One of those 1 in a million things...

[rondog]

Glad your dad wasn't injured! He could have gotten a nasty cut or an eye injury from that. Thankfully it was just a "aw jeeze, would ya look at that!" moment.

The white cardboard ammo boxes from Midway are cheap and reusable. I make labels for them on my PC using Word, I use Avery #6461 removable labels so I can change the load info as needed. Much better than loose ammo in baggies or cans. I store the boxes in .50 cal. or M249 SAW USGI ammo cans. I can open an ammo can in my garage, pick out what I want according to the box labels, and away I go.

Those red plastic 2lb. Folgers coffee cans are wonderful for storing brass in! If you can accumulate a bunch of them, do so! I used to work in an office that emptied those frequently, and I'd pack home the empties. I use those same removable Avery labels mentioned above, and just write on them with a Sharpie what's in the can. Since I store dirty brass, deprimed brass, and cleaned & polished brass for many different calibers, the contents are constantly changing.

 

[Field Tester]

GaryL,

It was actually in a issue of Guns & Ammo a few years back.

He was at the range, .45 spent brass hit a live round that wasn't covered. The round tore everything up. I'd link the article but I'm on my phone. This changed my shhoting habits. Any live ammo not in a mag gets covered. What's taking a few extra seconds of saftey even if it is one in a million?
Maybe I should change my storage habbits as well.

 

[splattergun]

Storing loose rounds in a plastic container?

What about static discharge?
This is much more likely than a random primer impact.

Steve

That's completely a non-issue.
Think about it. We take our primers and transfer them from the plastic tray they're sold in to another plastic tray on the priming tool. Then we pour our powder from a plastic jug into a plastic container on the measure. We place the shells in a plastic loading tray, dumping the measured powder through a plastic funnel. When the bullet is pressed in we put the completed round in a factory-made plastic ammo box. Or a baggie. Or a plastic container like a plastic ammo box, a coffee can or mama's old Tupperware(R).

 

[Hondo 60]

I'm glad to hear no one was hurt.

Must have been some SERIOUS crimp on that case to have the brass come apart before the bullet came loose!

Nope! Have you ever seen the TV show "Myth Busters"?
They did this with rounds in an oven.
The bullet did no damage until they launched a 50 caliber round.
It was the case that dented the inside of the oven, not the bullet.

 

[dickttx]

I can't imagine falling six feet down a stairs and being able to get up.!

Sorry, reread OP. I thought your dad fell down the stairs.