What to do with old .22 ammo?

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Legionnaire

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Rooting around in my garage I came across some old (more than 10 years) Remington Thunderbolt .22LR. Our garage gets hot in the summer, and the wax coating on the bullets seems to have oxidized and gotten very hard. I can force the rounds into the cylinder of my Single Six and they go bang, but loading is a chore. They won't feed in a 10/22 or Browning Buckmark as they are too tight to chamber easily. If I press the slide home on the Buckmark, the chambered round will fire.

Clearly, the bullets are now slightly oversized due to the hard wax. I'd consider tossing them, but there's almost a full brick there and I don't know how to dispose of them safely. What would you do with them?
 
Could try wiping off some of the lube with gas or brake cleaner, I suppose. Worth a shot.

For disposal, the bullets pop out easily enough with pliers or a vise. Then you can dump the powder in the yard for fertilizer and toss the rest.
 
...For disposal, the bullets pop out easily enough with pliers or a vise. ...
That's going to take an awful long time for a full brick. I'd just take them to one of my local ranges that has a bucket for unfired dud ammo and throw them in there. I have no idea what THEY do with the bucket when it's full. But, there you go. Easy, peezy.
 
I may be an idiot, but I'd probably think on a good way to clean them till they fit
I did try pushing them into and then pulling them out of a .223 case. That helped, but it was a lot of work. Haven't tried anything to actually soften the oxidized wax.
 
If you're not in need of them currently but may be in the future (waste not, want not and all that), I wouldn't do a thing with them right now. I'm betting the coating "settled" from heating and cooling. Leave them where they've been another month or 2, let mother nature get them nice and warm again, then wipe them. Or just set them out in the sun for a bit before you shoot them

If it was hot enough to make the wax gooey before, chances are it will be again.
 
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That's going to take an awful long time for a full brick. I'd just take them to one of my local ranges that has a bucket for unfired dud ammo and throw them in there. I have no idea what THEY do with the bucket when it's full. But, there you go. Easy, peezy.
I give my kid a few bucks to tear down all my scrap ammo as one of her household chores. ;)
 
If there is deterioration of the wax on the bullets from heat and moisture, the thin brass cases may be compromised also. Have experienced case splitting with old .22 ammo in the past and it is not desirable. Again, most local PDs take old ammo and dispose of it safely.
 
I would use a tumbler to clean them. Two options after that, add some Nufinish to the medium, it will help with lubrication. Sometimes when I use mineral spirits the brass seems very stripped and will tarnish some. If I do the Nufinish it's like I waxed them, like a car. Other choice would be to decide how many you are going to take to the range, put them in a plastic or paper bag and give a quick shot of WD-40. I haven't done either of these, just saying these are what I would try.
 
If you reload, throw them in a case cleaner tumbler, 50 at a time.
Yeah I was thinking something like this. Or maybe a lube/solvent that might make the coating retract or whatever you call it, not really much to lose at this point. I wouldn't try too hard or put too much time into $20 worth of ammo, but I would think it was a great excuse to blaze through a brick of ammo if you could make them function.....
 
Lots of ideas; thanks. I’ll try a couple and report back. Hate to just toss ‘em, though it wouldn’t be a great loss.
 
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