I did this once. Found a 9mm while excavating, coworker insisted it wouldn't work. Since were in the middle of nowhere and the only ones on the site I went to the truck, got my VP9, and fired it.
Late as hell to this but they're a mixed bag
some of them work very well, one I had kept firing that was missing two guide fins still hit within a 1ft group consistently at 25yds which is way better than expected.
What gets tricky is remembering that your fresh arrows will fly much more consistently so be careful not to aim so high with those or they will become the replacements for the ground ones. What gets taken must be put back, so to speak.
I do an inspection closely with a magnifying glass to look for cracks, arrows are expensive so I keep any shafts that look good; when I shoot I bring extra practice heads, screw ins, glue, and sometimes fins. I don't bother with knocks because usually I can just take one off a broken arrow someone left.
That's smart - anything that a compression load of pistol powder won't blow up is probably fine. so shotshells are always fine and standard pressure handgun cartridges are fine - but other than that it's got to have either a steel case or a crimped and sealed primer to indicate it's from a factory to be worth a pickup
11 months ago
Anonymous
meant for
>How do you tell if it's a hand load?
Brass condition typically.
It will only be brass or nickel plated and have wear marks from dies on the shoulders and neck, or a thin line near the case head webbing if it's been loaded too hot and show signs of case head separation, or if the primer has been seated too far into the pocket or not far enough. I will splash some water to wash the dust off and take a good look at the clean brass and that will typically tell you if it's been handloaded.
If it's a common military cartridge like 223 or 308, few reloaders are going to polish the brass and leave it laying around, considering that kind of ammo is made in relatively larger batches depending on the person. it's cheaper to reload 100 rounds of 223 than it is to reload 100 rounds of 284 Winchester.
11 months ago
Anonymous
>anything that a compression load of pistol powder won't blow up is probably fine
A pistol cartridge compressed with a fast powder will blow up anything, that's basically a tiny pipe bomb. The only exception for compressed pistol is BP or similarly slow powders which literally nobody uses anymore and that only applies to straight walled cartridges like 44mag or 357mag.
>shotshells are always fine and standard pressure handgun cartridges are fine
Well not necessarily, shotgun power is also very fast burning and you can easily over charge shotgun and pistol cartridges, and worse if there's too much powder for the shotgun primer to slag, you'll get a secondary detonation or cavitation and still blow your face off. Shotgun primers are weak because they don't need to pierce a large column but it's dangerous if you double charge on anything.
As a general rule, if you pick up ammo just consider it free reloading supplies and dump the powder. unless you can say with certainty it's factory ammo.
man, dinged rims don't make any difference - I feed beat up cases through my bolt gun and they make less difference than the type of primer in the hand load.
If it's clearly a factory load then yep. I used to go to the range after the local law enforcement guys qualified. Sometimes hundreds of rounds of .223 and .40S&W as well as some Federal law enforcement copper plated buffered buck shot. They got their own range again so sadly those days are over.
>Would you pick it up and put it through one of your guns?
yea. >How do you decide if you'll pick up a ground bullet?
If I can get to it, i'll pick it up.
Now, once you pick it up...
check if factory or reload
check the primer to see if it's been fired
check for dents in the side and shoulder of the case
check if the bullet has been pushed into the case too far
(Good rule of thumb is to give it a lil shake, you should hear some powder dancing around, although some reloads are intentionally compressed.)
If there is no significant dents (loss of capacity) or if the bullet doesn't look like it's been pushed into the case that could result in a pressure spike, and if the primer doesn't look too depressed, wipe it off and load it. If you're really concerned, take some pliers and gently twist the bullet in the neck and pull it out only a discernable amount just to make sure it won't jam into the lands or surprise you with a compressed load.
However, there is an inherent risk of reloaded ammo on the ground that it's got shotgun or pistol powder in a rifle cartridge and you literally have no way of knowing if it's safe or not. Generally, if it looks factory, ill shoot it. If it looks reloaded, I don't, i take it home to dump the powder, and charge it with a powder I know is safe to use.
I'm with you about anything that I am sure is factory loaded? I am generally comfortable if I see it's a steel case because those are hard to reload, or if I recognize the headstamp on the case matches the bullet maker - like a gold dot projectile in a speer nickel case
Brass condition typically.
