What to do when you find live rounds (Bullets)

[Diggit]

i have seen a lot of posts lately about people finding live bullets in the ground and thinking they are dangerous.
They are not going to "explode"
You can take a live round and throw it at a concrete wall as hard as you can and it most likely won't do anything. You can throw them into a fire and you will get a "phtttt!"noise and maybe a "pop" when they ignite. The most dangerous part of doing THIS will be the fragments of copper,and only for about ten feet.
It takes the impact of a small object deep into the primer pocket to get the primer to ignite the gunpowder.
Bullets without the support of the chamber of a firearm are just not that dangerous. The danger comes from when the "flash" of the powder (Modern gunpowder doesn't explode,it just ignites fast) while confined in the steel of a firearm chamber.
Think of it as a firecracker. If you have one in the flat of your hand,with your palm open,when it explodes, (yes it will HURT and cause burns) the force is directed outwards. However CLOSE the same hand,and you will probably lose fingers.

If you find live rounds and are still afraid that they are dangerous,soak them in WD40 for a a few weeks, (this will penetrate the primer,making it inert) and throw them in the trash.

 

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[smcdmc]

i have seen a lot of posts lately about people finding live bullets in the ground and thinking they are dangerous.
They are not going to "explode"
You can take a live round and throw it at a concrete wall as hard as you can and it most likely won't do anything. You can throw them into a fire and you will get a "phtttt!"noise and maybe a "pop" when they ignite. The most dangerous part of doing THIS will be the fragments of copper,and only for about ten feet.
It takes the impact of a small object deep into the primer pocket to get the primer to ignite the gunpowder.
Bullets without the support of the chamber of a firearm are just not that dangerous. The danger comes from when the "flash" of the powder (Modern gunpowder doesn't explode,it just ignites fast) while confined in the steel of a firearm chamber.

If you find live rounds and are still afraid that they are dangerous,soak them in WD40 for a a few weeks, (this will penetrate the primer,making it inert) and throw them in the trash.

Or donate them to your local street gang. We give them free healthcare, syringes, and methadone. Why not bullets?

 

[spartacus53]

I like to put them in a vise, then I place my awl in the center and whack it with my hammer..

I'll be, they work

 

[gleaner1]

My dumbaass buddy put a 22short in a vice and crushed it it exploded and put a nice piece of brass shrapnel rather deep into his arm he bled like a stuck pig and crapped his pants a hospital visit was necessary so the police got involved we were about ten years old it was a lot of fun for me (kinda) I did not get in trouble I ran home as fast as my legs could get me the hell out of there this is a true story.

 

[Diggit]

My dumbaass buddy put a 22short in a vice and crushed it it exploded

Don't do that.

 

[lonesomebob]

dont use one in a fuse holder on old cars, gets exciting.

 

[Diggit]

dont use one in a fuse holder on old cars, gets exciting.

ha! I remember reading that story.

 

[MickeyMaguire]

ha! I remember reading that story.

Made the Darwin Awards. And what about them bullfrogs.

 

[Sandman]

Great Post Diggit To many people now days don't grow up around firearms and even less join the military.
As a lifetime member of the NRA soon to upgrade, I am amazed how dumb people can be about firearms or hunting.

 

[Keppy]

Great Post Diggit To many people now days don't grow up around firearms and even less joint the military.
As a lifetime member of the NRA soon to upgrade, I am amazed how dumb people can be about firearms or hunting.

Sandman .... You spoke the truth here........ I am surprised also about how little one's know about firearms and ammo...............

 

[Gunrunner61]

I watched it on mythbusters! lol

 

[Westfront]

Don't trust the WD40 trick. Guess why i know..... Better carefully break the bullet loose, remove the powder, drill the primer out and glue the bullet back in the casing if You like to have something like that for display.

 

[jeff of pa]

I wanna say Halloween Treats !

but someone may take me seriously.

 

[Dave44]

Drill the primer? That sounds like a step below strike the primer with a nail and hammer. I have not drilled one, but I did hit a 509 primer when I was a kid. (I was a bit too inquisitive back then). It was suprising for anyone interested finding stupid and dangerous things to do.

 

[Bum Luck]

....., drill the primer out

Don't do this either.

I have reloaded my own shotgun, rifle, and pistol shells for maybe 45 years. I use my bullet puller, but you could use a pliers and vise to pull the bullet (the front part), dump the powder out, and heat the primer in a small fire until it pops. I'd normally use my deprimer, but most of you won't have one and I wouldn't trust an old primer either. You could also drill the side of the brass case, and dump the powder out if you didn't mind the damage.

Please stay safe.

 

[Bum Luck]

Drill the primer? That sounds like a step below strike the primer with a nail and hammer. I have not drilled one, but I did hit a 509 primer when I was a kid. (I was a bit too inquisitive back then). It was suprising for anyone interested finding stupid and dangerous things to do.

This is not a criticism; more like reminiscing................. I love this picture!

 

[CSA2K]

I don't think that anything engineered by a human being with the intent to kill another human being should ever be taken lightly.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Ok, here's my dumb story..... Let me start by saying I do know my firearms and ammunition quite well and I definitely know how to handle them.

So anyway, a few years ago I was sitting around bored to death on a rainy day, and I saw a picture of a trench art style steam locomotive made out of mainly a .50 cal shell, with parts of other shells used for the wheels and smokestack and cab and all that...... Sooooooo I decided that looked neat, grabbed an empty .50 brass I had in a box, and some other shells and my propane torch and solder. Now, when I started out here, I looked at the primer on that .50, and it looked fired. The shell was empty, and I had no reason to assume otherwise so I started in with the dremel and the torch happily soldering away until BANG!.........The primer blasted out of the shell, went through my Carhartt pants and hit me on the inside of my left knee. That sucker hurt when it hit, and when I went to look to see how bad the bruise was going to be, I found a nice hole in my leg about half an inch deep with most of the primer in it! I got it out with tweezers, and bandaged myself up (lots of first aid training) but that was the end of my funtime project for the rainy day.....I just really didn't feel like working on it anymore for some reason.

Now, all I can figure is that this shell was from a dud round that someone had taken apart for some reason. It sure looked fired to me, but it was definitely live. I never in a million years would have expected that primer to pop, and that was pretty much the end of my trench art career for now anyway. Of course I'm sure this is a one in a million deal and it's very unlikely to ever happen again, but I learned to be a bit more careful that day, so if I ever decide to try again, I'll make sure that primer is a dead as can be!

 

[Dave44]

HEY Bum Luck!!! Where did you get that pic of me!!!

Yeah I did similar things like that too.

 

[boogeyman]

I wanna say Halloween Treats !

but someone may take me seriously.

Hey Jeff, was that your house I got em from

Shove found brass up the local gang bangers exhaust as far sa you can get it. Used to use an old freshwater rod to shove .38 up the kids loud exhaust down the street. If you can get em up the pipe far enough they'll cook off. Almost as funny as a healthy squirt of olive oil! They'll think they toasted their engine.