The first thing to remember is that you and your fellow staff are
infinitely more valuable than any object in your collection. Don't take
risks for the sake of saving a few dollars. If you havve any doubts then
contact the army or local gunsmith. They should be able to give you
assistance.

At the Australian War Memorial we often come across live ammunition dating
from colonial times (circa 1800) up until the recent Gulf War. Some of the
early bullets are paper cartridges, but most of the more recent stuff are
brass, with a few very modern ones being plastic. The paper cartridges are
easily dealt with by simply unwrapping them, removing the powder and
replacing it with an inert material such as gravel of the same consistency.

The brass cartridges are a little more difficult. These are first examined
to acertain their condition. Those that are heavily corroded usually have
holes in them somewhere, so we soak them in acetone which will penetrate
the hole and dissolve any propellant and the primer compound. The bullets
in good condition are disarmed by using a Kinetic Bullet Puller. Our puller
was made by RCBS (P.O.Box 1919, Oroville, California 95965) and can only be
used for centre-fire bullets, not rimfire (eg .22") or shotgun shells. Any
decent gunsmith should be able to help you with this. We usually keep a
small sample of the propellant. The bulk of the propellant we usually burn
outside. You need a clear area because sparks will fly when it is lit. You
also need to be careful when you are lighting it, because it will burn very
rapidly. We disarm the primer by either soaking in acetone or by putting
the empty shell through an appropriate rifle and pulling the trigger.

Shotgun shells are usually plastic or cardboard that has been crimped over
at the live end, and brass at the other end to hold the primer. These can
be disarmed by opening the crimping & removing the propellant. The primer
should be dealt with by firing it in a shotgun.

0.22" rimfire are a bit tricky to disarm. You have to manually remove the
lead bullet from the shell. You can usually do this by gradually working it
out with your fingers, but you will inevitably distort the bullet a bit.
The primer can be dealt with the same way as centre-fire bullets.

After the bullets have been disarmed you should mark them appropriately to
save future staff from anguish.

Anything bigger than a rifle or shotgun should be dealt with by qualified
munitions disposal people. We have a good relationship with our local Army
Bomb Disposal Squad, and most of the stuff we send to them they can disarm
and return without damaging it to much.

George Bailey
Objects Conservator
Australian War Memorial
Treloar Centre for Conservation
4 Callan St, Mitchell, A.C.T. 2911
Australia
Phone: +61 6 241 6122
fax:   +61 6 241 7998
email: [log in to unmask]