bad boolits, throw them out?

[max it]

Hi Ya, Now Three years into casting and loading and i have several #'s of bad cartridges. these are pistol/revolver calibers.
No one around here knows what to do with these culls. One suggestion was soak in Kerosene to kill the primers. But what next?
Much obliged,

Max

[Ickisrulz]

I think you mean bad cartridges? I would imagine the answer you'll get here is pull the projectile (melt or reuse) and salvage the brass.

[Reload3006]

+1 with Ick.... pencils have erasers because we make mistakes. Pull them down if you know what the powder is reuse it if not fertilize your yard with it. personally I would reuse the primers too if you feel you need to resize the brass take the decapping pin out of the size die and resize and your already primed ready to go again.

[canyon-ghost]

If pulling bullets gets to be work, possibly because the crimp won't allow it, safe disposal would be to cut the brass in half with a tubing cutter (used for copper tubing), dump the powder and throw them away.

I decided not to put cartridges in the dumpster when the city bought a new dump truck. Cutting the brass and draining the powder takes the pressure off. That way, the primer doesn't have anything to work with.

It all depends on if you CAN pull the bullet.

PS: there's your sane and legal disposal, ta duh!

[Mk42gunner]

First off, I would figure out just why I have several pounds of bad rounds, and fix that issue.

I have been loading shotshells since 1977 or so, and centerfire since about 1980 and don't think I have had over twenty duds in that time.

Robert

[StratsMan]

Define what you mean by "bad boolits"... Did they beat up on their brother?? Fail to fire?? Not chamber correctly??? Defining their problem helps identify the solution...

[dagger dog]

Hammertime!

[max it]

Define what you mean by "bad boolits"... Did they beat up on their brother?? Fail to fire?? Not chamber correctly??? Defining their problem helps identify the solution...

Weell, they are all sorts; some i just picked up at the outdoor range because kids roam around and i dont anyone to get hurt. some i loaded and there were a couple of squib loads so rather than pull a hundred or so i dumped them. so what! many are bent mouth on brass, some too short, some bad casts, some acquired under the influence of alchohol, some i cant remember must have been the little folk putting things in my pockets after they took out the good stuff :lol:

too many, too much, what to do with #'s of bad cartridges??

much obliged,

Max

[frkelly74]

Take them apart some way and salvage what you can. Lead brass and powder are expensive. I have pulled bullets with vicegrips holding the rim and another vicegrips holding the bullet if I didn't have the proper tools to do the job.

[David2011]

For the damaged cartridges, sell them to a scrap metal dealer. If the cartridges are in good condition, pull the bullets and dump the powder (burn it- don't re-use it) you can pop the primers or reload the primed brass. Just remove your decapping pin. For the range pickups, pull the bullets and dump the powder. If you don't want to do that, most police departments will take live ammo for disposal. You could pop the primers if you have a gun that uses that cartridge but only if the brass is very clean. If you've never fired a primed cartridge it will give you a new respect for the power of a primer. I understand that scrap cartridge brass brings a pretty good price.

Do you use an inertia puller? They work way better if you have something very solid to hit them on. A piece of 4x4 at least 3 feet long works well. Hit the puller on the end of the 4x4- pretty hard- and they work better than pounding a bench top.

One of my best investments is an RCBS bullet puller and colles for all of my calibers. They make pulling bullets very easy but don't work well for cast, especially cast pistol boolits.

I just loaded almost 200 .223 Rems without having to use the puller once. Yea!

David

[max it]

First off, I would figure out just why I have several pounds of bad rounds, and fix that issue.

I have been loading shotshells since 1977 or so, and centerfire since about 1980 and don't think I have had over twenty duds in that time.

Robert

HI Robt, Let me guess, you do rifles on a single stage?Right.
These are 9mm's, 38's, and 45acps. I shoot competition, use 300 or more per match. Load 500 or more at a time. Mostly I have hammered them apart.
But I took some free ones at the indoor range to seperate and recast the lead, as well as many picked up at the outdoor competition range. And to my chagrin I tried loading some .38's on a single stage only to find a squibb or two. I hammered apart many but have too many more. Usually more time than money, but now less time, not sure 'bout the other. I dont mind trying new things, lots of U turns in life does one some good. must be flexibility I think, I have been wrong before.
I want a clean slate, where can I legally dump the pounds of cartridges?

Much obliged,

Max

[max it]

David, I know all those. The cops I have asked arent interested. These are not rifle cartridges. I am tired of seperating junk. I have a great hammer, it is very old and instead of those tricky 3 piece collets with a O ring it has solid metal washers of every size.
I want a clean start.
Much obliged,

Max

[oneokie]

Dig a hole in your backyard. A deep one.

[ErikO]

Yep, pull'em and reload the primed brass. Re-melt the boolits and make good'uns.

[Blacksmith]

If you don't want the bother give them to a caster who is short on money. They will be happy for the lead and brass.

[geargnasher]

+1 Blacksmith.

