Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ammo

Green BBs?

fiercecupcake — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:17:41 -0800

I'm asking for a BB gun this Winter Holiday, as a way to ease into learning to shoot. Since I'll be shooting on my land, I'm curious about the ecological implications of BBs hanging around. I assume I don't want the plastic BBs, but are steel ones also a bad thing to leave lying around on the ground? This is not arable land, it's scrubby cedar-and-post-oak, rocky-ground "forest." I am concerned about both immediate dangers to wildlife/waterways and what will happen to the ammo years from now.

Will they rust away? Could I conceivably pick them up with a giant magnet? Forgive my naïveté, I just don't want to do something I regret later and can't undo.

Help me take care of my family if it hits the fan.

damiano99 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:48:25 -0800

I've tried to be a boyscout in preparations for everything. Oil and water in the car. First Aid and fire retardant in every room. Etc, etc. I've also tried to be prepared for what many call EOTWAWKI, the End of the World as We Know It. Not in a survivalist way by more in line with common sense. Now, I'm trying to figure out how much further to dive in. We live in Tornado Alley, so we have all the usual. Flashlights, 30 days worth of MRE's per person. Extra clothes and needed docs, gear, etc in a go-bag for each person. I could go on forever. However, lately I've been hearing so many dire warnings from people both qualified and un-qualified that I wonder if common sense shouldn't give way to a little healthy paranoia. I'm not a neophyte financially, but I am certainly not an accountant or a broker. Should I stock up on precious metals, and liquify my assets? Should I maintain a diverse portfolio or consolidate in an overseas market?

On the home front ... should I stock up on the home front as well? Extra water, ammo, more food, etc. (Lots of etc, here.)

I know that sounds kooky and I'm not prone to that but I don't like to get caught flatfooted. I've been through enough tornados and enough junk while living overseas in disaster areas that I'm always trying to keep a "Keep-Life-Going-Kit." Should I expand that as well? To what degree should I be worried? Some of the people who are giving "warnings" seem to know what they're talking about while others are certainly the type who border on the edge of normalcy, so I'm having a hard time separating baseless rumors from solid advice.

In short, do basically just need to make sure we're divested of anything risky (we're not heavily invested, mostly 401k and some odd stocks) and keep cash around more often ... OR ... do I need to start stocking up on more food, start an ammo crate and start learning to tan my own leather? (Ok, poetic license but you get my drift.)

DaVinci or Darwin? How crazy is aesthetic gun modifcation for non-gunsmiths?

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 12:08:52 -0800

Gun modification safety: I'm a geek that likes to customize and modify gadgets. Can I extend this to guns and ammo, without killing myself, by taking great care and following reasonable precautions, or should I STOP RIGHT THERE! ARE YOU CRAZY!? More specific examples inside. I would look deeply into the safety and safe methods of doing something before performing it, but getting an overview here, of the safety/sanity beforehand of many different things, will help me decide whether to not bother, or to start that more serious learning.

I do not have a gunsmith background, and while I've grown up with guns, I've never been "into" them, eg never done my own reloading, never had a range membership, etc.

Like a computer case-modder, I guess I'm interested in style over substance (yeah, I know that's kind of dumb), so I'm not going to be trying to supercharge a gun, or convert a semi pistol to auto, or stuff like that. If anything I'd be reloading shells erring on the side of too little bang, rather than normal or too much.

So, some more specific indications of stuff I'd be likely to do, so you can tell me which are ill-advised or illegal:

(assume, say, a semi-auto pistol, state of WA, USA)

-Anodising, electroplating, engraving, etc various non-mechanical parts (eg the outside of the grip).

-The same, with mechanical parts, but not those critical to safe operation (eg modifying the ammo-clip, but not the firing mechanism). "Safe operation" does not mean reliable operation, it means will-NOT-blow-up-in-my-face operation, with the necessity for successful operability coming in a distance second. I'd prefer to accidentally render a gun useless than render it unsafe.

-Hacking electronic systems (eg those safety systems that render a gun inorperable unless the person is wearing a certain ring), to be triggered by a different authorization system.

Ammo modification (the danger-flag side):

-engraving or etching the brass? Before it's live of course. (From time to time I've seen people fire a shot that cracks open the brass, and I suspect engraving would make this occurance more likely. It didn't seem to be an injury risk, but I don't really know).

-Reloading... with various powders, or with additives in the powder? (eg, perhaps to make something smokier, NOT more powerful), and so loading a lighter-than-usual charge, to leave a higher safety margin to cover my ass for deviating slightly from the script.

-engraving/messsing with the bullet? Or even casting your own bullets? (reminder: for a modern pistol, not a black powder gun)

What kind of pistol/calibre/features would be a good choice for this sort of thing, primarily from a safety standpoint?

[posted anonymously because some workplaces these days get nervous when an office worker takes a sudden shine to guns.]

How to get rid of old gun bullets?

barrista — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 10:45:52 -0800

AmmoFilter: My wife found a box of old remington .38 ammunition while going through some boxes. They are at least 25 years old, given to her by a boyfriend when she moved out west a quarter of a century ago. She and I do not have any guns. How should we properly dispose of this ammunition?

Glock 19 Ammo

mrbill — Fri, 26 Dec 2003 19:40:44 -0800

My anti-gun wife surprised me with a Glock 19 for Christmas. I've already got the user's manual and armorer's guide for it; anybody have suggestions on good, not-too-powerful ammo loads? (GunFilter!!)