"Salvaged" Ammunition?

[Itsricmo]

Was helping tidy up the In-Laws place today and came across a plethora of Brass and Loaded Ammunition. The Brass I found will most likely be sent for scrap if not in absolute great condition but the loaded ammunition may have a 2nd life...

What would the ramifications be of using Scotch-Brite or EXTRA FINE grit sand-paper to clean the patina and random gunk off the brass?? They had been forgotten in the back, of the bottom shelf, of an OLD gun case and a little moisture and a few years has done a little toll on the outside of the cases. Is there a possibility of saving these shells??

Sorry if this should be a "no brainer" lol

 

[jgwills]

How old is the ammo?

When you shake em can you hear loose powder still?

Any obvious corrosion?

Finally unless you feel really compelled it will probably be just fine to touch em off without any prior cleaning. Again, any obvious corrosion that you can see might be a cause of concern but other than that just try and fire em off and clean up the gun afterwards. If report or recoil is noticeably off stop immediately and check the barrel for a lodged bullet. Even if its clear just dispose of the rest.

If you choose to clean em up I'd be careful using any type of cleaner. Especially something with ammonia in it. I've always been told it will weaken brass. I'd probably try a very fine grit emery cloth most likely if it were me but the scotch brite pad or regular sand paper should also do it.

Finally, if they are quite old anticipate some might hangfire or have gone completely inert on you.

Best of luck. For those that don't go pull the bullets and hang on to them for fresh powder/primers/cases in the future. The old powder makes great fertilizer for the yard or garden by the way.

 

[Itsricmo]

Age of ammunition is indeterminable, 2 years... 3 maybe. I didn't buy it and they were not in the manufacture box unfortunately. All of it is Remington stuff if it matters lol

The ones that I set aside for this potential task did have loose powder in them. I knew that if it was solid, most likely it was a No-Go for sure..

Corrosion at it's worst was some funny blue patina, sort of like what Copper does after it is left out and subject to moisture for too long. Those were immediately tossed however.. Didn't trust it at all. The ones I set aside have like a black, dried out (but still hard) gunk/fungus on them. The Brass that is still showing though, looks like something you would find in Grandpaps Shed. Darker in color but not pitted or cracked. I'll try and get some pictures of Dirty Vs. Salvaged up

So this ammunition, in the condition I have stated, after being "salvaged", and NOT holding you, Mossberg Owners or anyone else reliable for any mishap..... should be Good-To-Go??

 

[jgwills]

Unless the gunk is causing feeding or extraction issues I'd just burn em up without worry. 3 years isn't old at all. I was expecting you to say these were 30 something year old rounds instead. Again, always at your own risk but most likely these are fine. As long as you already tossed the obviously corroded ones aside should be g2g.

You could see about getting access to a tumbler. Give em a whirl with some dry media for a hour or two and and that would clean up em up real nice.

 

[Itsricmo]

Is there any "danger" with putting them in a Tumbler?? I have never used one, can get to one easily though! Maybe I can give that a whirl too, I guess if they aren't going to blow while shuffling around, it can't hurt anymore then Scotch-brite! haha

EDIT: I am such a noob when it comes to rifles right now it isn't funny Reloading and handling of old brass/ammunition is still virgin territory to me

 

[jgwills]

As I understand it from some of my reloading friends tumbling live ammo is not a problem. Thats how they and factory loaded ammo come out all nice and shiny. The key is to not tumble them for too long. Otherwise you can setup yourself for disaster.

I'll ask them tommorow what else they might suggest in your situation.

In the mean time surely some of the other folks around here have their take and expertise on this. Just give em a chance to chime in on it.

Again, best of luck. With the buying frenzy creating the ammo supply and demand issues these days its good for you to consider saving these if you can. If you are just way too concerned about how to dispose of these rounds send them to me. I'll see they are "disposed" of.

 

[nitesite]

Boy, interesting questions.

