A few years ago I purchased some 7.62x51 surplus ammo to plink with. I picked out the stuff that looked funny and shot the rest. Fast forwarding, I now have 50 rounds of this stuff that has blue residue and what looks to be scale rust forming. I refuse to even consider shooting this. My problem is that I don't know what to do with it. How should I dispose of it? I don't want to just dump it in the trash. I would give it away if someone would take it.
ammo disposal?
- Thread starter juk
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Sackett
Member
Out of curiosity- what is a safe way to 'pull bullets'?
Can you just clamp it in a vice and twist the casing off with pliers?
I don't have this problem, but could conceivably some day...
Can you just clamp it in a vice and twist the casing off with pliers?
I don't have this problem, but could conceivably some day...
Neo-Luddite
Member
On top of my gun cabinet I have a box that says "Unsafe to Shoot" on the side. The bad bullets go there.
I'm not sure what I'll do when the box fills up--maybe get a bigger box.
Most police departments will take unwanted weapons and ammo--you could always call and ask if you were worried about the ammo lying around.
I'm not sure what I'll do when the box fills up--maybe get a bigger box.
Most police departments will take unwanted weapons and ammo--you could always call and ask if you were worried about the ammo lying around.
scrat
Member
yep i would just clean and shoot. or pull the bullets. not a big deal. remember when i was a kid used to remove .22lr bullets by prying with my thumb. Of course today i use a kinetic bullet puller. but its not a big deal. Heck i have even used a file. Just filed a little around the end of the case mouth. then pried a piece back, then grabbed with a pair of pliers and peeled the case back. The powder, dump on your lawn and water. done. the primer. wd40 spray some in get it really wet. then a couple days later remove the primer. If ur skeeerd. otherwise live primers no problem. just take out my deprimer and deprime. if it goes bang then it goes bang. never had one yet go bang though
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Sgt.Dusk
Member
+1
If I threw away all my surplus 7,62x54r rounds that looked like that I propably wouldnt be shooting at all
....but you do as you think best. If you feel like theyre no-go then they are (just washing my hands clean of this
)ColinthePilot
Member
I take ugly ammo for free plus cost of shipping.
LtShortcut
Member
Bury it.
Z-Michigan
Member
As long as it has been stored inside, and not in some shipping container at 150 degrees, I would use 0000 steel wool to remove the corrosion, shoot one round, look for pressure signs, and shoot all if no pressure signs seen. Or give it to someone else to do the same thing with. People regularly buy ammo that looks worse than that.
GlowinPontiac
Member
Clean em up and shoot them. If your really dead-set on not firing them wipe them down and bring them to the range and see if anybody will trade them for some ammo for another one of your guns.
I found an old pill bottle at my fathers house with about 20 or so .22 mag rounds in it that had brass that was almost totally bluish green. I wiped them down with a rag and fired them all. a few split down the length of the case but all fired and nothing bad happened.
I found an old pill bottle at my fathers house with about 20 or so .22 mag rounds in it that had brass that was almost totally bluish green. I wiped them down with a rag and fired them all. a few split down the length of the case but all fired and nothing bad happened.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Yow, but see, a split .22 Mag case is not nearly the same level of magnitude as a split 7.62x51 rifle case.
If the bress has turned green and there is that tell-tail pink color under it, the case is ruined.
The pink color indicates that zink has leached out of the alloy and the remaining pure copper will be very weakened.
Polishing it off with steel wool does exactly nothing to restore the weakend brass to it's former strength or hardness.
Still, it's probably harmless if the weakening is on the pointy end of the case.
But if it's on the casehead end, you have to trust it to still be able to seal 50,000 PSI of white-hot gas right in front of your right eyeball!
As Dirty Harry said.
Ya feel lucky Punk!
Well do ya?
rcmodel
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