Safety of using live bullets in project

[Birdmang]

My gf has this resin stuff that you mix with water, then it hardens clear. She was making some ornaments and junk like that and I think it would be cool to put a cartridge or few into as like a paperweight or something like that.

Will encasing the cartridge in resin possibly set off the primer and shoot the bullet?

 

[Sunray]

No, but using a cartridge with no or a spent primer or powder would be better. Takes a fairly hard whack or heat to set off a primer.

 

[Black Knight]

I dont think it would but why risk it. If you know somone who handloads why not have them make you up some dummies with deactivated primers and no powder?

 

[Big7]

What caliber? I may have the components to make you a few..

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

No, but using a cartridge with no or a spent primer or powder would be better. Takes a fairly hard whack or heat to set off a primer.

Couldn't set one off with a match up to it (don't ask) so heat shouldn't be a problem.

 

[moxie]

Live ammunition is not a toy and should never be treated as such.

 

[average_shooter]

Using live ammunition in such a fashion, God forbid something does set it off because then you've got yourself a small bomb.

At least get a kinetic bullet puller, pull the rounds apart, dispose of the powder and deactivate the primer. For a paperweight, seating the bullet back in the case with a hammer would probably work just fine.

 

[longdayjake]

holy heck the guy just wants to put a round in some plastic. It is not going to explode. Do it and don't think twice about it.

I will pay someone $50 if they can get a round to go off (without burning) after it has been armored in such a way. Aside from burning it you couldn't get that thing to go off if you dropped it from a plane.

 

[xcgates]

I do lots of stuff with engines, but I wouldn't leave the fluids, especially fuel, in the mix.

Just take out the powder, it isn't that hard, I'm sure you know someone who reloads.

 

[Mal H]

What longdayjake said! Don't be so paranoid about such things.

I would be afraid of carrying around a magazine of those fragile things if I thought I had to make it inert to encase it in plastic. If you were going to make a bunch of them or possibly sell them, then, yes indeed, use dummy rounds. For one or two for your own use - nah.

(... and Birdmang, you mean "live rounds" or "live ammo", not "live bullets" unless you have some actual explosive projectiles in your ammo.)

 

[TJ AK-74]

I would not use a live round. It should be easy to find cheap components, or make your own by removing the bullet and firing the rest of the cartridge in the gun. I have actually done that in my semi-auto .22 with a couple of .22LR rounds that had loose bullets, it's just a little harder to chamber a round with the bullet removed. Also, if it is still live, it would most likely be legally considered ammunition, which could be interesting if you try to mail it.

 

[Quaamik]

Please do not do this with live rounds.

I work with encapsulating resins on and off in my job. There are literaly dozens of compunds that it might be. Some will expand as they harden, exerting significant pressure (possibly enough to crush a live primer). Some put out significant heat as they harden (probably not enough to ignite the gunpowder, but I'm not so sure about the primer). It may not set off a live round, but then again it might.

The safer way is to make up a dummy round (crimp a bullet into an empty case).

 

[goon]

Live round are remarkably durable. I doubt you could set one off accidentally unless you were really unlucky, but I'm sure there have been unlucky people who'd prove me wrong.
I agree with those who suggest you get some dummy reloads. They're not at all hard to make. Someone on here could hook you up - I'd do it myself if I were at home right now.

 

[Hanzo581]

Sure it would probably be safe....but why risk it?

 

[Gouranga]

is it safe? Probably. I would say more than likely. Is it a good idea to use live ammunition for a project like this? IMO, no. If for anything else, IMO, the entire concept of using live ammo for anything but shooting is not a good thing.

In some areas, you could get crud from a self righteous LEO should you take it to a place where they are banned (like educational property) and run into a "zero tolerance" policy. I have gotten to the point where I no longer expect intelligence when it comes to anything around zero tolerance policies and firearms.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Pull the bullet, drop oil on the primer, as that deactivates it, reseat the bullet and encase, as for a cop copping crap (think about the bullet necklaces) well that would be fun to put up at the courthouse (here your Honor, cut er up and see, its not real, gee you think I'm as stupid as officer smith over there)

 

[earplug]

Live rounds are safe

Think about the millions of factory rounds shipped daily. Carried in pockets, in revolver cylinders, magazines etc. Few if any incidents are reported.

Bury it in plastic. Be happy.

 

[Birdmang]

I don't have a bullet puller. I'm going to use casings tonight and see how it looks.

 

[KenW.]

Just go buy one of those keychains with a dummy on the ring.

 

[Birdmang]

That defeats the point of using up my brass!

Thanks for the help guys. I will try it all the ways and see what looks the best.

 

[Odd Job]

Pull the bullet, drop oil on the primer, as that deactivates it, reseat the bullet and encase, as for a cop copping crap (think about the bullet necklaces) well that would be fun to put up at the courthouse (here your Honor, cut er up and see, its not real, gee you think I'm as stupid as officer smith over there)

That is a very interesting question: by what non-destructive means could a person determine whether the round was live or not, without opening the plastic? In fact the same question might be asked even when the round was freed from the plastic.
What would be interesting is if there was (pretend this is so) a legal penalty for having a live specimen of that round in that jurisdiction, whereas an inert cartridge was okay. I wonder whether there might be a legal requirement for the owner of the specimen to provide documentary proof that the round was inert (kind of like the official note I got from the AFTE member who supplied me with forensic samples where the primers were intact but had been rendered inert by oil).
Any lawyers or LEOs who can comment?

 

[Birdmang]

Intense response ya got there!

 

[10-96]

I've seen all sorts of scorpions, spiders, snakes, and other non-descript creepy critters encased in that stuff. I think if a scorpion could go through the process and still look normal- there's not doubt in my feeble little mind that a live ctg would do anything but sit there and look neat. Don't be so paranoid folks!

 

[captain awesome]

holy heck the guy just wants to put a round in some plastic. It is not going to explode. Do it and don't think twice about it.

I will pay someone $50 if they can get a round to go off (without burning) after it has been armored in such a way. Aside from burning it you couldn't get that thing to go off if you dropped it from a plane.

i agree, accept for the seemingly undeniable fact those impossible freak accidents happen way more often than what seems logical. might as well be on the super safe side and decommission them.

 

[goon]

There is a point to that argument. I have some really old cartridges around that I've picked up. One is a .32 rimfire. It's been around for awhile, hopping from one owner to the next, with no issues whatsoever.
But I still bet Birdmag could trade his brass to someone for some dummy rounds.