Question about some strange ammo.

04-13-2003, 05:16 PM

When I moved into this house (which was previously owned by a woman so old she couldn't go upstairs) I found a bunch of extremely old bullets in the basement. There are many different sizes - some 30/30's, some 256, some .22's, some 9 mm... some ungodly huge bullet without a shell, probably a shotgun slug.

Anyway, I was thinking to myself that they're probably so old and corroded they wouldn't fire, so I decided to check them over and see what shape they were in. Most of them are corroded where the bullet meets the shell, some of them are around the blasting cap as well, some of the blasting caps have been struck (but the bullet is still in the shell, I guess it was either a misfire or they reloaded into a bad shell) but one of the .22's doesn't have a blasting cap. Instead it has an upper-case "U" where the cap should be. The rest of the round appears to be normal. Can anyone explain this bullet?

PAPA G · 04-13-2003, 05:35 PM

the .22 is a rimfire which means its primer is part of the shell. the "U" stands for Union Metallic Cartridge company or UMC. the corroding is normal for old .22's. the lead oxidizes over the years.

what you call the blasting cap is called the primer which upon being struck ignites the gunpowder.

when you reffered to a bunch of extremely old bullets, do you mean just the bullets alone or the complete cartridge???

04-13-2003, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by PAPA G
the .22 is a rimfire which means its primer is part of the shell. the "U" stands for Union Metallic Cartridge company or UMC. the corroding is normal for old .22's. the lead oxidizes over the years.

what you call the blasting cap is called the primer which upon being struck ignites the gunpowder.

when you reffered to a bunch of extremely old bullets, do you mean just the bullets alone or the complete cartridge???

Complete cartridge, except on that one huge slug.

PAPA G · 04-13-2003, 06:01 PM

is the ammo in their original boxes??? depending on their age they might be collector items. the one you described as a misfire, hold it up to your ear and shake it a little, if it is a missfire you should be able to hear the powder rattling around, if not it may be a homemade dummy round.

04-13-2003, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by PAPA G
is the ammo in their original boxes??? depending on their age they might be collector items. the one you described as a misfire, hold it up to your ear and shake it a little, if it is a missfire you should be able to hear the powder rattling around, if not it may be a homemade dummy round.

No, they're not in boxes, they were laying in one of those "milk glass" pottery bowls that old people like so much. I already tried shaking the one with the struck primer, I didn't hear anything.

Klaus · 04-13-2003, 08:14 PM

Bullets use primers, not "blasting caps". And rimfire cartridges NEVER have centerfire primers. I agree that some of the bullets may have collector value. Many people collect them. Do not try to clean the bullets, other than wiping them off with a damp clothand then keeping them dry.

04-13-2003, 05:16 PM	#1
ScarTissue Guest Posts: n/a	Question about some strange ammo. When I moved into this house (which was previously owned by a woman so old she couldn't go upstairs) I found a bunch of extremely old bullets in the basement. There are many different sizes - some 30/30's, some 256, some .22's, some 9 mm... some ungodly huge bullet without a shell, probably a shotgun slug. Anyway, I was thinking to myself that they're probably so old and corroded they wouldn't fire, so I decided to check them over and see what shape they were in. Most of them are corroded where the bullet meets the shell, some of them are around the blasting cap as well, some of the blasting caps have been struck (but the bullet is still in the shell, I guess it was either a misfire or they reloaded into a bad shell) but one of the .22's doesn't have a blasting cap. Instead it has an upper-case "U" where the cap should be. The rest of the round appears to be normal. Can anyone explain this bullet?

04-13-2003, 06:01 PM	#4
PAPA G Guest Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: somerset, kentucky Posts: 11	NEAT-O is the ammo in their original boxes??? depending on their age they might be collector items. the one you described as a misfire, hold it up to your ear and shake it a little, if it is a missfire you should be able to hear the powder rattling around, if not it may be a homemade dummy round.

04-13-2003, 08:14 PM	#6
Klaus Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 2,382	Bullets use primers, not "blasting caps". And rimfire cartridges NEVER have centerfire primers. I agree that some of the bullets may have collector value. Many people collect them. Do not try to clean the bullets, other than wiping them off with a damp clothand then keeping them dry. __________________ "Gee, Wally, Eddie Haskel's mom puts out!"

04-13-2003, 05:35 PM	#2
PAPA G Guest Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: somerset, kentucky Posts: 11	the .22 is a rimfire which means its primer is part of the shell. the "U" stands for Union Metallic Cartridge company or UMC. the corroding is normal for old .22's. the lead oxidizes over the years. what you call the blasting cap is called the primer which upon being struck ignites the gunpowder. when you reffered to a bunch of extremely old bullets, do you mean just the bullets alone or the complete cartridge???