It will only be brass or nickel plated and have wear marks from dies on the shoulders and neck, or a thin line near the case head webbing if it's been loaded too hot and show signs of case head separation, or if the primer has been seated too far into the pocket or not far enough. I will splash some water to wash the dust off and take a good look at the clean brass and that will typically tell you if it's been handloaded.
If it's a common military cartridge like 223 or 308, few reloaders are going to polish the brass and leave it laying around, considering that kind of ammo is made in relatively larger batches depending on the person. it's cheaper to reload 100 rounds of 223 than it is to reload 100 rounds of 284 Winchester.
>read thread, get idea >pick some 9x19 cases out of scrap bin that had been used for 9 major >normally scrap them because they're no longer safe to load, not this time though >take mapp torch to brass, fully anneal the entire case just to make damned sure they're unsafe >wet tumble in stainless steel media to restore factory new appearance >fill cases with as much hodgdon clays as they'll hold >crunch 147 grain bullets into them >crimp hard, just shy of accordioned case >give final polish, apply dry lube to maximize bolt thrust upon firing >drop on ground at local gravel pit >monitor /k/ and local facebook group for the inevitable result
If I didn't personally remove it from factory packaging or I didn't personally load it, I don't personally shoot it. But you do you, anon. It will probably be fine. Knowledgeable sociopaths do not exist, and if they did, they wouldn't frequent your shooting spot.
Me? I treat ground ammo the same way that I treat floor pills. If I wasn't the one that dropped it, I ain't using it.
Just use actual explosives and make sure your fingerprints aren't on it. If the range boomer is bad enough with stealing brass sometimes I think about doing exactly what.
In related news, I once watched the local brass Black person pick up an unfired dirt round and load it into his AR. Fricked up a lot of things when it turned out that it was someone's custom wildcat cartridge that still said 5.56 on the rim. Wasn't as catastrophic as shooting .300 blackout in a 5.56 rifle but the bolt never locked up ever again so there was definitely some internal damage.
Shit was funny.
Way back in the day I was taken on a field trip with the other kids to the place where they filmed the crashed helicopter scene in Courage Under Fire and took one of the bullets (when they told us not to)
>Sheriff’s Office range day >agency training coordinator spots 9mm round with projectile seated halfway back into the case on the ground >”let’s see if this blows up” >loads it into spare Glock, covers his face with his hand, shoots it into the berm
Send it
Glocks are pretty tough. You can shoot 9mm major with a recoil spring swap. I'd recommend a new barrel, too, but I am sure there are frickfaces out there shooting major with a stock barrel.
>plinking with friend >run out of 22 >wall around the plinking spot picking every 22 we find for like an hour >found like 20, half of them probably dropped by us >shoot them, everything went fine
Never heard of anyone who shoots ammo they find in random locations; however, i know a few ros who regularly shoot "Range candy" (i.e., rounds left by comp shooters - typically while showing clear after a stage). Conventional wisdom is to avoid shooting such ammo due to the prevalence of reloading/9mm major as firing under/overpressured ammo can definitely cause issues. Idk, I'm not particularly interested in doing - mainly because I don't like shooting a mix of different gr bullets/different pressures though the same mag (I like consistency in recoil). I definitely wouldn't shoot a round I just found randomly at a public range - (1) it may have been discarded for a reason; (2) I'm hesitant to trust reloads/reman ammo. Ultimately I don't really think it matters, but be careful about squibs.
whenever i frick up my reloads i leave the ammo on the shooting table, as a sort of "choose your own adventure" for the next person.
i haven't heard of anyone blowing up their guns, so the bullets must've been fine, that or they took it and blew up somewhere else at a later time.
i will shoot ground ammo but if i find it in a spot where it looks like nobody has been there for some time and the ammo looks new i pass it up because it might be a trap
Some long distance shooters will manually discharge each shell by hand then set them upright on the bench. Every single shot is calculated and recorded, all bullets accounted for, nothing left to waste. It satisfies my German mind. Firearms lend themselves to order and efficiency.
But for just normal training with pistols and rifles, picking up shells is enough to hide your traces and not pollute the forest. As if you were never there to begin with, this is also useful and efficient.
Usually no. But I think I did do that with 7.62x39 once.
>replace the powder with comp B
Nothing personal poorgay
I did this once. Found a 9mm while excavating, coworker insisted it wouldn't work. Since were in the middle of nowhere and the only ones on the site I went to the truck, got my VP9, and fired it.
I pick up and fire every one I come across if I have something that chambers it.
