De-arming live bullets

[jayhawk]

All

I have a short string of 50 Cal bullets from an A-26 that my father flew during WWII. I'd like to keep them as a keepsake but realize they need to be de-armed. I'm not exactly sure how to start searching for someone who could and would do this. Is this something a gunsmith would have the skills for? Do I need to look for more specialized help?

Any insights would be appreciated.

Jack

[CoryB]

There is a tool called a bullet puller that is normally used to disarm a bullet. It’s basically a hollow hammer with a collet that holds the bullet. You hammer the non-primer end on something hard, like concrete, and the bullet is forced out by its own weight.

I don’t know if it would be big enough for a .50 cal though.

Be aware that even if you get the bullet out, the primer is still live.

Another option might be to check around for a military weapons collector group in your area and see if anyone has any other suggestions.

Last option - soak them for several weeks in something like WD-40 that can wick around the bullet and kill the powder. This will work only if the rounds aren’t water/weatherproofed. Normally you can see traces of a sealing substance where the bullet and casing meet if they’ve been treated.

A gunsmith MIGHT be able to do it - we had a bullet puller and regularly disassembled questionable rounds.

Good luck!

[Earl49]

On smaller pistol and rifle calibers, you can get a kinetic bullet puller. Basically the cartridge locks into some jaws and the hammer action walks the bullet out of the case. I have not run across something like that for large shells like the .50 cal. https://www.dillonprecision.com/berr...8_8_23998.html

Some dummy training cartridges I've seen have holes drilled in the side to drain the powder, then some oil is poured inside to neutralize the primer. I have also seen some people pull the bullets using a vice, drain the gunpowder, and then firing off the live primer with a hammer and nail (and hearing protection). You can re-seat the bullets later, given the right kind of press. A gunsmith would certainly have the skills, as would a serious reloader who makes their own ammo.

[Mr. Jelly]

I wouldn't advise doing anything yourself. I'd start searching for people that have knowledge and experience with these things and pay them to do the job. I'd contact gun shops and firing ranges to start. I don't know the laws on such things so I wouldn't involve the police.

[jayhawk]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I wouldn't advise doing anything yourself. I'd start searching for people that have knowledge and experience with these things and pay them to do the job. I'd contact gun shops and firing ranges to start. I don't know the laws on such things so I wouldn't involve the police.

Absolutely!

As Dirty Harry told us, 'A man's got to know his limitation.'

I'm just working to figure out where to find that man.

thanks

Jack

[Bob Womack]

Your best bet is to find a reloader who specializes in military surplus weapons. Don't worry - they are everywhere in the North West. HERE on the Military Surplus Forum "Ammunition and Reloading for old Milsurps" Sub Forum is a good place to start asking questions. FYI, I am a moderator there. You'll need to join in order to post.

I have a .50 round that has been disarmed. On mine, the primer was obviously struck and fired. I bought mine from a museum B-17 that was visiting the area. You might consider keeping yours intact and buying some de-activated ones to handle.

Bob

[blue]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Your best bet is to find a reloader who specializes in military surplus weapons. Don't worry - they are everywhere in the North West. HERE on the Military Surplus Forum "Ammunition and Reloading for old Milsurps" Sub Forum is a good place to start asking questions. FYI, I am a moderator there. You'll need to join in order to post.

I have a .50 round that has been disarmed. On mine, the primer was obviously struck and fired. I bought mine from a museum B-17 that was visiting the area. You might consider keeping yours intact and buying some de-activated ones to handle.

Bob

Another option is to look for gun/ammo shops that advertise "old ammo disposal". You can generally get someone in a place like that to pull the bullet, dump the powder, pop the primer out, and put the bullet back in. 50 cal is surprisingly popular these days, and I hear those $8,000 Barretts are supposed to be pretty soft shooters...

[Glennwillow]

I have no idea how to disarm old 50 caliber rounds, but I thought you might be interested to know a side story related to the A-26.

My mother on her 23rd birthday, Aug. 1, 1945, hitched a ride on an A-26 from Wright Patterson Air Base in Dayton to fly to Washington, DC where my father was stationed at the Pentagon. My mother was in the Army Nursing Corps and my dad was in the Army Air Corps. My parents were married while they were both stationed at Wright Patterson and then my dad got transferred to DC. Ironically the war ended soon after my mother's visit to DC, but they had no way of knowing how long the war was going to drag on. My mother always was pretty adventurous.

My mother was barely 5' tall. I asked her what was it like to fly in an A-26, and she said she was too short to see much but it sure was noisy!

- Glenn

[rllink]

I'm a reloader myself and I know that there are people shooting and reloading .50 cal. You should be able to find someone to help you. My father brought back two .50 cal rounds from WWII and pulled the bullets by kinetic energy by drilling a hole in a 2x4, jamming the shoulder of the cartridge in the hole nose down and slamming it on a work bench until the bullet came out and powder flew everywhere. I am not suggesting anyone do that. I was just a kid and I remember him ordering me out of the tool shed when he started banging it down on the bench. There was swearing involved. We are talking a guy who stormed beaches, he wasn't afraid of anything. Knowing what I know, I doubt you could set one off that way, but I wouldn't chance it.

[Bob Womack]

My father was a Navy guy in WWII. He kept locked in a gun box two 20mm armor piercing shells, intact. He also had the projectile from a 37mm cannon that I used as a paperweight as a kid. When he died, my mom brought in a gunsmith and asked him to get rid of all of his weapons-related stuff. Thank goodness we brothers had already scarfed up his good firearms but we did loose those rounds.

Bob

[Mr. Jelly]

My step father helped my uncle of WW II age get a mortar shell chrome plated.
My uncle built a nice stand for it and set in on his fireplace mantle under a picture of Jesus. Right beside a chrome plated grenade.

[LyleGorch]

We used a pair of pliers on the casing and a pair of pliers on the bullet and just worked them out. A guy ripped of a bunch of .c30 cal.while in the army many moons ago.

[jayhawk]

My brother and I keep having this discussion on these rounds, with either of us actually looking at them. I seem to remember my Dad saying they were from an A-26. My brother thinks they were from a B-24 and he got them when he was flying Martin B-26s towing targets. The rounds used there had paint on them that had different colors by B-24 gun positions. That way they could score hits for individual gunners. Either way I want these bullets for me, my brother and my sons.

Dad never actually left the states. He had trained on B-26s had a crew and was waiting for orders to Europe when he was pulled off of B-26s. He tried to get a B-29 but was considered too small, he couldn’t get his weight up to 140 lbs. He went to A-26s and started training for the Invasion of Japan. Fortunately that never happened.

Jack

[jayhawk]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I have no idea how to disarm old 50 caliber rounds, but I thought you might be interested to know a side story related to the A-26.

My mother on her 23rd birthday, Aug. 1, 1945, hitched a ride on an A-26 from Wright Patterson Air Base in Dayton to fly to Washington, DC where my father was stationed at the Pentagon. My mother was in the Army Nursing Corps and my dad was in the Army Air Corps. My parents were married while they were both stationed at Wright Patterson and then my dad got transferred to DC. Ironically the war ended soon after my mother's visit to DC, but they had no way of knowing how long the war was going to drag on. My mother always was pretty adventurous.

My mother was barely 5' tall. I asked her what was it like to fly in an A-26, and she said she was too short to see much but it sure was noisy!

- Glenn

Great story, Glenn. Thanks for telling it.

jb

[unimogbert]

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