Please help: What to do with my dirty ammo

G

greyson97

New member
So, I couldnt resist, and i bought 2500 rounds of 9mm for $400. That comes out to $8 for 50, which is way below the 9.50 at walmart and the $12 at academy

of course, you get what you pay for. Its pakastani brass cased boxer primer stuff from 1973. ammo is older than i am

it came in 2 spam/sardine tins, but both tins had ruptured, so you could see the ammo boxes from the outside, thus, it had been exposed to air for i dont know how long.

i know i will be dealing with bad primers and fizzling later on, but right now, after handling the ammo, my fingers are coming away black. the ammo is literally dirty.

so, should i clean up the bullets so they dont leave dirt in my guns, and also improve their feedability cyclability and ejectability?

and how?
 
Lighter fluid

Sounds like a good buy. I would personally try some in my stoutest 9 and run some over a chronograph to get a handle on quality.

I use an old bath towel for cleaning the Imperial sizing wax off loaded rounds. I lay it out and put a pile of loaded rounds on it. After getting all the rounds laying flat, I hose them down with several passes of zippo lighter lighter fluid.

I then fold up the corners and proceed to rub the pile around. It works for me. Cleans and degreases just fine. The lighter fluid dries off very quickly. Never had a contaminated primer yet.

Oh, and don't use charcoal lighter fluid. The kerosene in it makes the shells slippery. And it stinks.
My .02 JT
 
Just shoot it.

Then clean the guns afterwards.

Remember to take lots of photos, and post them here!



(Alternately, you can box that ammo up and mail it to me, and I will take care of your problem for you - free of charge!! What a deal! :D )
 
Instead of Zippo lighter fluid use Naptha which is available at any paint, hardware or home center store. Lots cheaper and the same as lighter fluid with out the perfume in it.
 
Just because its dirty , doesn't mean its bad. And the primers won't fizzle out later either....That ammo will outlast your grand kids , unless you store it in a pot of water...
 
You could tumble it, walnut shell media in a vibratory tumbler. I've tumbled hundreds of loaded rounds, mostly .223, to remove the lube from the cases after loading.
 
Just because its dirty , doesn't mean its bad.​
There's just dirty and then there's really dirty. I don't think the OP is concerned about the ammo looking ugly, he's fearful the dirt is abrasive and will do more than dirty-up his pistol(s).
 
I've found that my fingers sometimes get black from handling even fresh out of the box American made practice ammunition.

If it doesn't feel gritty or actually look like there's crud on the rounds then I would shoot them as they are. If there's crud on the rounds or they feel gritty then I'd wipe off the debris.

I don't think it's necessary to resort to solvents to get the rounds clean and I'm not a big fan of mixing solvents and ammunition anyway.
 
Unless there is grit or visible particles or crud on the ammo, I'd shoot it and just clean your gun afterwards.

If there is visible crud, like John said, perhaps wipe the rounds with a rag as you shoot them.

I wouldn't use a solvent of any type to clean the ammo either.
 
So, I couldnt resist, and i bought 2500 rounds of 9mm for $400. That comes out to $8 for 50, which is way below the 9.50 at walmart and the $12 at academy
Click to expand...

If they work it will be a good deal, but if one out of five don't it's not.:rolleyes: Good luck.:D
 
Forget that stuff.

Forget that dirty stuff. It's awful. Just box it up and send it to me. I'll make sure it gets disposed of properly. Honest. :p


(Really now, someone was going to do it. Why not me?;))
 
Like someone else said - I'm not a big fan of solvents and ammo either ...so I wouldn't hose them down with anything ...

I would probably get a cheap bathtowel - lay them out flat - and roll them back and forth on the towel ( under another towel ). If that doesn't solve it - I would put it in the vibrating tumbler ( but if you had a tumbler, my hunch is you would be reloading ammo / instead of buying it ...) since my 9mm reloads are around $ 6 for a box of 50 .....vs the $8 you paid ...

Maybe ask a buddy if you can borrow his tumbler ( buy him a new bag of cleaning media as a thank you ) ....crushed walnut shells ....available at pet stores, gunshows, etc ....

It wouldn't surprise me if some of that ammo is corrosive ...so clean that gun really well every time you shoot it.

If you get any misfires or worse yet, any squib rounds ...(test randomly, about 50 rounds carefully - and test the nastiest looking ones, even after you've cleaned them for function and accuracy .. ) ... and I hate to say it out loud / but dispose of it .....if you get any squib rounds ...because shooting it in a match would be dangerous where you might not realize you had a squib round ...in the midst of a course of fire.
 
so like, could i get a bucket with a tight fitting lid, pour some sort of corncob or walnut or even, like...wood chips for pet bedding, put some of the ammo in, and then roll it along the side of the bucket? would that clean it?
 
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