I don't think I would have thrown out darkly discolored cartridges just because they have oxidized or tarnished.

Actual crusties on some would be just fine to Scotchbrite with some diluted vinegar.

Tumbling is not such a good idea. Vibratory tumblers work really well with spent (empty brass) because the brass is relatively light and the pieces sort of "float" in the media and come up to the surface and roll back down the center vortex to repeat their swim back up to the top. The polishing media is completely surrounding the pieces and doing its magic.

However, when loaded (heavier) ammo is put in a vibratory tumbler it all just heads to the bottom and the media goes to the top and there they sit like oil and water. There really isn't any swimming around and cleaning happening. If you leave it running long enough the gunpowder starts to pulverize into fine dust and loses its property to ignite at the determined burn rate. Pressures can become quite elevated and dangerous! Add to that the extended vibrations can also disintegrate the priming compound under the anvil and then the primer becomes a dud.

Manufacturers do sometimes tumble loaded ammunition to remove minor imperfections and scratches prior to packaging but it is with huge drum rotary machines, not vibratory ones. Imagine a front-load clothes drier at low speed with some polishing agent mixed in.

Great questions, hope this helped.

 

[OhioArcher]

Was helping tidy up the In-Laws place today and came across a plethora of Brass and Loaded Ammunition. The Brass I found will most likely be sent for scrap if not in absolute great condition but the loaded ammunition may have a 2nd life...

What would the ramifications be of using Scotch-Brite or EXTRA FINE grit sand-paper to clean the patina and random gunk off the brass?? They had been forgotten in the back, of the bottom shelf, of an OLD gun case and a little moisture and a few years has done a little toll on the outside of the cases. Is there a possibility of saving these shells??

Sorry if this should be a "no brainer" lol

Don't rub too hard or you'll let the Genie out..sorry, couldn't resist.

Boy, interesting questions.

I don't think I would have thrown out darkly discolored cartridges just because they have oxidized or tarnished.

Actual crusties on some would be just fine to Scotchbrite with some diluted vinegar.

Tumbling is not such a good idea. Vibratory tumblers work really well with spent (empty brass) because the brass is relatively light and the pieces sort of "float" in the media and come up to the surface and roll back down the center vortex to repeat their swim back up to the top. The polishing media is completely surrounding the pieces and doing its magic.

However, when loaded (heavier) ammo is put in a vibratory tumbler it all just heads to the bottom and the media goes to the top and there they sit like oil and water. There really isn't any swimming around and cleaning happening. If you leave it running long enough the gunpowder starts to pulverize into fine dust and loses its property to ignite at the determined burn rate. Pressures can become quite elevated and dangerous! Add to that the extended vibrations can also disintegrate the priming compound under the anvil and then the primer becomes a dud.

Manufacturers do sometimes tumble loaded ammunition to remove minor imperfections and scratches prior to packaging but it is with huge drum rotary machines, not vibratory ones. Imagine a front-load clothes drier at low speed with some polishing agent mixed in.

Great questions, hope this helped.

I was thinking along the lines of static buildup and setting off the primers. I sure it takes quite a bit to make that happen but I wouldn't be putting bunch in and running it. Static has caused some strange things to happen...

 

[Itsricmo]

Wow, excellent replies! I tossed the whole idea of using a tumbler out the window... Too many negatives to consider

I don't have any loaded ammunition on hand but I have some brass that I attempted this on just to get an idea of what the result is of using scotch-brite. Pictures to come...

 

[Malagamarksman]

This is a no brainer IMHO..........................Pull the bullets and throw them away.

I would liken this to picking up rounds off the floor on a range, in other words I personally would NEVER take a chance and fire unknown rounds containing WHAT ????????

You do not know what they contain. As an example are they handloads which may be incorrectly loaded by somebody who doesn't know what they were doing ?

Cases with corrosion on them are prone to splitting when fired.

