How to disassemble a bullet

[Bruce Wayne]

My old man & I went thru my Grandpa's old toolboxes this afternoon & we found some old (pre 71) bullets. I want to save them but make them inert. How do I remove the powder & primer short of setting it off? I know they make a special hammer like tool but if I can do it without have to purchase a tool that I'm only going to use this one time that'd be great.

Thanx!
Charlie

 

[Scottwv]

You can grab the bullet itself with a pair of pliers and pull it out (you'll have to "wiggle" it back and forth) or use a vise.

 

[frostamp]

kinetic bullet puller. works great.

Berry's Kinetic Bullet Puller (17999): Reloading: Reloading Machine Accessories at Dillon Precision

 

[Hoka Hey]

Dump powder, fill with water to soak primer powder, then dig out primer powder with a wire, paper clip.

Mark

 

[Sdm84]

Don't try to take out the primer. Not worth it. Once you get the powder out and the bullet off it is little more than a noisemaker anyway. Just don't mess with it.

Having said that- why pull the bullet anyway? The rounds won't go off unless the primer is hit very specifically (like a firing pin) and contrary to popular movie fiction even if the round somehow detonated it would do little more than pop out the bullet (we are talking low probability event here- on the order of winning the lottery) the barrel of the gun/rifle traps the gases produced by the powder and forces the projectile down the rifled barrel imparting a spin- once the projectile is out of the barrel and spinning is when it becomes dangerous having the energy of the explosion in the chamber behind it.

Sorry for the long response and if you know all this already.

 

[simon1]

Don't try to take out the primer. Not worth it. Once you get the powder out and the bullet off it is little more than a noisemaker anyway. Just don't mess with it.

Having said that- why pull the bullet anyway? The rounds won't go off unless the primer is hit very specifically (like a firing pin) and contrary to popular movie fiction even if the round somehow detonated it would do little more than pop out the bullet (we are talking low probability event here- on the order of winning the lottery) the barrel of the gun/rifle traps the gases produced by the powder and forces the projectile down the rifled barrel imparting a spin- once the projectile is out of the barrel and spinning is when it becomes dangerous having the energy of the explosion in the chamber behind it.

Sorry for the long response and if you know all this already.

Good explanation of the movie thing of throwing live rounds in a fire and bullets going everywhere.

Well done.

I haven't pulled a bullet with a pair of pliers in decades...since I pulled a few .22 bullets.

I'd use a bullet puller...just don't try to take it apart with one hard whack...use a few lighter whacks. Twenty five bucks is a lot cheaper than a trip to the ER in case something happens. The powder in those pre-70s rounds should be just fine...and go off well. What caliber are the rounds and how many do you have?

Bullet pullers allows the quick removal of bullets from loaded ammunition to salvage components - RCBS

And like Sdm84 said...why mess with it? I have some old .38 S&W rounds that have been sitting in my ammo chest that are probably from the '30s or '40s and they haven't went off by themselves...none of my ammo has...ever.

Just leave 'em alone...your Grandpa's have done just fine for over 40 years. It would be more dangerous to mess with them than just leaving them alone.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I more want to save them since I never knew my Dad's side of the family.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

What caliber are the rounds and how many do you have?

I have less than 2 dozen & some are 308. I forgot what the others are.

 

[OkieStubble]

Wonder how long before a primer is inert? It's been 15-20 years, but an old man gave me a box of original S&W .38's and they were probably 80 years old then. I pretty sure he was giving them to me in order to preserve and appreciate, but in my rush from having a bad case of the 'foolishness of youth', I took them out and shot every round. Then thru that beautiful blue & white box in the trash.

 

[simon1]

Wonder how long before a primer is inert? It's been 15-20 years, but an old man gave me a box of original S&W .38's and they were probably 80 years old then. I pretty sure he was giving them to me in order to preserve and appreciate, but in my rush from having a bad case of the 'foolishness of youth', I took them out and shot every round. Then thru that beautiful blue & white box in the trash.

Heh, heh...see my "Old Ammo" post ah is afixin' to put up.

I was wrong on the .38 S&W...It's .32.

Foolishness of youth.

 

[Sdm84]

Yep. Rounds with non-corrosive primers will probably outlast us all. Think about all of that corrosive berdan primed military surplus ammo is still being used today (think mosin nagant) I doubt it will go bad during our lifetimes!

I think I remember somewhere you can soak the rounds in wd40 or penetrating oil and they will go inert- but something else I remember says that when they dry out they will detonate again.

I think it is really cool that you found your Grandpa's stuff!

 

[sfeile]

I would say leave them as is and put them in a nice wall hanging display case and show them off. As stated, unless the primer is hit in a very specific manner, they pose no danger at all.

