Question about bullets

S

sunnycoast

Inactive
So, I bought a S&M M&P 15 Sport II from the dealer. (had another thread about it and a lot chiming in...good info)

I also bought a 120 bullet can. I noticed the bullets are not linearly lined but literally just dumped into the can. Few questions:

- Is it safe to carry the bullet can in the trunk or is loading into a magazine in a case more safe? I'm thinking the latter but just wanted to confirm.

- Is it just me or isn't dumping bunch of bullets in a can where they go everywhere not safe? I feel like the primer can be trigger accidentally if the bullet is just flying around in a container.

Thx.
 
Never heard of ammo going off just bouncing around in a can.

22lr rounds are so dull that I doubt one could hit another with enough energy to set another off. It is often sold loose in big boxes.

From a safety standpoint I would not store a big can of ammo in a car. If God forbid you got in a wreck and the vehicle burned you could put firefighters and the public at risk.
 
The 350-round boxes of .22LR from various manufacturers are loose in the box. Winchester USA 100-round value packs of 9mm are loose in the box.

I don't see any problem.
 
This is a 223 rifle, not 22 LR. Because the priming compound is in the rim I've actually seen 22 rimfire discharge when thrown on the ground with enough force. You have to get quite lucky, or unlucky depending on your point of view for it to land just right.

It takes quite a bit of force to detonate a primer. I seriously doubt loose 223 ammo being able to generate enough force inside an ammo can to discharge.
 
Imagine my apprehension when I was shooting my Winchester 30.30 with a loaded magazine. Since the bullets are pointed and they are under spring tension, tips against primers.
 
Well, the bulk can had to be shipped from wherever it was packed to wherever you bought it. The manufacturer and the DoT didn't worry about it and I wouldn't, either.
 
Traveling with ammo ?
It can be very hot in the truck of a car in the sun.That's bad for the powder.
Long term in a car can change the powder from vibration removing coatings from the powder which can change pressure .Putting powder in a styrofoam box helps keep things cool .
 
Are you talking about leaving them in the trunk as a permanent storage solution or just to take home or back/forth to the range?

The short version is... perfectly safe to drive around with loose bullets in a box in your trunk.

The long version is... if you leave them in there for a decade and it's 120* out, and the stars align perfectly like in an Illuminati movie, and you are just naturally unlucky, one might go off, but probably not.

Although I have read internet discussions about this happening, I've never actually seen credible evidence that "jostling" a modern centerfire round has set one off.
 
You don't say who the manufacturer is. In reality, the amount of abuse you will give those rounds in your truck will not be near as what they experienced in the trip from the manufacturer to you. If you ordered them online and they came UPS/Fed-Ex/USPS they were exposed to much more abuse than you could ever give them already. The mere fact the manufacturer considered it a safe way to package and transport the ammo, tells me you have nuttin' to worry about.
 
Most credible stories I've read about ammunition going off in the box involved either the box being dropped or thrown against a hard surface, or a foreign object being dropped or thrown into the box with considerable force. Mere jostling won't do it. IMHO the takeaway is don't do anything like storing your ammo on a narrow shelf 6' above a concrete floor, or storing it below a pegboard with hammers hung on it. :eek: There's very little risk during normal handling if reasonable care is taken.

Additionally, most centerfire ammo that is packed loose is military spec, and those specs generally call for hard primers to avert precisely this sort of incident; after all, if it's intended to go into a war zone, it can't be fragile. ;)
mete said:
It can be very hot in the truck of a car in the sun.That's bad for the powder.
Long term in a car can change the powder from vibration removing coatings from the powder which can change pressure .Putting powder in a styrofoam box helps keep things cool .
Click to expand...
I understand these concerns but IMHO they're only valid if you store ammo in a vehicle for a significant period of time, versus merely putting it there a few hours prior to a range trip. Even if the car is parked in Death Valley or the Negev Desert for several days with the windows closed, modern powders aren't going to break down that fast. If you store the ammo at home in a climate controlled area and only put it in the car before you go shoot, IMHO you have nothing to worry about. The takeaway here is don't STORE ammo in your vehicle.

One footnote: IF you have a "car gun" or "truck gun" that is kept loaded (a practice I personally disapprove of for other reasons, but I digress), IMHO the ammo should be changed out several times a year regardless of climate.
 
The bullets I use are 5.56, seems the most common.

My question is regarding permanent storage. I'll probably carry the rifle around in my trunk and the only bullets I suppose should be the ones in magazines. leaving the can in there sounds like a bad idea.
 
22LR ammo will absorb oil and etc being unable to shoot if left in gun in car for long period of of time.
 
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Old Bill Dibble said:
From a safety standpoint I would not store a big can of ammo in a car. If God forbid you got in a wreck and the vehicle burned you could put firefighters and the public at risk.
Click to expand...

This is a myth and has been disproved many times.

Here is a video done by SAAMI on what ammo does and doesn't do when fired without a chamber, smashed with a doser, dropped from extreme heights, shot with high velocities rounds and burned.

Burning ammunition posed no threat to firefighters and could not even penetrate sheetrock at 5 feet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SlOXowwC4c





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A 223/556 simply doesnt have enough mass to indent the primer of another case even if aligned perfectly and dropped for a substantial height. Dont sweat it.
 
Probably no different than carrying loaded rounds loose in a bag to the range.
Been doing that for eons, without harm.
Don't sweat it.
 
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