[PROCON]

A lot of good info here and at the link.

Guidance on Ammunition That Has Been Submerged In Water

Any info from folks dealing with this is appreciated.

[PROCON]

Anyone had experiences with having to recover wet ammo?

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[W.]

I've had and fired lots of military ammo that had thin rings of red lacquer around the primer/case and bullet/case junctions. It was purported to be waterproof, but I never tested that claim... I've experienced two misfires, both with my own reloads, and I will admit to probably crushing the priming pellets with too much force using the primer arm on my Lyman turret press. I subsequently went to a manual repriming system with a Lee tool. Slower, but zero misfires.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Looking at the paper: The danger of a partly firing round obstructing a gun barrel seems to be the worst thing to risk, and another one being the danger that the round will not work when it is needed for a defense situation.

I don’t know if emptying the rounds and reloading is safely possible; the SAAMI paper did not bring up the topic.

Are there ways to waterproof rounds in advance so that they can be safely dried and used even if later submerged? Like sealing them with wax or another compound?

[DesertRhino]

For everything except rimfire get a kinetic bullet puller. You can save all of the brass and bullets for reloading.

[NRx]

So I shouldn’t put it into the oven for a little bit to dry out?

[Eagles6]

Pull the bullets, tumble the brass, replace the primers and reload.

Done it with WW II 30-06 and it shoots fine. Used the same powder too, 4895. You can tell if it's bad, usually from the corrossive primers.

If the powder was soaked replace with new. Air dry the old in case of emergency and give it a try. No experience with doing it.

Your major cost is brass and bullets and they are salvageable.

[marktwain]

Any problems will be misfires or squibs.

Use the ammo for target practice. If you have a misfire or squib, check the barrel.

I had a couple of hundred rounds of paper shotgun reload get submerged in a flood. I dried them out in Arizona (a dry heat) and I had a couple of misfires and hangfires.

If you watch for them, and act appropriately, you will be fine.

Most brass cased ammunition will be fine, unless it is submerged several feet, to have the pressure necessary to breech the seal on bullet or primer.

[Hardastarboard]

This thread could be useful for all of those countless FReepers who lost their guns (and ammo) in boating accidents.

[mad_as_he$$]

“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.

[NonValueAdded]

Ultimately it all comes down to “keep your powder dry.”

Love, Oliver

PS Oh, yeah, and “Trust in God.”

[Manly Warrior]

Simply send it all to me, I will take care of it properly.

PM for my mailing info!

[smokingfrog]

Put it in a sealed drum and connect it to a vacuum pump to pull out all the moisture?

[Last Dakotan]

Do you suppose an organization named the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute has any vested interest in you disposing of ammunition and buying new stuff?

Nah, couldn't be.

[gundog]

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.