 

[tetraodon]

it would take quite a bit to set them off outside a gun unintentionally, maybe coat them in clear coat to preserve them.

 

[Mhinagoya]

If you absolutely must pull the bullets, push them in to the case a little before trying. A lot of commercially loaded ammunition uses asphaltum sealer (or something similar) to seal the bullet in to the case. By pushing the bullet in to the case, just a little, you break that sealer and the bullet will be MUCH easier to remove.
Voice of experience. Bill.

 

[Ad Astra]

Good answers.

1971 is not old; I have 8mm from the 30's I'll shoot. I use 1950s ammo all the time.

Kinetic bullet puller or just leave alone and display- pliers will make a pulled lead bullet pretty ugly.

WD-40 sprayed upon the primer will kill it.

If you don't know a reloader, and are trying to make a bullet keychain or something, best to buy one.

AA

 

[Domminigan]

I agree with the bullet puller. I couldn't believe how quickly it worked.
Since you only have a few rounds to do this with, I'd get a cheap one.
Amazon or eBay will have inexpensive ones that will work for a few bullets.
I bought this one a couple years ago to try out as as I'd never used one before, and it seems to work well enough.
Amazon.com : Quick-n-EZ Impact Bullet Puller : Sports & Outdoors

 

[TobyC]

OK, I see a bunch of inaccurate stuff here!!! There have been tests to find a way to kill a primer using water, WD40, kerosene, motor oil, etc., none have been 100% effective. Do not mess with primers!!! They have more power than you think! Gallery loads don't use powder, just the primer, and they can kill! Low velocity .22s don't use powder, just the primer! You can't "dig out primer powder with a wire, paper clip", the priming compound is a disk that is sandwiched between the cup and the anvil, the only thing you can poke through the flash hole is the anvil, which is brass. Most cartridges made outside the US are Berdan primed, and will have two or three small flash holes, and you can't dig those out either.

I have a .50 BMG that was found buried in the ground, had been there for years, when I took it apart the powder was like mud from being wet for so long, the brass case was almost corroded all the way through from the inside. I emptied it and then cooked the primer off, (no, I won't tell you how, it's dangerous!) it still had plenty of power even after being soaked for years!

On the other hand, a live round is perfectly safe if you want to keep some, I carried a live 30-30 in my pocket for years, it ended up being dented and caved in from my keys and pocket knife, but there was no danger of setting it off. I have live rounds all over the place, I doubt any are newer than '71, they go back at least the '30's. I had some balloon head .38's that were old enough that they were loaded with black powder. There's a mixed box of loose ammo less than three feet from where I'm sitting right now, some under my bed, in the closet, outside in the shed, in my desk, all over, they are safe.

If you want to keep them just keep them, you'll be OK.

 

[August West]

I would lay the rounds on your couch, feed them Cheetohs®, Pepsi Cola, and ice cream, while binge watching Breaking Bad on Netflix.







That will make them inert.

 

[Ad Astra]

I'm listening; primers are indeed very very dangerous when mishandled - and they are - by the curious.

As a reloader, a dropped live primer is a nightmare! Must-find-it.

I have used WD-40, stuck the cartridge in a firearm, and heard a click. YMMV.


AA

 

[Bruce Wayne]

OK, I see a bunch of inaccurate stuff here!!! There have been tests to find a way to kill a primer using water, WD40, kerosene, motor oil, etc., none have been 100% effective. Do not mess with primers!!! They have more power than you think! Gallery loads don't use powder, just the primer, and they can kill! Low velocity .22s don't use powder, just the primer! You can't "dig out primer powder with a wire, paper clip", the priming compound is a disk that is sandwiched between the cup and the anvil, the only thing you can poke through the flash hole is the anvil, which is brass. Most cartridges made outside the US are Berdan primed, and will have two or three small flash holes, and you can't dig those out either.

I have a .50 BMG that was found buried in the ground, had been there for years, when I took it apart the powder was like mud from being wet for so long, the brass case was almost corroded all the way through from the inside. I emptied it and then cooked the primer off, (no, I won't tell you how, it's dangerous!) it still had plenty of power even after being soaked for years!

On the other hand, a live round is perfectly safe if you want to keep some, I carried a live 30-30 in my pocket for years, it ended up being dented and caved in from my keys and pocket knife, but there was no danger of setting it off. I have live rounds all over the place, I doubt any are newer than '71, they go back at least the '30's. I had some balloon head .38's that were old enough that they were loaded with black powder. There's a mixed box of loose ammo less than three feet from where I'm sitting right now, some under my bed, in the closet, outside in the shed, in my desk, all over, they are safe.

If you want to keep them just keep them, you'll be OK.

Thank you but I am trying to make them inert.