An ammunition-related moral dilemma

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - An ammunition-related moral dilemma

Posted: 10/31/2002 4:50:46 PM EDT

I happen to have in the basement 600 rounds of Seller & Bellot .223 ammunition, along with 500 rounds of Olympic SS109. I was thinking about taking it to the next gun show, and trading it to some vendor for something, anything to get rid of it. After reading about the ammunition on AR15.com, I sure as hell don’t want to be the one to shoot any more of it.

The moral dilemma is if I should do this and let somebody else risk shooting it (and I have shot plenty of each brand without any problem) or should I just…what? Throw it away? I don’t reload, so even saving the projectiles doesn’t make much sense.

I am leaning toward just throwing it out after wrapping it up in several plastic bags. In any case, it is going to be SA surplus, or good old 'Merican manufacture from here on out.

Toss or trade? You make the call.

Posted: 10/31/2002 4:51:50 PM EDT

[#1]

What does Seneca's "little man" say?

Posted: 10/31/2002 4:53:00 PM EDT

[#2]

I give up. I was an art major.

Posted: 10/31/2002 4:56:26 PM EDT

[#3]

If you're interested, I might be willing to take it off your hands. I'd pull it all down, dump the powder charges, CAREFULLY inspect the brass, (Weighing it...light cases get destroyed) and reload the whole batch under quality assured conditions.

CJ

Posted: 10/31/2002 4:59:46 PM EDT

[#4]

I can't imagine that the shipping would be worth the bother. Besides, I am still waiting for a pronouncement from Seneca's "little man."

Posted: 10/31/2002 5:03:37 PM EDT

[#5]

Seneca said we should live our lives as though we were always under the scrutiny of others, that way we would not have to worry about impious or immoral acts being commited in secret. He said to always live as though our actions were being observed by a little man peering ove our shoulder at everything we do. He was referring ot a conscience. BTW, That ammo cycles OK most of the time, get rid of it if you aren't comfortable with it. Caveat emptor.

Posted: 10/31/2002 5:20:50 PM EDT

[#6]

Good old Seneca - he knew his stuff, didn't he? It certainly is a good philosophy to live by, and I will remember that image of the little man on my shoulder.

I still have to make up my mind on this, but appreciate the input.

Posted: 10/31/2002 7:31:07 PM EDT

[#7]

If it was mine, and I had used quite a bit of it already, and it was all from the same lot, I think that I would go ahead and shoot it.

I don't think that trading it would be the right thing to do.

If you're not confortable shooting it, you might call the EOD people at the nearest military base and have them dispose of it.

Posted: 11/1/2002 6:14:47 AM EDT

[#8]

Most of the S&B produced was good stuff. I have some left, and wouldn't hesitate to shoot it.

I'd sell it unless you feel too strange about it. For all their hype, Cav-Arms isn't too worried about kB!s, they use it in their M16's.

I don't have any Olympic, and don't know what to tell you.

Posted: 11/1/2002 6:47:07 AM EDT

[#9]

Make your donations to charity count: take it to the nearest Goodwill or Salvation Army (or, just leave it in the drop-off box).

Posted: 11/1/2002 9:13:33 AM EDT

[#10]

Some people like (love) S&B and shoot it willingly all the time.

Go ahead sell it. Their guns may love the stuff even if ours don't.

Posted: 11/1/2002 11:29:27 AM EDT

[#11]

If the S&B is steel case, I'll take it off your hands. Not brass case though.

Posted: 11/1/2002 11:50:20 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:

After reading about the ammunition on AR15.com, I sure as hell don’t want to be the one to shoot any more of it.

(and I have shot plenty of each brand without any problem)

Considering you have already shot plenty of each brand without problem, I think you answered your own question! Stop worrying about everything you read on the internet and use it up. If it makes you feel better, after this is gone, don't buy any more of these brands.

If you are going to constantly worry about getting a bad round, you had better find another hobby! Every single ammunition manufacturer has quality control problems at one time or another - Denel/PMP (South African)and Winchester are anything BUT exceptions! Seriously though, if you have not had any problems with what you've shot already, I'm not sure what you're worrying about. You're saying something you read holds more weight than your own experience?

Posted: 11/2/2002 4:51:16 PM EDT

[#13]

Well, ok, it is interesting seeing the range or reactions to this question. As far as being overreactive to "something I read on the Internet," I am not usually. However, I regard the consequences of having a bad experience with high-pressure rounds serious enough to err on the side of caution.

I sould add that about eight years ago I won the double-charged subsonic Winchester .22 lottery one afternoon in my backyard. The result of getting one of the very few boxes of this defective ammunition blew up my Ruger 77-22 magazine into very small pieces at my feet and the extractor vanished to parts unknown. Instead of being nice and quiet, it sounded like a shotgun going off and it was only dumb luck that my arm wasn't under the magazine when it went up.

So, with the memory of this in mind, today I bagged up the .223 and took it to the dump with the rest of the trash, and chunked it in. End of story, not a huge loss, and I feel better. Again, thanks for the reactions and well-meaning advice.

Posted: 11/2/2002 5:01:21 PM EDT

[#14]

man thats just friggin wrong, i would have paid you to ship it to me. nothing with S&B, especially the SS109.

Posted: 11/2/2002 5:27:28 PM EDT

[#15]

I would have taken it off your hands also. I've got 900 S&B that I or someone is going to shoot.
I'm between Lynchburg and Charlottesville by the way. Happy Blasting!
MM419

Posted: 11/2/2002 5:33:28 PM EDT

[#16]

Two of my three favorite plinking ammos ... add Wolf and you've got all three.

Posted: 11/2/2002 5:38:59 PM EDT

[#17]

Sorry, fellers. Must have been that quote from 'ol Seneca that sent me to the dump.

Posted: 11/2/2002 6:38:04 PM EDT

[#18]

Before readin some of he horror stories here, I had bought a couple K of S&B SS109 becuase it was cheap.

I still had about half of it left when I read about some of the problems. For my part, I have experienced nothing but good accuracy and reliabity from it. I have had no problems. Heck, I think I still have a few hundred rounds I haven't shot up yet.

It would be morally wrong to mislabel it and pass it off as something else. Just shoot it.

Posted: 11/4/2002 6:22:58 AM EDT

[#19]

It is hardly possible to double-charge a .223 Rem cartridge. It might be overcharged, or the case-head might have blown, but a double charge is highly unlikely.

Usually Ammunition makers will stand by their products and replace a destroyed firearm.

Yes, I said, 'usually'.

Posted: 11/4/2002 10:52:45 AM EDT

[#20]

Not to keep on about this, but that was a .22 rimfire shell that exploded (you know, in a Ruger 77/22).

I assure you that some idiot in Australia did find a way to load that thing to the brim and send it off to the U.S., where it was sold to me.

At a gun show, now that I think about it.

(edited to add that Winchester did replace the destroyed parts and send me some more ammunition.)

Posted: 11/9/2002 1:46:02 PM EDT

[#21]

The little man on my shoulder says to the little man on your shoulder, "Your loss, fool!"

I would have paid you too. Oh well.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - An ammunition-related moral dilemma

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