Bullet Set Back Danger and Disposing of Ammo Safely

[Zaydok Allen]

Bullet Set Back Danger and Disposing of Ammo Safely
So I have a .40 caliber pistol I’m selling, and I’m throwing in my sd ammo as a selling point. I decided to look at the ammo for set back, and sure enough, two of the rounds have slight set back. My question (and I know there are several threads on this) is it really that dangerous to shoot these bullets? I think it probably isn’t since there are probably thousands of rounds out there with slight set back and if it was as dangerous as people make it out to be, there would be guns being blown up all over the world. I know that .40 S&W is a really high pressure round so I acknowledge that the danger may be higher in this case than with a low pressure round like .45 ACP.

Ok, lets say it is highly dangerous and I need to dispose of these rounds. What is the safest way to do so?

Your Thoughts?

 

[steveno]

pull the bullets or throw them away but don't shoot them if there is bullet setback

 

[Mike1234567]

I don't reload and have no flipping idea what I'm talking about but...

I'd "think" safe shootability would depend on the amount of setback. For instance, I'd "guess" that a setback of .02" is safe but .2" is surely not.

 

[Drail]

A little setback on a low pressure cartridge like an .45 ACP probably won't be a problem. With a higher pressure cartridge like a .40 the pressure can get critical rapidly in some guns with, shall we say, less than complete case support. If it was me I'd dispose of them. Guns may not be "blowing up all over the world" but people are definitely managing to blow up guns.

 

[rcmodel]

and I need to dispose of these rounds. What is the safest way to do so?

Do you have a lake or river handy?

See how far you can throw them!

rc

 

[mooner]

I would love it if someone would have some sort of definitive answer on this. I completely understand the premise, but I think it may be a bit overstated. Any first hand knowledge on setback caused failures?????

On occasion, I have seen quite a bit of setback on Federal Champion Ball ammo after just one chambering due to a light crimp. This is some of the cheapest stuff available and probably shot in some of the highest volume of anything around, yet I have never heard that it should not be used due to safety concerns.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Ok, lets say it is highly dangerous and I need to dispose of these rounds. What is the safest way to do so?

Your Thoughts?

GIve them to anybody that reloads .40 S&W. A couple whacks in a kinetic bullet puller will move the bullet back out. Run the round back into the bullet seating die and crimp and it's good to go.

 

[doorman]

If a bullet is set back after one chambering then how would you know if you were at the range just running through a box. To me, if something doesn't look right or feel right or even sound right, I make it a point to stop what I doing to come to some conclusion as to what might me wrong.

If you can eyeball it and can tell a setback bullet then just remove it from the rotation. If you need an aid, like calipers or some other measuring device then it is probably not bad enough.

 

[ljnowell]

On occasion, I have seen quite a bit of setback on Federal Champion Ball ammo after just one chambering due to a light crimp. This is some of the cheapest stuff available and probably shot in some of the highest volume of anything around, yet I have never heard that it should not be used due to safety concerns

Its not going to be due to crimp, its going to be due to poor quality brass leaving a poor fit of the bullet. Taper crimping doesnt stop set back.

 

[Waywatcher]

How much setback are we talking? If it is easily visualized, it's a bad sign.

0.001 vs 0.010 vs 0.100?

I would shoot the first one with no worries, the second would give me pause, the third would likely blow up the gun.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I have not measured the amount of set back, but it is easily visible when next to other cartridges. If I had to guess I'd say 0.04 to 0.10. I would think guessing is a bad idea though, and I don't have any calipers. I'll see if I can borrow some. These are Hornady CD's.

Ok, I don't have a puller or know anyone who reloads them. So would soaking them in water for a few days be enough to render them duds? You can't just toss them in the garbage cause they could possibly go off if something hits the primers correctly, right? I know the chances of that happening are really small, but, there is still a chance.

 

[rcmodel]

So would soaking them in water for a few days be enough to remder them duds?

No.
Neither will spraying them with WD-40, motor oil, or cat pee.

If you don't want to throw them in the lake or river?
Drop them in an empty pop bottle, screw the lid on, and put them in the trash.

The chance of one going off is about exactly zero, unless the garbage truck catches on fire and burns up.
And even then, they would be safely contained inside the steel garbage truck box.

We are not talking about hand grenades here!

rc

 

[MtnCreek]

I would love it if someone would have some sort of definitive answer on this.

That’s impossible without a ballistics lab and then you would have to test every possible combination because different components will react differently to the setback.

If it’s noticeable, I would discard it. If I needed a caliper to see the difference, I wouldn’t worry about it.

Let’s say you have a cartridge rated at 35,000psi and the factory wants to load ammo to that limit, they still have to reduce their loads to allow for 2 standard deviations. The firearm that this cartridge is designed for is designed to withstand more than the pressure limits of the cartridge.

 

[Super Sneaky Steve]

More guns should use the tip up Beretta barrel design.

 

[1KPerDay]

I wouldn't throw away live ammo, personally. Pull them with a kinetic puller, dump or save the powder and if you don't want to reload them, pop the primers in your pistol, then recycle or toss them.

At least that's what I do with questionable rounds.

 

[cougar1717]

A lot of police departments will take bad ammo off your hands for free. Or you could just bury them in the ground; or follow the other ways above. Lots of ways to dispose of ammo.

 

[win71]

I like rcmodel's old school thinking.

When I fish for Albacore it's usually at least twenty miles out. Old nasty ammo has been known to go fishing with me.

 

[Pyro]

I was just as Dicks and asked to look at a box of Blazer 38 Specials.
The box was crushed a little and didn't think much of it until I opened it up.
An imprint of a shoe's heel was formed by a number of bullets that have been completely set back from being stepped on. I asked if I could get a discount so I could get it off their hands heh.

 

[JohnBiltz]

Any used aerosol can is more dangerous than a bullet in the trash. Worst case is a fire. The brass breaks off and flies, the lead will not move. An aerosol can blows up.

 

[Jim Watson]

Two rounds? Trash them. It is not like they will cause a garbage volcano at the landfill.

(But wouldn't that be a pretty picture for an anti gun Hollywood producer to put into a movie?)

 

[1KPerDay]

I like rcmodel's old school thinking.

You mean littering?

 

[BCRider]

When I was doing some load experimenting for my IPSC guns I found that with 9mm a variation of the bullet seating depth of .010 was enough to produce about a 20 to 30 fps change in velocity when all other factors were kept constant. So the trick here is how much of a setback you've found. Generally .020 is what it takes for most folks to say that for sure the bullet seatings are not the same. If it's much more than that I would not shoot them IF the rounds are stoutly powered SD loads as the chamber pressures will certainly be raised. And if the stock loads are near the SAMMI limits already you could find that they are not slightly over that limit. On the other hand if they are middle of the road loads then it's quite possible that even with a .030 setback the pressure won't be over. But if the setback is more like ,060 or 1/16 inch then they are duds to be disposed of safely.

Few shooters don't know anyone that reloads. And nearly all reloaders will have a bullet puller. Just save them until you run into a reloader at the range and pass them on. Even if you and your buddies don't reload you'll easily spot the reloaders by their method of ammo storage. Anyone with anything other than factory boxes is most likely a reloader and would be happy to take the ammo off your hands if they shoot the same calibers.