Even ones that already have primer strikes.
It's a compulsion.
I pick up arrows I find in the ground at the outdoor range and shoot them.
do they usually work or do they fly wonky?
Late as hell to this but they're a mixed bag
some of them work very well, one I had kept firing that was missing two guide fins still hit within a 1ft group consistently at 25yds which is way better than expected.
What gets tricky is remembering that your fresh arrows will fly much more consistently so be careful not to aim so high with those or they will become the replacements for the ground ones. What gets taken must be put back, so to speak.
interesting - do you keep the ones that fly well?
I do an inspection closely with a magnifying glass to look for cracks, arrows are expensive so I keep any shafts that look good; when I shoot I bring extra practice heads, screw ins, glue, and sometimes fins. I don't bother with knocks because usually I can just take one off a broken arrow someone left.
That's smart - anything that a compression load of pistol powder won't blow up is probably fine. so shotshells are always fine and standard pressure handgun cartridges are fine - but other than that it's got to have either a steel case or a crimped and sealed primer to indicate it's from a factory to be worth a pickup
meant for
>anything that a compression load of pistol powder won't blow up is probably fine
A pistol cartridge compressed with a fast powder will blow up anything, that's basically a tiny pipe bomb. The only exception for compressed pistol is BP or similarly slow powders which literally nobody uses anymore and that only applies to straight walled cartridges like 44mag or 357mag.
>shotshells are always fine and standard pressure handgun cartridges are fine
Well not necessarily, shotgun power is also very fast burning and you can easily over charge shotgun and pistol cartridges, and worse if there's too much powder for the shotgun primer to slag, you'll get a secondary detonation or cavitation and still blow your face off. Shotgun primers are weak because they don't need to pierce a large column but it's dangerous if you double charge on anything.
As a general rule, if you pick up ammo just consider it free reloading supplies and dump the powder. unless you can say with certainty it's factory ammo.
Carefull, you might get an out of battery doing that
I only pick bullets I've grown myself
I don't trust wild bullet plants
No because the floor is lava
No, I threw them there because I worked the bolt like a sissy and damaged the case.
man, dinged rims don't make any difference - I feed beat up cases through my bolt gun and they make less difference than the type of primer in the hand load.
Yes, every, single, time... no it's never caused issue
what kinds of ground bullets have you used?
If it's clearly a factory load then yep. I used to go to the range after the local law enforcement guys qualified. Sometimes hundreds of rounds of .223 and .40S&W as well as some Federal law enforcement copper plated buffered buck shot. They got their own range again so sadly those days are over.
>Would you pick it up and put it through one of your guns?
yea.
>How do you decide if you'll pick up a ground bullet?
If I can get to it, i'll pick it up.
Now, once you pick it up...
check if factory or reload
check the primer to see if it's been fired
check for dents in the side and shoulder of the case
check if the bullet has been pushed into the case too far
(Good rule of thumb is to give it a lil shake, you should hear some powder dancing around, although some reloads are intentionally compressed.)
If there is no significant dents (loss of capacity) or if the bullet doesn't look like it's been pushed into the case that could result in a pressure spike, and if the primer doesn't look too depressed, wipe it off and load it. If you're really concerned, take some pliers and gently twist the bullet in the neck and pull it out only a discernable amount just to make sure it won't jam into the lands or surprise you with a compressed load.
However, there is an inherent risk of reloaded ammo on the ground that it's got shotgun or pistol powder in a rifle cartridge and you literally have no way of knowing if it's safe or not. Generally, if it looks factory, ill shoot it. If it looks reloaded, I don't, i take it home to dump the powder, and charge it with a powder I know is safe to use.
Thanks for attending my tedtalk.
How do you tell if it's a hand load?
I'm with you about anything that I am sure is factory loaded? I am generally comfortable if I see it's a steel case because those are hard to reload, or if I recognize the headstamp on the case matches the bullet maker - like a gold dot projectile in a speer nickel case
>How do you tell if it's a hand load?
Brass condition typically.
It will only be brass or nickel plated and have wear marks from dies on the shoulders and neck, or a thin line near the case head webbing if it's been loaded too hot and show signs of case head separation, or if the primer has been seated too far into the pocket or not far enough. I will splash some water to wash the dust off and take a good look at the clean brass and that will typically tell you if it's been handloaded.
