Tina Erwin's clear response to someone's query on storage of bullets is shown (edited for brevity) following this text. Steming from that, I would like to hear from other museum workers, especially those from military museums, re: storage of ammunition. As a Curator I do have concerns about emptying the powder out of all cartidges as one is making major changes to the artifacts. Small Arms Ammunition (SAA) is usually quite stable and safe. There are also complications in emptying cartidges. Brass cartridges usually have the bullet crimped in place and if pulled, the bullet will usually sit loose and possibly crooked, fall out or fall inside in the casing when reinstalled. Bullets can also shift and the bullet may sit higher or lower in the casing thus giving an erroneous idea of the length and appearance. Soft bullets can also be easily damaged during this process. Some cartridges are especially problematic as they have thin brass wrapping or are paper wrapped (e.g. Snider-Enfield .577"). Incendiary and tracer bullets have additional burning material in them. Even if one removes the main propellant, one still has the more sensitive primer to deal with, or ignore. though it does contain less explosive. As far as fire departments refusing to enter a burning building containing any live ammunition unless it was in a fireproof cabinet, then many buildings in the USA would probably be left to burn to the ground, including sporting goods stores, police stations and perhaps half of the homes. Have other museums heard of this fire department exclusion? How widespread is it? Thank you Colin Macgregor Stevens Museum Curator Burnaby Village Museum 6501 Deer Lake Avenue Burnaby, BC, V5G 3T6, CANADA Phone: (604) 293-6500 FAX: (604) 293-6525 Business e-mail: [log in to unmask] Museum Webpage: http://www.burnabyparksrec.org/villagemuseum/villagemuseum.html =========================================================================== Tina Erwin <[log in to unmask]> wrote in message news:s7e23f68.050@mothra.kshs.org... ...If the bullets still have powder in them, standard procedure is to have the powder removed. This is a fairly simple process that a trained objects conservator can perform. ... If your curator decides that it is essential to keep the powder (???), he/she should then be informed that there are some procedures that must be followed. First, you are required to inform your local fire department that you have live ammunition and where it is. Fire Department personnel will not enter a facility with live ammunition unless it is properly stored in a fire-safe cabinet. That would be the second procedure you must follow. The museum must purchase a fire-proof cabinet for storage of these artifacts or they must be stored away from the rest of your collections. Unless you do this, you are risking the safety of the entire collection. (This is why most facilities just empty the powder out.) ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. 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).