Joseph M. Reed asked for advice on

what to do with live ammunition.

Most small arms calibre ammunition (up to .45") is fairly simple to deal
with, as long as it is "centre fire" as opposed to "rim fire". Anything
ammunition that is corroded, and anything over small arms calibre or rim
fire should be left to the experts.
Most gun dealers should be able to disarm it for you cheaply, or even free
of charge if they are responsible & community minded. They will use a
devise known as a "Kinetic Hammer" to remove the bullet from the cartridge
so that the propellant can be removed. If you have a lot of bullets to
disarm then I suggest you buy a Kinetic Hammer (around $20 US) and get the
dealer to train you on its use. A primer in a cartridge can be powerful
enough to cause injury, so they also need to be rendered safe. This can be
done by soaking the cartridge in acetone, or by putting the cartridge in
the appropriate gun & firing. Obviously, the gun powder must be removed
first, & you should put the bullet back into the cartridge AFTER the primer
has been fired. The primer in a .303" cartridge can be strong enough, by
itself, to spit the bullet out of the barrel.

As someone else on the list suggested, it pays to shop around in looking
for someone to help you. Most gun dealers and military armourers will be
glad to help you out, as most of them are interested in this field. Police,
on the other hand, tend to prefer to see ammunition destroyed, which is
understandable considering that they usually have to deal with the negative
side of guns bullets.


George Bailey
Objects Conservator
Australian War Memorial
Treloar Centre for Conservation
4 Callan St, Mitchell, A.C.T. 2911
Australia
Phone: +61 2 6243 4440
fax:   +61 2 6241 7998
email: [log in to unmask]

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