Nitesite is bang on the money. Tumbling live rounds in a case cleaner is also a NO NO. What can happen is that the powder can break down altering the size of the powder flakes, therefore changing the burning rate i.e making it burn faster generating sky high pressures.

Bottom line as I see it is this, how much money is your GUN worth ?

Secondly your hands and eyes are priceless.

 

[Itsricmo]

I can guarantee that the ammunition is not hand-loaded. They are a simple family and I can also probably 99% with out a doubt guess the bullet weights... lol
.270 - 130grn
30-06 - 150grn
.243 - 90grn

I without a doubt question the safety, even after getting some very useful answers. I may take the ones that I initially have set aside as definitely safe in my eyes and leave the rest set for a little lol... Maybe I can pull the boolits as you mention and salvage those or the brass... or both and toss the primer and powder...

 

[oli700]

Age of ammunition is indeterminable, 2 years... 3 maybe

Lol, you’re kidding right ?.....practically new

I didn't buy it and they were not in the manufacture box unfortunately.

Concerning and the biggest safety issue I can detect here and since you are unsure about a great many things in your young medium shirt wearing life, and not a reloader, you should probably get a second opinion if it is in fact factory loaded ammo

The ones that I set aside for this potential task did have loose powder in them. I knew that if it was solid, most likely it was a No-Go for sure

It doesn’t matter, either it goes or it doesn’t. It doesn’t magically gain power……and some loads in some calibers don’t always have a loose powder feel because they are compressed loads……a load where the projectile is pushing on the powder
If smokeless powder binds, it got wet. If it gets wet it is never good again. Black powder can be dried and used in most cases

Corrosion at it's worst was some funny blue patina, sort of like what Copper does after it is left out and subject to moisture for too long. Those were immediately tossed however..

Alrighty….throwing away ammo because it shows patina oxidation…….not cool.
Unless you can see pitting or some sort of clue that leads you to believe the strength has been compromised then its fine . Most of the streangth is in the chamber….discolored brass is not a good reason to throw away ammo…

They are a simple family and I can also probably 99% with out a doubt guess the bullet weights... lol
.270 - 130grn
30-06 - 150grn
.243 - 90grn ...

how the hell can you even venture a guess at that? Do you have x-ray vision ? How much of the projectile is in the case ?

Maybe I can pull the boolits as you mention ..

you can shoot them from your sling shot, now that's safe !

The ones I set aside have like a black, dried out (but still hard) gunk/fungus on them.

Scrub them off…if they chamber shoot them……if they don't go off, wait to 10, eject and dispose of them

Your biggest issue is you don't know the origin
second biggest problem is deposits on the case that might prevent chambering leading to a round that might go off before it has full chamber support in a semi auto.....in a bolt or break action you will know right off because you will never got it closed.
third biggest problem is you generally being a big wus

 

[Itsricmo]

lol gotta love your response as always, Oli!

I am venturing the guess on the bullet weights as those are the most common bullet weights factory loaded for hunting, the ones these guys have been using (for at least the 8 years I have known them) annnnnnd... it's a guess As for pulling the boolits... Save them for later I know I don't reload NOW but I do have intentions of eventually, this century or next, of starting lol

I am also aware of Compressed (C) loads of powder in a cartridge. I haven't, personally, come across a factory (C) load in Federal or Winchester, but I guess they could be out there. Plenty of variables come into play with this unfortunately.. maybe I am being a Wuss lol.. or want to keep the right side of my face Trying to cover all my bases before I do something stupid. I got plenty of brass though, what is it going for right now? (Probably 50rnds of once-fired .243 that is in good reloadable condition)

 

[oli700]

lol, all in good fun but seriously probably ok....pictures would be cool

 

[Itsricmo]

lol, all in good fun but seriously probably ok....pictures would be cool

I'm totally dropping the ball on this haha... I have brass but none of it really depicts the ammo that is still at the In-Laws house lol Maybe I will just drag out their .270 and with permission to fire some interestingly colors brass through it... see what happens