Gear

[Moonman]

Sprinkle the powder on the grass, it's fertilizer.

[Lead Fred]

Melt down the boolits, powder for the grass, replace the primers, if you must.
Resize, and refill.

[bearcove]

+1 with Ick.... pencils have erasers because we make mistakes. Pull them down if you know what the powder is reuse it if not fertilize your yard with it. personally I would reuse the primers too if you feel you need to resize the brass take the decapping pin out of the size die and resize and your already primed ready to go again.

+2 recycle the rest

[Mk42gunner]

HI Robt, Let me guess, you do rifles on a single stage?Right.
These are 9mm's, 38's, and 45acps. I shoot competition, use 300 or more per match. Load 500 or more at a time. Mostly I have hammered them apart...

Max,

Right now I load everything on a single stage press; but that hasn't always been the case. I have used a three hole Lee turret, a Dillon Square Deal and 550 to load several thousand rounds. I also had a half interest in a MEC Grabber for trap rounds for a while.

I stand by what I said; if you start getting a lot of squibs, figure out what is wrong. I have had a bad box of primers before, not a lot of fun to hear a click instead of a bang.

I see that some of the rounds you are talking about are range pickups; very wise not to try to shoot those, since you have no idea what is in them.

As far as legally disposing of these rounds in California; good luck. If the local PD doesn't want them, are you close to a military base with an EOD det? They MIGHT burn them for you, if they have a squeduled burn coming up.

I would bet you will get in all sorts of trounle by dumping these in the trash, or deep sixing them.

Robert

[thx997303]

Just so you know, best way I've found to use an inertia bullet puller is to lay a rubber mallet on your bench, and hit the mallet with the inertia puller.

Really makes it go faster.

[a.squibload]

I smack the concrete floor with my hammer-style puller.
One hit. Might break it some day. Had it since the '70s.

A few pounds of cartridges couldn't be all that many if they have
lead boolits.
I voted "pull 'em apart", but I'm a lead junky.

If someone catches you burying them in the desert or somewhere
it might look a tad suspicious. Maybe bury 'em in your backyard,
they will be safe, and become inert after a while.

What eats brass? Maybe soak 'em in a bucket of salt water, or vinegar.
After a while they will be inert, or dissolved if you're lucky, and you'll have
a pile of boolits.

[max it]

I smack the concrete floor with my hammer-style puller.
One hit. Might break it some day. Had it since the '70s.

A few pounds of cartridges couldn't be all that many if they have
lead boolits.
I voted "pull 'em apart", but I'm a lead junky.

If someone catches you burying them in the desert or somewhere
it might look a tad suspicious. Maybe bury 'em in your backyard,
they will be safe, and become inert after a while.

What eats brass? Maybe soak 'em in a bucket of salt water, or vinegar.
After a while they will be inert, or dissolved if you're lucky, and you'll have
a pile of boolits.

HI Ya, yes, I am not in favor of the night time desert one. I must be getting desperate. It's just that they piled up. And I had taken a bunch of unknowns from my indoor range too, thinking I wanted the lead out of the .45acp's. But it has gotten out of hand. Every batch I reload of 9mm lately produces at least one cracked or otherwise compromised brass. And if that isnt enough, I had too much Alox on a batch I cast so the wax wound up inside my redding seating die and before I knew it I had 50 seated too deeply from the wax accumilated.

Much obliged to all but I still dont have a easy way to dump these. Oh, a kerosene soak kills the primer, so I am told by a Master. developing....

Max

[6.5 mike]

I get the range drops / misfires from the range I use. Alot of steel cased stuff, bent 223's & 308's, ect. What I do is toss in a can marked for the caliber, when it gets full enough I'll pull them down on a rainy day.

The ones that I'm not going to use get dropped in a empty powder can with a mix of water & oil, powder & all. The usable ones I just dump the powder into the same can. I mark the cans with a BIG black X on the lid & lable so I know they are waste. You would be surprized how long it takes to full a 1 lb can this way.

If the primer has not been hit, I'll load them. If it's dimpled, I fire a couple to check & go from there. If in doubt about the primer, I replace them. I have gotten factory rounds that had no flash hole, sometimes you just have to pull them to see what you have.

I mainly use my rcbs collet puller, do also have an impact type. If pulling a t/c shaped bullet, I've found that running them through the sizing die helps. With cast of this type you can pull the boolits with your fingers or they will stick in the die. It also works with standard "ball" types, (9 m/m).

[a.squibload]

That's a good use of what would usually be a problem.
Sizing die reduces the boolit diameter a little,
brass rebounds a little, resulting in less "crimp".

[DCM]

If you don't want the bother give them to a caster who is short on money. They will be happy for the lead and brass.

BIG plus one.

[Bob Krack]

HI Ya, yes, I am not in favor of the night time desert one. I must be getting desperate. It's just that they piled up. And I had taken a bunch of unknowns from my indoor range too, thinking I wanted the lead out of the .45acp's. But it has gotten out of hand. Every batch I reload of 9mm lately produces at least one cracked or otherwise compromised brass. And if that isnt enough, I had too much Alox on a batch I cast so the wax wound up inside my redding seating die and before I knew it I had 50 seated too deeply from the wax accumilated.

