Old or damaged ammo/brass

[Blindstitch]

I have a cigar box that I was given with live ammo as old as 43 for 30-06 and a few other odd shells. Some look fine and others look discolored, corroded or just have crap on the cases.
(I don't have a 30-06)

And then I also have a couple primed pieces of brass that were ate up in the press.

What do you guys do to dispose of live questionable ammo or primed disfigured brass?

[m&p45acp10+1]

I just toss them into the trash can. It has never been more than a small handfull. They will not hurt anything in the county landfill around here.

[Hartblood]

I would pull the projectile then discard. But that's just me.

[Blindstitch]

Hartblood that's a great idea.

I don't have a bullet puller but it's on my list.


With some quick searching I found a youtube video on how to pull a bullet without damaging it with a piece of spent brass.

Some of the newer stuff was able to pull 5-10 bullets before deforming. But when I got to the older brass it was lucky if I could pull the bullet then use that piece of brass to do the next. I ended up saving about 80 projectiles that I can now use later on.

Here's the video.
http://youtu.be/XVaE_LKmjPc

[Slamfire]

The basic problem with old ammunition is powder deterioration. Gunpowder breaks down from a high energy molecule to a low energy molecule and in doing so it releases nitric acid gas. Nitric acid gas will corrode and pit brass cases. If old ammunition has cracked case necks you know that the gunpowder inside is outgassing.

Old gunpowder will physically break down, some have reported WW2 cartridges having dust inside, and that will blow up your gun as the increased surface area will cause a pressure spike on ignition.

You can pull the bullets and dump the powder . Examine the case interior and look for green corrosion or pitting. If the case is nice and smooth and bright, you can use it as long as the primer goes bang. The old FA70 corrosive primer would dud out over time, still primers have a remarkable long lifetime.