Is this safe to shoot?

[dmuldrew]

A few years ago I bought a bunch of .50 BMG from a commercial reloader. I shot some, and put the rest away in ammo boxes. All of these have been stored side by side on a shelf. Last weekend I opened the box of ball and found this.


The other photos are of ammo from the other two boxes. Sadly I think I know the answer, but Trashing $500 bucks worth of ammo sucks, not as bad as blowing up my Barrett tho.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

"Trash", no.
my suggestion would be to pull a bullet or two, and see that the powder is still ok/dry. If it is, (which I'm suspecting) then simply polish the brass and bullets BY HAND with a polishing cloth, and then go out and shoot. At best, they'll be fine. At worst, you'll have a dud. (check your bore)

They ain't going to 'raise pressures' and they ain't gonna 'explode', either. As long as they are clean.

Or, for the tremendously pedantic, (not pointing fingers at any mirrors, or anyone), you could simply pull the bullets, polish the brass, re-prime and re-charge. I don't know if you're set up for that yet though.

Just my opinion here, I'm sure many others will chime in.

 

[dmuldrew]

Not set up to reload the .50...

 

[Hairball]

I would go at one of the rounds with some never dull (or Mothers) or any other cleaner you may have around and give it a shot. Pulling the bullet may not be a viable option as you are not set up for reloading unless you want to select a "sacrificial lamb" and go at one with some pliers and vice grips and even though it won't go off, the pucker factor is there as you are trying to pull the bullet out of the case. Another option would be to contact a local that does reload and have them break these down, clean them up and reload them. Might cost you a little for powder, primers, and reloading service but that way you won't have any issues.

 

[Dirty D]

I would go at one of the rounds with some never dull.

You must be a sailor. Kidding aside Home Page is the way to go if pulling the rounds and tumbling the cases isn't an option. Don't use that shit indoors and wear gloves, that smell takes days to go away completely.

 

[Hairball]

You haven't lived until you are sitting in a passage way at 0200 polishing a pump station because the XO happened to notice it looked dull on his way to his state room Been there and done that more than I care to discuss in my early years but I do keep a can in the garage and used some a few months ago on this very same topic. I don't mind the smell but the oils that turn black and get under your fingernails will be there for a long time.

 

[Victor N TN]

If they were mine, I would go to the local hardware and get some 000 Steel Wool. Most cleaners have some amount of abrasive, ie lapping compound. I prefer to keep most abrasives OUT of the chamber. That's why I recommend steel wool. I did that once with some 308.

If you are going to store, wipe it off with either alcohol or lighter fluid on an old TEE shirt.

 

[Unknown]

You haven't lived until you are sitting in a passage way at 0200 polishing a pump station because the XO happened to notice it looked dull on his way to his state room Been there and done that more than I care to discuss in my early years but I do keep a can in the garage and used some a few months ago on this very same topic. I don't mind the smell but the oils that turn black and get under your fingernails will be there for a long time.

I am convinced that the only reason they kept that old brass and copper fire extinguisher in our squad bay was so there was always something for us to polish. But having to run a huge buffer across a cement floor really bugged me. It was pure busy work as I never could see a difference before or after...at least the fire extinguisher was more shiny after we were done with it.

 

[KUSA]

If they were mine, I would go to the local hardware and get some 000 Steel Wool. Most cleaners have some amount of abrasive, ie lapping compound. I prefer to keep most abrasives OUT of the chamber. That's why I recommend steel wool. I did that once with some 308.

If you are going to store, wipe it off with either alcohol or lighter fluid on an old TEE shirt.

This is how I clean my brass. I chuck it in a hand drill with a Lee adapter and it comes clean in a jiffy.

 

[Mister Ridge]

You could always take it to a gun show and sell it as salvaged off a sunken battleship.

 

[dddoo7]

I have dry tumbled loaded .223 in corn cob media. I am not recommending it in this situation...just asking if it is safe.


--Daniel

 

[ZombieMonkey]

As others have said, I would sacrifice one just to check that moisture didn't get to the powder to see if it's even worth the hassle. It's most likely dry as nothing screams they're in that bad of shape. Then just polish by hand with some steel wool before wiping them down. Just make sure you wipe them well before running them in your gun, you don't want that grit anywhere near your firearm if avoidable.

 

[Sharpsman]

You've got Armor Piercing and Incendiary rounds there. The powder will be OK!

 

[RanchhandTCR]

Ive shot some 1948 30-06 and 7.65 Mauser in that condition had no issues except for a few dudes..

 

[dmuldrew]

You've got Armor Piercing and Incendiary rounds there. The powder will be OK!

 

[Victory]

I'll take them if you are going to trash them.