Hello
Need advice again, have just picked up 8 Rounds of .45 Colt ammunition at Bootsale, no information on these at all-- they are headstamped FC 45 Colt and W-W 45 Colt they all have RNL bullets and the primers are unfired, I am sure these are inerts, but as I do not have a .45 colt revolver I have no way of knowing-----Is there any safe method I can use to check one of these rounds to find out for sure---grateful for any advice on this
Reichrev

The only way I can think of is to pull the bullets and see if there is any powder in there. If you want to have inert rounds then deprime them and assemble with no primer or powder.

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Stay safe people!

By definition primed cases are NOT inert.
Agree with Bob, the only way to know what you have is to take them apart.

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Science plus Art

My question is why do you think they are inert? Just like any gun, assume they are loaded/ live. Sometimes you can shake a round and hear the powder but I would not rely on that to be sure there is no powder. As vulcan bob said the only sure way is to remove the bullet but I wouldn't assume just because one is empty they all are. Just treat them as live.

I agree with what has already been posted, but remember there is no safe way to deprime brass except to fire the primer in a firearm

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Carpriver.

I wouldn't want to start a huge "discussion", but I disagree. I have deprimed many, many primed cases safely (no "pops" at all). Mainly I just ran the primed case through my sizing/decapping dies, easily. Just two days ago I had to deprime a few 30-30 cases (poor bullet seating damaged case mouths) and I ran them through the size die slowly and saved my 4 large rifle primers...

Fire the primers in the gun. Warning - primers are LOUD.

I would rather assume that they were ert rather than inert.

Hi Reichrev,
There is no sure way to tell the condition of a primer by looking at the outside of it.

As others have mentioned, shake the case next to your ear in a quiet room. If you hear the powder inside it's a good bet it's live. If you don't hear any powder the only way to make sure it's not live is to pull the bullet. The case may be loaded with black powder, might have a filler to keep the powder in place or just isn't making enough noise for you to hear it.

Wear hearing protection and safety glasses and keep your face away from it. I do this with primers that don't seat right or some other strange reasons I can't remember. The only pop I ever had was with seating a Winchester primer tapping on it with a Lee Handloader tool. Do this when wife is not around.

Why would you buy 8 rounds of ammo that you have no gun for?

Especially if you think they are inert?

Guess I am missing something here?

Pull the bullet, if you do not have a 45 Colt then you can not fire the primer and you probably do not have 45 Colt dies so you can not de prime them so more questions than answers??

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Still Running Against the Wind

A totally wrong statement. While popping the cap is the best way it is not the only safe way.

Hello Vulcan Bob
Thank you for reply and advice---I have knocked out bullet, no powder just an anvil and a small round compressed disc? and a very slight amount of a black powder
Thank you
Reichrev

Hello OKFC05
Thank you for reply, I can see the logic
Many thanks
Reichrev

Hello jag22
Thank you for reply, I assumed ammunition to be inert because, I imagined, Live rounds are extremely rare to be picked up at boot sale--and in this case I was right, upon taking your advice I found upon removing bullet no powder but an anvil and a small compressed disc with very slight amount of a blackpowder in the primer case, which I had removed with a long thin nail, with flattened end

Hello carpriver
Thank you so much for reply and advice
Reichrev

Hello mikld
Thankyou for reply and advice
Reichrev

Hello rwsmith
Thank you for reply and advice, much appreciated
Reichrev

Hello Mark Dozier
Thank you for reply and your information
Regards
Reichrev

Hello Rule3
Thank you for reply---You are right I do not have a .45 revolver but I could possibly use the large pistol primer elsewhere. were they live---but when I knocked out the bullet, as advised by many members I found no powder, just an anvil and a small compressed disc/pad of something and a very slight amount of a black powder, did hit primer very hard, but nothing
Regards
Reichrev

Hello Jellybean
Thank you for reply and advice, I tried listening method but heard nothing so knocked out bullet, as advised, no powder, knocked out primer from case with a long thin nail, blunted, and only found an anvil and a small compressed disc/pad of something and and very slight amount of a black powder---I now know they are inert,
Thank you again
Reichrev

Hi Reichrev,
It sounds as though the primer was still live, indicated by the anvil and disc. That little disc by the way is the priming compound. The small amount of powder in the primer cup indicates the cases were live at one time and someone else had emptied the powder out, except the little that made it's way into the primer cup.

As they are they are pretty safe, unless someone tries to fire them in a firearm, which hopefully would only lodge the bullet between the barrel and cylinder and lock it up. If you loosened the anvils taking them apart, leave them out when you put them together, and the same goes for the disc. This will make them even safer.

While this is a fine working strategy for a lot of stuff we do (note: the reverse also works well for her lol) . . . I've found another approach that works too.

Tell her that "this is the only safe way to do it" . . . "don't want this stuff laying around".

I am still lost? (not unusual) What is a "Boot Sale"??

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Still Running Against the Wind

It's selling out of the trunk of the car (Boot in Britain). Popular activity in GB

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Minimize the variables

Hello Jellybean
Again, thankyou for very informative reply, I did not realise the small disc would have been priming compound --would this explode/pop if hit with a hammer on the end of a vice---wearing gloves and goggles -- or would this course of action not be recommended
Regards
Reichrev

Hello Rule3
Thank you for reply IE. Boot Sale ? ----Great reply from Bkreutz -- Boot UK/Trunk USA ----I did not realise the difference
Thank you
Regards
Reichrev

Hello Bkreutz
Thank you for reply---I have used your answer in reply to a query from
Member, Rule3 ---explained it perfectly, I have also learned from this!
Many thanks
Reichrev

Hi Reichrev,
I've never tried to hit any primer compounds with a hammer, but I would think it would certainly detonate it. I wouldn't try hitting it with a hammer as you suggested, let your boss or mother in law do it instead.

They detonate by heat or impact. I've had them go off after being sucked up in a vacuum cleaner with no noticable damage, but there is still a margine of safety there.