Much obliged to all but I still dont have a easy way to dump these. Oh, a kerosene soak kills the primer, so I am told by a Master. developing....

Max
Where a 'bouts are you in the golden state? (Another term for dried up grass:veryconfu).... We do have quite a few members there and I would bet a few would be interested in helping you get rid of them. If I were home - in Redding, I know I would.

Bob

[badbob454]

try sizing the loaded ammo with the inside neck ball and primer pin removed .
the neck outside sizer will squeese in compressing the boolit and the brass . the brass will spring back more than the lead making the boolit a little loose
, then pull , comes out easier ,
i found this out when i couldnt put a 38 in my revolver sized it and it just loosened the boolit

[WILCO]

You could get a cam-lock bullet puller.

[Harter66]

Well since it hasn't been suggested I'll pick them up the next time I'm out road tripping.

Me ? I salvage everything . 06',to x57,to 308, to Savages, to rimless Colts , to 45 mags,to ACPs, to GAPs. 223s get to live on as 9mm mags,9x's 23/21/19/17. 303s get to be brass 410s,460 S&W,454/Colts shot shells @ cyl length then correct lenghts,and all the auto lenghts to GAP.

Segregate the J range p'up pull the rest down and rework or for example put it in a PIF for your county or the bordering counties.

Push comes to shove I'm sure someone getting started will take it all or a brass prostitute like myself.

[Bullet Caster]

Send them to me. I will dispose of them properly. BC

[max it]

Bad Bob, good info, ill try it on the .38's
Wilco, cam lock??
Bullet Caster, can you come get it?

Much obliged to all,

Max

[CLAYPOOL]

Salvage what you can...pop all primers...selll YELLOW brass...throw into sewage lagoon...or you towns LARGE LAGOON...for the whole city...

[Bob Krack]

Max,

Looks to me like you are in/around Corona - Riverside general area? Orange, Riverside, San Bernadino counties?

If ya don't do any good otherwise, take a look in these two two groups here:

California casters
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/group.php?groupid=9
Left coast casters
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/group.php?groupid=24

If ya got the patience, I'd be willing to bet Harter66 or someone else WILL come by and see ya. Just how soon? Who knows.

Bob

[Bullet Caster]

Naw, I live in TN and Kalifornia is too far a drive. Lol. BC

[beex215]

recycle all components. cut up brass goes in the junk brass jar. bad bullets get remelted.

[Harter66]

Actually my daughter lives in ElCentro and has promised to come see me next month. She'd be passing rt through.

Buckshot is close to you too . He's coming my way

[popper]

Cut a proper sized chunk of PVC pipe to put over the ram in a SS press. Put the case in the shell holder, raise the ram and use a cheap pair of dikes or wire strippers to grab the bullet and then lower the ram. You can even get hold of the SWC with the cutter part of the strippers.

[firefly1957]

A coworker put them in a wood box and sent them to the incinerator at work no harm done it was still a stupid idea. They were old military cartridges (WWI) that he was worried would not shoot.

[max it]

Harter,Let me know when, this gives me hope and I continue to pick up odd cartridges at the outdoor shoots.
regards,

Max

[max it]

Cut a proper sized chunk of PVC pipe to put over the ram in a SS press. Put the case in the shell holder, raise the ram and use a cheap pair of dikes or wire strippers to grab the bullet and then lower the ram. You can even get hold of the SWC with the cutter part of the strippers.

wow! novel idea, i am going to try it.

I just did, love it. THIS WORKS! Popper you are the man.

much obliged,
Max

[max it]

Cut a proper sized chunk of PVC pipe to put over the ram in a SS press. Put the case in the shell holder, raise the ram and use a cheap pair of dikes or wire strippers to grab the bullet and then lower the ram. You can even get hold of the SWC with the cutter part of the strippers.

Guys, this one works. I am down to a couple of hundred in a little time. .38's next, I did the 9mm and salvaged a lot of brass with primers intact, and some lead to remelt. the .38spls are fmj so i will have to discard those; about 150 or so. I did find a squibb in the first batch, and that was mostly the problem with them. It was a bad day loading in a SS press. I will never do that again. Wait a minute I am going outside to kiss my Dillons. ahem xxxxx.
.40 and .45acp to go. Thanks again popper

Much obliged to all,

Max

[Harter66]

Max ,
You can give those TMJ/FMJs a good hammer whack to break the jacket and toss them in the pot too. I've done 100s that way too . Linemens pliers or channel locks will provide plenty of squeeze for plated bullets and most TMJ to break the jackets.

[max it]

HI Harter, good 'un. I have more to go and will try to salvage the lead. Sorry I have to disappoint in sending you the cartridges. I just about cleared up the mess.

Much obliged, as always

Max