If it's a common military cartridge like 223 or 308, few reloaders are going to polish the brass and leave it laying around, considering that kind of ammo is made in relatively larger batches depending on the person. it's cheaper to reload 100 rounds of 223 than it is to reload 100 rounds of 284 Winchester.
I usually just cram those
>read thread, get idea
>pick some 9x19 cases out of scrap bin that had been used for 9 major
>normally scrap them because they're no longer safe to load, not this time though
>take mapp torch to brass, fully anneal the entire case just to make damned sure they're unsafe
>wet tumble in stainless steel media to restore factory new appearance
>fill cases with as much hodgdon clays as they'll hold
>crunch 147 grain bullets into them
>crimp hard, just shy of accordioned case
>give final polish, apply dry lube to maximize bolt thrust upon firing
>drop on ground at local gravel pit
>monitor /k/ and local facebook group for the inevitable result
If I didn't personally remove it from factory packaging or I didn't personally load it, I don't personally shoot it. But you do you, anon. It will probably be fine. Knowledgeable sociopaths do not exist, and if they did, they wouldn't frequent your shooting spot.
Me? I treat ground ammo the same way that I treat floor pills. If I wasn't the one that dropped it, I ain't using it.
Just use actual explosives and make sure your fingerprints aren't on it. If the range boomer is bad enough with stealing brass sometimes I think about doing exactly what.
In related news, I once watched the local brass Black person pick up an unfired dirt round and load it into his AR. Fricked up a lot of things when it turned out that it was someone's custom wildcat cartridge that still said 5.56 on the rim. Wasn't as catastrophic as shooting .300 blackout in a 5.56 rifle but the bolt never locked up ever again so there was definitely some internal damage.
Shit was funny.
I always use ground bulets, sometimes I even put them into my carry mags
All the ammo I own was other people's ammo
Yeah, that's how sale of goods and services works anon
I pick them up they are cool and nifty i dont have a gun that can shoot these though
Way back in the day I was taken on a field trip with the other kids to the place where they filmed the crashed helicopter scene in Courage Under Fire and took one of the bullets (when they told us not to)
No, they lay there because I ejected them while clearing a cat 1-3 jam.
The bullet was probably the reason of the jam.
I have enough exposable income.
>Sheriff’s Office range day
>agency training coordinator spots 9mm round with projectile seated halfway back into the case on the ground
>”let’s see if this blows up”
>loads it into spare Glock, covers his face with his hand, shoots it into the berm
Send it
Glocks are pretty tough. You can shoot 9mm major with a recoil spring swap. I'd recommend a new barrel, too, but I am sure there are frickfaces out there shooting major with a stock barrel.
I pick up rounds off the ground while qualifying so I have extra shots. Some dumbass always seems to drop a few
>plinking with friend
>run out of 22
>wall around the plinking spot picking every 22 we find for like an hour
>found like 20, half of them probably dropped by us
>shoot them, everything went fine
Never heard of anyone who shoots ammo they find in random locations; however, i know a few ros who regularly shoot "Range candy" (i.e., rounds left by comp shooters - typically while showing clear after a stage). Conventional wisdom is to avoid shooting such ammo due to the prevalence of reloading/9mm major as firing under/overpressured ammo can definitely cause issues. Idk, I'm not particularly interested in doing - mainly because I don't like shooting a mix of different gr bullets/different pressures though the same mag (I like consistency in recoil). I definitely wouldn't shoot a round I just found randomly at a public range - (1) it may have been discarded for a reason; (2) I'm hesitant to trust reloads/reman ammo. Ultimately I don't really think it matters, but be careful about squibs.
whenever i frick up my reloads i leave the ammo on the shooting table, as a sort of "choose your own adventure" for the next person.
i haven't heard of anyone blowing up their guns, so the bullets must've been fine, that or they took it and blew up somewhere else at a later time.
i will shoot ground ammo but if i find it in a spot where it looks like nobody has been there for some time and the ammo looks new i pass it up because it might be a trap
I litter the ground with Turkish 8mm Mauser all the time.
5 second rule applies to ammo. See picrel
Some long distance shooters will manually discharge each shell by hand then set them upright on the bench. Every single shot is calculated and recorded, all bullets accounted for, nothing left to waste. It satisfies my German mind. Firearms lend themselves to order and efficiency.
But for just normal training with pistols and rifles, picking up shells is enough to hide your traces and not pollute the forest. As if you were never there to begin with, this is also useful and efficient.