Posted on 09/10/2016 8:53:52 PM PDT by PROCON
Following last month’s catastrophic flooding in large parts of Louisiana, the organization that creates safety and technical standards for firearm ammunition published guidelines for salvaging wet ammo.
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute along with the gun industry’s trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, published the document to help gun owners determine what to do with ammo that has been affected by water and moisture.
The short answer, they say, is err on the side of caution and do not try to salvage ammo that has been completely submerged in water. Using such ammo could result in damage to firearms and serious bodily harm. Instead, contact local law enforcement for instruction on disposing it safely and responsibly.
But for ammunition that has experienced simple exposure to moisture, SAAMI suggests it could still be good depending on the type. Centerfire rifle, handgun and shotshell could be salvaged if exposure is limited and it’s dried immediately, but rimfire is much more susceptible to damage.
Last month, the NSSF, which lobbies on behalf of gun makers, distributors and retailers, allocated $100,000 to aid members whose storefronts or ranges were damaged in the flooding. The state government said the flooding has caused more than $8 billion in damages.
“Instead, contact local law enforcement for instruction on disposing it safely and responsibly.”
Umm...no. I avoid contact with LEO’s as much as possible. There are plenty of places to safely dispose of bad/wet ammo that doesn’t involve the cops.
Ultimately it all comes down to “keep your powder dry.”
Love, Oliver
PS Oh, yeah, and “Trust in God.”
That’s right,
This tread could be useful
But it wouldn’t be as Fun.
Simply send it all to me, I will take care of it properly.
PM for my mailing info!
Great line. I used to use it as well.
I said, truthfully, that I would dispose of ammunition properly.
Amazing how many people are caught up in credential-ism and excessive fear of any stated risk, no matter how small.
Sure it is.
I get salvage ammo all the time just for the bullets and brass.
That is why they make bullet extractors and such
Put it in a sealed drum and connect it to a vacuum pump to pull out all the moisture?
The "wine cellar" (on the bottom floor) where I had 11 unopened cases of assorted calibers stored took me 2-months to clean out...
Three years later my Grandson began testing some of the recovered .223, 30-06, and 7.62. Using only hand prep, and loading mags 3-rnds at time, only experienced less then 10% failure...
Bottom line, out of more than 11,000 rnds was able to rescue about 3,500...Not too bad since the avg-per-case for the ammo (1996-1999) was about $58 per thousand...
If you’ve got a lot of ammo to pull the RCBS bullet puller is worth the investment.
Ammo, even that which is not waterproofed to milspec standards is rather , well, water proof.
I carry almost always, even canoeing and wade fishing- my carry ammo is not fancy, just plain JHP fodder, and I rotate it out into a “range box” after immersion. That ammo, about 200 rounds annually, has never failed to go bang.
I even did a test- river water and 50 rounds of ammo for varying periods of time- some in the sun, some ambient. None of it failed to fire and function perfectly.
As a mil type, I carried ammo immersed in swaps and torrential rain all in central and S America, never failed to fire.
Unless this ammo was immersed for months, it is useful as range ammo unless the firer is an idiot, probably not as carry ammo though.
Like I said, send it to me, I’ll dispose of it properly!
Nah, couldn't be.
As you said, there are safe ways to handle the issue without making it an LE issue. And I doubt most police departments, at least small/rural ones, feel like taking in and disposing of ammo from people too stupid to handle it themselves. I'm sure they love it when people hand in guns because it gives them an unrivaled opportunity to take their pick and expand their own collections. But wet ammo? Probably not.
After the powder is dried out, the cartridge will work as before, but the primer wall will fail, sending gasses out the rifles failed primer port, and back around the bolt. Pieces of primer will gouge the bolt face.
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