In some jurisdictions, the fire department will dispose of ammunition, other areas the police department. You’ll get more questions if you try the police department.

What is that in the pic, 21/22 rounds? Wrap them in newspaper, put the newspaper in one of those plastic bags the store puts your groceries in, wad it up tightly, put it in the center of your outgoing trash bag, and forget about it.

Don't waste the time of the fire department, don't attract the attention of the police as to why you want to get rid of ammunition. Just throw it away.

quote:

Originally posted by dom68:
Serious question: how does one dispose of live ammo? Obviously, I can't just dump it in the garbage, so where?

Just throw away in the garbage, I have done this a number of times with reloads I have received in gun deals, and also boxes of bunk .22LR crap that gave me headaches. Open the kitchen trash, toss.

quote:

Originally posted by MagnumU:
In some jurisdictions, the fire department will dispose of ammunition, other areas the police department.

How do those departments dispose of unwanted ammunition?

I was once asked by a neighboring agency what to do with all their no-longer-needed evidence rounds and I said, “Well, you could burn it,” but I’m pretty certain they didn’t take that advice.

Forfeited ammunition goes to the state police here by revised statute.

They sell it in lots to FFLs at auction.

As a FF we are taught that burning ammunition poses no serious risks to a FF in turnout gear.
I'm not sure about this link and ads but it should get you to the SAMMI testing of large amounts of ammo burning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SlOXowwC4c
With a little bit of cover one could easily burn it. The vast majority of household trash is burned so rounds in the waste stream are innocuous.
Myself if the quantity is big I see if someone wants to make the effort to recover the components (i.e not me) otherwise into the trash it goes.

I have been known to destroy ammunition that is dropped off for disposal by launching it at over 1000fps into the berm. It's completely inert and safe once I've finished with it.

If it looks sketchy I'll pull it down for components.

Either way, I'm always happy to help the public dispose of their unwanted ammunition.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
it should get you to the SAMMI testing of large amounts of ammo burning

That was a video I first saw long ago.

As I recall it was produced during an ammo shortage and it was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Thinking of the original issue discussed here, how confident are LEOs that ammunition obtained by seizure or any other ways is safe for them to fire as a way of disposing of it? I have seen stuff that I was reluctant to even touch, much less chamber and shoot. Even if it’s in a commercial box and appears to be factory original, how do we know that it’s not someone’s reloads?

And to put on my protective aluminum foil, has a bad guy anywhere ever thought, “If they seize and shoot anything from this box, they’ll learn what ‘ELDEST SON’ was all about”?

I once annoyed an agency head by not wanting anything to do with a batch of recovered 7.62×39 even though it looked just like factory loads.

After the Incident with water damage to most of my ammo, I pulled a lot of bullets. I bought a collet puller for those it would grab, whacked the others in an inertia puller IN SMALL BATCHES. I threw handfuls of spoiled .22s off into the ravine at the range.

The PD and FD would not handle them.


I have put the occasional dud in the household garbage with no reports of demolished trucks or landfill volcanoes.