Need to disassemble some ammo...

[Hardtarget]

...no, not my reloads. These are some old, corroded, NASTY looking .22s from a pile of leftovers. Its about 200 rounds. I tried to clean some but three of thirty burned through the rim. This was not right where the firing pin hit.

No gun should be put at risk just for a handful of ammo so I'm getting rid of it...but how. I never had ammo get this old before.

I thought about tossing into a deep spot in the lake but I don't want to put the lead in there...along with all those lead sinkers!

Is it safe to grip a round with two pair if needle nose pliers and tork the bullet out? Wouldn't want it to go BANG!

Or am I over thinking this and should I just toss it in the lake?

Mark

 

[clearcut]

no don't put it in the lake just pull the lead out with some pliers put the powder in the garden use the lead for casting send the shells to the recycle,if you don't cast send the lead to some one that can use it i.e. pay it for ward thred.
CC

 

[rcmodel]

Squeeze the case around the bullet / case joint a few places with some pliers and pluck the bullets out with your fingers.

Then dump the powder in the yard.
Then put the empty cases in a old water bottle with water in it, screw the lid on, and put the bottle in the trash.

Perfectly safe if you don't go squeezing in the other end where the primer compound is.

rc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Just a note on the lead. Lead will not leach out from a solid in water. Lead is not as dangerous as the anti-gun crowd would have you believe. Lead is a naturally occurring element and you never hear of dead animals all around when it's mined.

Lead is dangerous when ingested or inhaled when it's in a gaseous form.

 

[Reefinmike]

I'd just grab the bullet(the actual lead) with some pliers, and just roll the case on a bench to separate the two. from there, I would save the lead and then just chuck the empty case/powder mix into a fire and walk away swiftly. the brass weight of 300 empty 22 cases isnt worth the effort to attempt to recover and scrap.

 

[Field Tester]

I'd just grab the bullet(the actual lead) with some pliers, and just roll the case on a bench to separate the two. from there, I would save the lead and then just chuck the empty case/powder mix into a fire and walk away swiftly. the brass weight of 300 empty 22 cases isnt worth the effort to attempt to recover and scrap.

Why? It's a great fertilizer.


Pull the lead as suggested, dump the powder in the wife's (or old lady across the street's) rose bushes, recycle or save the brass for when you have enough to cash in.

The lead can be given to a friend, sold, or donated here for casting.

 

[1SOW]

I've pulled a number of .22 LR bullets to make rat shot with nine # 9 shot and two pieces of gasket cut using a spent shell. Range maybe 7-8 feet, but works---mostly.

With no worry of keeping the case true, it's easy to do.

 

[Reefinmike]

200rds, brass is only worth 50 cents and id rather throw in a few extra grains of miracle grow than mess around with gathering up the gunpowder to boost the plant growth. Imo, Id just "flick" off the bullet with pliers and drop them in a container to save and burn the rest for a little firework show.

 

[homatok]

If you are going to recycle the brass, be sure that you cause the primer compound to "fire" before you stick it in the recycle bucket. If you don't, some recycle guy is not going to be your friend when one or more fire off somewhere in the process!!

 

[buck460XVR]

200 .22 cases are not worth my time to pull the bullets. I'd take 'em to my local LEA and let them dispose of them.

 

[gamestalker]

Hockey poo, I would just bury them in a rather deep hole, not worth the time and trouble to disassemble 200. And don't worry, your not going to damage the environment, simply a bunch of hype from thee lefty tree huggers.

GS

 

[Hardtarget]

Thanks for your help! We were talking about this at work...couple of shooters there. As we talked I remembered taking one or two .22s apart as a kid. These things are so degraded I thought they just might be a little unstable too.

I'll just do the pliers and finger grip test first. I'll get them apart and dispose of them. We'll throw the bullets into the melt for decoy anchors. They might make half an anchor.


Mark

 

[gamestalker]

Just don't grip around the case rim and nothing will go bang.

GS

 

[sjdude]

The ranges where I shoot have disposal containers where live rounds are allowed. When I have occasional crap ammo, I take it with me and dispose of it there.