any of this stuff and certainly don't want it in the trash. I tried pulling the bullets with a hammer type bullet puller. Them dumped the powder and case into two different jugs of water. Thinking after being in the water the it would be safe to remove the primers. The puller is to slow, and hard on the hands. I'm to the point I no longer care about saving components. Any suggestions for a safe way to dispose of it?
Larry Herren is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 05:19 PM   #2
Leftoverdj
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 15, 2004
Posts: 934
I've seen junk ammo disposed of by burning. A post hole was dug straight down 3-4 feet and burning charcoal was added. A few cartridges at a time were dropped down the hole through a pipe angled off to the side.
Leftoverdj is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 06:42 PM   #3
Tom2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 23, 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 5,676
Burning?

Better get a deep enough hole! I suppose you could throw a bunch of rounds in there if you live out in the country. But maybe put the rounds in and start the fire after, and get well back. Burning ammo will go off like a firecracker, but since the pressure will not build up, the bullets will not really be dangerous in that pit. But there still may be bits of flying debris that could cause minor injuries or the like. How about one of those bullet pulling dies for the reloading press? Right now I have a can full of rusted German 8MM ammo I would dearly love to dispose of. Some one gave it to me but stored it poorly. I guess I can save the unrusted rounds as collectables and pull the other bullets for likewise-steel core you know. Someone might want to load tank busters for their Yugo Mauser!
Tom2 is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 06:43 PM   #4
Rivers
Junior member
 
Join Date: November 5, 2005
Posts: 670
Dump 'em in your trash can and let the trash pickup guys handle them.
Rivers is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 06:58 PM   #5
mbartel
Member
 
Join Date: March 15, 2005
Posts: 77
Don't know about Ohio, but some states have a hazardous waste facility, that can safely dispose of materials such as ammunition, explosives, detonators, poisons, solvents, and so forth. You could look in the Cincinnati yellow pages or call your local waste management department.
mbartel is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 07:11 PM   #6
JDG
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 28, 2005
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 673
I know 22's will just "pop" if thrown in a campfire, dont know about centerfire. Like someone said, it cant build any pressure.
JDG is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 07:13 PM   #7
ribbonstone
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 29, 2006
Posts: 179
Recnetly had several thousand (somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000..all claibers) water ruined rounds to dispose of. Some whent on a fishing trip and eneded up in the deep Gulf water...a lot of it got burried.

Someone might dig up the burried stuff...which I really can't do a thing about...but it was pretty well DOA ammo and they'd have to really work at it to get damaged by it.
ribbonstone is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 07:45 PM   #8
22bore
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 15, 2006
Location: VA
Posts: 11
Disposal of ammo

Throwing it into the trash is not the way to go. Trash trucks can produce some pretty high pressures. If the trash guys see it and respond correctly, you may find yourself paying for a Haz Mat contractor to clean out the trash truck and dispose of the material correctly. That will cost you thousands and thousands of dollars! I recently watched a homeowner write a check for $10,000 to clean up some pool chemicals hidden in the trash.
22bore is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 07:56 PM   #9
deadin
Junior member
 
Join Date: September 6, 2005
Location: Ocean Shores, WA
Posts: 1,052
Quote:
I know 22's will just "pop" if thrown in a campfire, dont know about centerfire. Like someone said, it cant build any pressure.
Tell that to a friend of mine that had to have stitches in his lip from a .22 case that went "pop" in a campfire.

Dean
deadin is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 08:55 PM   #10
xjz
Member
 
Join Date: October 2, 2005
Location: Peoples Republic of California
Posts: 96
take it to the police

I have read recently that if you have ammunition to dispose of you can take it down to any police department and they will dispose of it for you. It could very well be something only in CA but I'm sure a call down the the station and an explaination could at least point you in the right direction. You really don't want to burn or burry the stuff because you never know for sure if someone will get hurt by your actions and that just gives the anti-gun crowd more excuses to take away our guns, just like the people who shoot guns into the air at new years, ridiculous.
xjz is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 08:57 PM   #11
Rodger Peterson
Member
 
Join Date: December 18, 2004
Location: Nevada
Posts: 93
What about calling the fire dept. and asking them for a sugestion? Maybe they would take them off your hands.
Rodger Peterson is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 09:54 PM   #12
Robert M Boren Sr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 29, 2004
Location: NW Montana
Posts: 269
I'd use a puller and try and save the bullets and brass at least. That's what I'd do.
Robert M Boren Sr is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 10:05 PM   #13
Mr_Magoo
Member
 
Join Date: January 11, 2001
Posts: 46
I had around 600 rounds of .22 that I did not trust. (WWII vintage) I did go to the local PD, explained why I felt it was not safe and asked if they could dispose. They did, no charge.

Fair warning:
If you do go in a PD with a box containing a few hundred rounds, expect to be surrounded with a lot of nervous uniformed folks!!!!
Mr_Magoo is offline  
Old February 1, 2006, 10:14 PM   #14
DWARREN123
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 22, 2006
Location: BETWEEN TN & KY
Posts: 1,758
Do the right thing even if it cost a few dollars, just think how you would feel if one of your family members found or was hurt by improperly disposed of ammo.
DWARREN123 is offline  
Old February 2, 2006, 01:57 PM   #15
Wild Bill Bucks
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 28, 2005
Location: Southeastern Oklahoma, Next door to Sasquatch
Posts: 1,266
Since shell casings are sometimes lighter than the lead in a cartridge, they will tend to go away from the bullet. Burning is going to ignite the cartridge,
and the brass will become the projectile. I have a brother with only one eye because of this.
Most Fire Departments have a plan for the disposal of such things, and you would do well by yourself, as well as others, to contact them and do whats RIGHT.

BURNING OR BURYING IS NOT THE SOLUTION, and you certainly don't want to shoot someone elses loads simply because they were loaded for a particular weapon, and it wasn't yours.
Wild Bill Bucks is offline  
Old February 2, 2006, 02:14 PM   #16
Leftoverdj
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 15, 2004
Posts: 934
Burning works fine if you follow the simple directions I gave. You need a deep hole and you need to feed in a few cartridges at a time from well off to the side. Any fragments can only go straight up.

As a suspicious sort, I ain't involving the government in my business in any way. Too much chance they will find a way to hurt me.
Leftoverdj is offline  
Old February 2, 2006, 02:48 PM   #17
Mikeyboy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 31, 2005
Posts: 1,231
Does your range have a collection bin for dud rounds? Dump them a batch at a time, every time you go shooting.
Mikeyboy is offline  
Old February 2, 2006, 07:35 PM   #18
BigSlick
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 25, 2005
Location: Texas of course
Posts: 277
what calibers are we talking about ?

If it's something I can use, I'll take it and pull every single one of them, and reuse the components.

PM me a list

If there is enough of it to use, I'll pay shipping.

BigSlick
__________________
Nobody likes war, but if you find yourself in one - fight for those you serve with and to make the trip home. Show mercy to those that deserve it and a relentless, ruthless, cunning evil to those who don't.
BigSlick is offline  
Old February 3, 2006, 02:00 PM   #19
ripsaw
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 29, 2006
Location: Upper Midwest
Posts: 11
collet puller

Hornady makes a collet puller for just about any size bullet.

I pulled about 1200 pieces of .40 S&W JHP. The guy didn't know what powder was, But the bullets and cases were in great shape. Did it over a period of about a month a hundred or so at a time. Went faster than I thought and got good primed brass and clean bullets. Great practice ammo!!

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=851547

Ripsaw
ripsaw is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:27 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.09667 seconds with 8 queries