Ahhh...old gunpowder...love it.

I am a fan of the old "Davey Crockett" laying a line
of powder and igniting it trick.

As for shells, ordnance, ammunition....if you contact
the police they'll simply destroy your artifact.  They
love taking old Civil War shells and attaching a piece
of C4 to it....and whammo...what was once a 
shell is now shell fragments.  For old or misfired
cartridges that have been laying around I've pulled
the bullets off w/ pliers, dumped the propellant,
reinserted the bullet which leaves me with a "dummy"
round for display.

If you are nervous about lighting powder then dump it
in WD-40 as was suggested, or water, or mix it with
dirt and dump it out back.

As long as there is no flame or as long as it is not
stored in a plastic container [there is always a
chance that static electricity could maybe maybe light
it off] then you are fine.  It's usually not that
volatile.

Dave Naumec
Research Consultant
Collector of US Martial Arms & Ordnance



--- "Hart, John T" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I agree that if you have loaded shells, you should
> contact local law enforcement. However, if what you
> have is cans of old powder contact a local gun club
> and determine what they do with misfired ammunition.
> When I went for (and received) my New York State
> Pistol Permit last year, we were instructed that
> with a misfire to take the ammunition out of the gun
> and place it in a vat of WD-40 which will basically
> kill the powder's ability to be used making it
> stable to transport. I would think that if you have
> powder, pour it into a tub of WD-40 and let it sit,
> then have a local gun club dispose of it as they
> would be doing on a regular basis with their own
> spent powder. However, if you have shells,
> absoultely contact law enforcement as they can
> trasnport it safely so that no one gets hurt. 
> 
> John T. Hart, Jr.
> Cooperstown Graduate Program
> 518-791-1538
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list on behalf of Rosie
> DiVernieri
> Sent: Tue 4/10/2007 11:25 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Disposal of Gun Powder
>  
> Hi Everyone,
>    
>   I was wondering if anyone has had any experience
> in disposing of old gun powder?  
>    
>   Feel free to reply off list.
>    
>   Thanks,
>   Rosie DiVernieri
>   Collections Coordinator
>   Chemical Heritage Foundation
> 
>        
> ---------------------------------
> The fish are biting.
>  Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search
> Marketing.
> 
>
=========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
> 
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may
> obtain detailed information about the listserv
> commands by sending a one line e-mail message to
> [log in to unmask] . The body of the
> message should read "help" (without the quotes).
> 
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one
> line e-mail message to [log in to unmask]
> . The body of the message should read "Signoff
> Museum-L" (without the quotes).
> 
> 
>
=========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
> 
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may
> obtain detailed information about the listserv
> commands by sending a one line e-mail message to
> [log in to unmask] . The body of the
> message should read "help" (without the quotes).
> 
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one
> line e-mail message to [log in to unmask]
> . The body of the message should read "Signoff
> Museum-L" (without the quotes).
> 




       
____________________________________________________________________________________
TV dinner still cooling? 
Check out "Tonight's Picks" on Yahoo! TV.
http://tv.yahoo.com/

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).