I was given 3 reloading presses along with a bunch of other related stuff that has sat around for a long time in a friend of a friends shack. Time to do some reading and learning. In several of the bags are some badly corroded, rusted, and somewhat mangled 30-06 cartridges, and 12 gauge shells. What is the best way to dispose of these?
Old corroded ammo disposal
- Thread starter DWH
- Start date
- Status
I'd pull the bullets and use the powder for fertilizer. Penatrating oil to kill the primers or fire them off if the case will chamber. Recycle the brass. Reload the bullets in good brass.
Shotshells the same way. Save the shot and wad , lose the powder. An exacto knife to cut the shell open at the wad or just cut the crimp away.
Just what I do. But then I'm cheap.
Shotshells the same way. Save the shot and wad , lose the powder. An exacto knife to cut the shell open at the wad or just cut the crimp away.
Just what I do. But then I'm cheap.
evan price
Member
If you don't want to reload or save components, most ranges have a squib bucket yo ucan drop them in, or else a lot of cop shops will take them for disposal, or a lot of communities have a hazmat garbage program to take them.
MilsurpShooter
Member
Pull bullet, scatter the powder, penetrating oil in the case to deaden the primer. You can fire the primer too but be sure to clean the rifle afterwards, could be surplus ammo with the corrosive primer.
I did it to a box of old .22's. Collected all the powder and ended up using it to start the fire for my smoker later that night but to each their own lol.
I did it to a box of old .22's. Collected all the powder and ended up using it to start the fire for my smoker later that night but to each their own lol.
Smokey Joe
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2003
- Messages
- 2,617
Killing primers--Here We Go Again!!!
On killing primers--I agree it must be done, with old ammo to be disposed of. Not killing all the primers on ammo to be discarded is irresponsible. That said, guys, this has been discussed ad nauseum on this and other fora. Here is the conclusion:THERE IS NO HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL THAT WILL RELIABLY KILL 100% OF PRIMERS. NONE. Primers are killed by heat or percussion. Really nasty strong chemicals (fuming nitric acid comes to mind) would probably kill all the primers but you don't want to mess with something like that, believe me! So, Oldgold is 1/2 right:
WD-40 WILL NOT kill all the primers. Neither will Kroil. Nor boiling water. Nor bleach. Nor Drano. Nor insect repellent. Nor skunk juice. Some will be killed, but some will survive.
Primers are tough. They're made to last for years and years, if necessary, and then reliably go bang when struck by a firing pin. For ammo we want to use, that's really good. For ammo we want to dispose of, it does present a challenge.
On killing primers--I agree it must be done, with old ammo to be disposed of. Not killing all the primers on ammo to be discarded is irresponsible. That said, guys, this has been discussed ad nauseum on this and other fora. Here is the conclusion:THERE IS NO HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL THAT WILL RELIABLY KILL 100% OF PRIMERS. NONE. Primers are killed by heat or percussion. Really nasty strong chemicals (fuming nitric acid comes to mind) would probably kill all the primers but you don't want to mess with something like that, believe me! So, Oldgold is 1/2 right:
Other than chambering and firing each case, you can hit 'em with a hammer, or toss 'em in a fire. In any of these instances, USE EYE/EAR/HAND PROTECTION, keep pets and kids away, do all the normal safety things.
WD-40 WILL NOT kill all the primers. Neither will Kroil. Nor boiling water. Nor bleach. Nor Drano. Nor insect repellent. Nor skunk juice. Some will be killed, but some will survive.
Primers are tough. They're made to last for years and years, if necessary, and then reliably go bang when struck by a firing pin. For ammo we want to use, that's really good. For ammo we want to dispose of, it does present a challenge.
ColinthePilot
Member
Seriously? I'm sure it would work, but seriously?
Smokey Joe
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2003
- Messages
- 2,617
Seriously.
Colin the Pilot--I direct your attention to the rest of the paragraph.
A perhaps safer fire-for-killing-primers method has been suggested: Dig a hole mebbe 18" deep, put glowing charcoal in the bottom, toss the primers in one by one.
The 2 things that reliably kill primers are (1) percussion, and (2) heat.
My own preferred way is to hit 'em with a hammer. Again, you use ear/eye/hand protection.
If the primers have been removed from the cases, put one primer on large rock, hit it with hammer. Repeat until all primers are done. It takes a pretty firm blow with the hammer to set 'em off. Noisy but effective.
If the primers are still in the cases I clamp one case, mouth downward, in a vise and put a nailset on the primer, then hit the nailset with a hammer. The nailset acts just like a gun's firing pin. Repeat until all primers are done. You could use a spike with the tip ground down I suppose. Again, noisy but effective. Doing this the first time, I was surprised at the primer flame coming out of the case mouth. Having seen that, I quit worrying about when firing a cartridge in a gun, getting all the powder lit up, fer sure!
With any of these methods, killing primers is at best a noisy hassle, best avoided.
Colin the Pilot--I direct your attention to the rest of the paragraph.
If it was me using the fire method, I'd toss the cases/primers in question into the fire, one at a time, making sure each goes pop before tossing in the next one. Not all at once, for heavens' sake--you'd scatter burning embers all over your back yard! Also, you wouldn't be certain that every single primer had been ignited. I certainly WOULD NOT do it in the fireplace inside the house!!
A perhaps safer fire-for-killing-primers method has been suggested: Dig a hole mebbe 18" deep, put glowing charcoal in the bottom, toss the primers in one by one.
The 2 things that reliably kill primers are (1) percussion, and (2) heat.
My own preferred way is to hit 'em with a hammer. Again, you use ear/eye/hand protection.
If the primers have been removed from the cases, put one primer on large rock, hit it with hammer. Repeat until all primers are done. It takes a pretty firm blow with the hammer to set 'em off. Noisy but effective.
If the primers are still in the cases I clamp one case, mouth downward, in a vise and put a nailset on the primer, then hit the nailset with a hammer. The nailset acts just like a gun's firing pin. Repeat until all primers are done. You could use a spike with the tip ground down I suppose. Again, noisy but effective. Doing this the first time, I was surprised at the primer flame coming out of the case mouth. Having seen that, I quit worrying about when firing a cartridge in a gun, getting all the powder lit up, fer sure!
With any of these methods, killing primers is at best a noisy hassle, best avoided.
Last edited:
- Status