Posted on 02/01/2013 11:14:36 AM PST by Iron Munro
A friend is looking into bidding on 16,000# of 5.56 brass, so I don’t think they’re currently destroying it.
The 1968 GCA required that the seller record the name, address, and ID (license, etc) before anyone could buy any kind of ammo that could be used in a handgun — which after the Thompson Contender, meant any kind of ammunition of any kind. It was repealed in about 1986 when it was found that no one had ever used that information to solve any case, ever.
A few years later (late 1980’s) I tried to buy some ammo from somewhere and was told that I had to fill in the form that was kept on the counter where anyone could see it. I refused and told them that was no longer law. About a week later the place removed their form from the counter.
“I have heard that smokeless powder tends to “decompose” slowly during long term storage. Is there any truth to that? “
Nope. You can buy WWII surplus ammo still and it shoots just fine. Powder will outlive you and your grandchildren.
Since the libs have stopped undesirables from obtaining firearms with thousands of laws, why is another law regarding ammunition necessary for firearms they don’t have?
I saw a blurb that stated the amount of ammo criminally misused in any given year would fit in a small closet. It’s a tiny, insignificant fraction of the billions of rounds expended annually in the US.
IMHO - It's not about crime. It is all about control and forced regimentation of the segment of the population that hasn't voluntarily walked away from freedom and moved onto one of the the government plantations. The claim of fighting crime is just a convenient cover.
Notice that the real advocates of gun control ignore the data that shows that gun control in laces like Chicago, New York and Washington doesn't work. Or that the old assault weapon ban did nothing to reduce crime.
They cannot win an argument against facts so they appeal to emotion, feelings and hate.
Gee, I’d hate to think making unregistered ammo could become a lucrative new hobby business.
True.
But with the politicians and their selected toadies in "law enforcement" working at warp speed to turn currently law-abiding citizens into criminals, I think about 99% of the ammunition now in hand is apt to stay in ready storage.
After this is all sorted out, if these miserable commies manage to make a huge new "criminal" class, then that "criminal" class will figure out just how to use it up. It is getting less and less likely much of it will go for "target practice", at least in the traditional sense. Those days are about over.
These fascist pricks are sowing the wind. If they are not very careful, they will surely reap the whirlwind - and justly so.
The background check to purchase a firearm was about 30 min 18 mos ago. When I made a purchase just before Christmas it was 3 weeks. I’m not ready to wait 3 weeks to buy a lousy box of ammo or pay double the cost because now the stores have to hire someone to process all the background checks. Enough is enough!
The background check to purchase a firearm was about 30 min 18 mos ago. When I made a purchase just before Christmas it was 3 weeks. I’m not ready to wait 3 weeks to buy a lousy box of ammo or pay double the cost because now the stores have to hire someone to process all the background checks. Enough is enough!
What makes these fat 70 IQ government slobs think they can protect their ammo stash?
When TSHF, they’ll be the ones getting disarmed.
Here’s a good article on old powder: http://www.ronspomeroutdoors.com/blog/danger-old-gunpowder-can-kill-you/
I watch for a strong smell and rust on the can or on the powder. I had a cardboard can get the bad smell once, it was decades old. And a 3 lb can of pistol powder got the bottom wet during a move once. The can had cardboard sides and managed to wet some of the powder so it caked. Both of those got tossed. Besides that, I have many 30 year old cans working fine.
My old gunsmith buddy used to drive to the Hodgdon plant in the 60s and fill paper grocery bags with their powders, which were H4831 and H4350. He would load the trunk with the folded and stapled bags and drive back home, then divide them amongst his shooting friends. That was WWII surplus powder.
...and there isn’t any.....
That's no joke. Popped into my local Gander Mountain again today and not a single round of handgun ammo available. Not one. Salesman told me that they have people camping out on Wednesday night waiting for the weekly Thursday gun delivery to arrive and anything resembling a so-called assault weapon gets sold as soon as they unload the truck. It's actually worse than it was a few weeks ago.
I typically scoff at conspiracy theories but I can't help but start to wonder if the government isn't buying everything up?
So yes, power can go bad but is is rare. In the 30 years I have been reloading those are the only instances I have seen smokeless powder go bad.
I am currently loading 44 special and 38 special with Alcan AL-5 and AL-8. These powders ended production around 1973 so I’m reloading with 40 year old powder and it works fine. i’m also using Hercules (now Alliant) Reloader 21 which is also about 40 years old. You are right about storing powders, keep then cool and dry.
You can use straight wheel weight but I use lyman #2 formula: 9 lbs. WW & 1lbs. 50/50 bar solder. Alox to lube and size bullets .002 over groove diameter
I did some background research on the manufacture of smokeless powder and other nitrated compounds (explosives, not propellants). The nitrification process is the same for all of them. Cellulose is treated with nitric acid which produces nitrocellulose and water as a byproduct. This produces a poor grade of end product and the yield is low because the presence of water stops the reaction. To address these problems a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids are used instead of just nitric acid. The Sulfuric acid does not enter into the reaction as such but it is "hydrophylic" (water loving) and it removes the water byproduct of the nitrification reaction as fast as it forms, allowing the main reaction to go to completion.
At this point the acid soaked nitrocellulose is "washed" with cold running water to remove ALL traces of acid from the finished product. ANY REMAINING ACID WILL CAUSE THE PRODUCT TO BE UNSTABLE. This is true of a low explosive like nitrocellulose and also high explosives like nitroglycerin. It is possible to use this basic process to produce explosive compounds from glycerin, propyl-glycol, ethyl-glycol, ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, and mannitol (virtually any alcohol).
When working with the more complex nitrated compounds the "washing" process becomes more important as the complex molecules tend to decompose more rapidly. It is possible that spontaneous explosions may occur as rapid decomposition becomes a chain reaction. I found no references to this occurring with any nitrocellulose based powder. However, nitrocellulose does mix readily with any of the above mentioned alcohol based explosives and may be used to produce a "double based" powder. I believe that nitroglycerin is used in such powders and it does display such stability issues. I would recommend that users of double base powders refrain from storing large quantities of such for long periods of time. You are putting your faith in the manufacturer's quality control to a rather large degree.
Regards,
GtG
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