Not sure this belongs here, but it did involve my 2” 64. I’ve been carrying my 64 regularly all winter. About two weeks ago I accidentally washed a speed strip of .38s. I swapped them out with six fresh Buffalo Bore+P SWCHPs, my usual K frame carry ammo.
Last weekend while I was out at the club shooting a new toy, I ran the freshly washed 38s through the 64 and not a single hiccup. Six shots…..six plates down with authority. I’m pretty certain a guy on the other end wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between those 38s or the Federal 158 hydra shock 357s out of my snubby 66. Something nice to know if you ever go for a swim out in the boondocks.

your brave

When I saw the thread title, I wondered how you could lose all your guns through those tiny drain holes...never mind.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I've probably washed 500 rounds in my life, never a problem. Still, washed rounds get set aside for practice, not carry, just in case...

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Pisgah

Ya gotta run 'em through the dryer to be reliable Joe

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Behavior Creates Destiny

Ammunition being washed is a quite common occurrence and has been discussed many times on the forum. The only result I can recall being reported in any of those prior posts is that the ammunition fired normally when taken to the range.

My Wife was successful in washing my clothes with ammunition in them several times. I have never had one of those cartridges fail to fire perfectly normally, although the numbers were nothing like Pisgah's.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

The better practice is to empty your pockets prior to putting your clothing in the washer.

I thought it was going to end like the lost all my guns in a boating accident story. This one certainly wouldn't wash out!

Military ammunition must pass a waterproof inspection test for lot acceptance. It involves placing ammunition under water in a transparent partial vacuum chamber. Any visual evidence of air bubbles escaping from a cartridge is a fail. I do not remember the particular parameters of the test

Might be a stupid question, but would the outcome be any different if the said ammo washed was .22?

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The combo is: 952 945 686 845

That's the wife's job.

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Forum consigliere

Drip dry on the clothes line is more eco-friendly and they go back in the cylinder smelling springtime fresh!......Ben

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Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

But do you throw in the dryer sheets?

I believe any problems would be caused by water getting past the bullet to case fit. As 22s have a decent crimp, I doubt they would have problems. Plus, the lighter the round the less likely for motion to dislodge it.

I have dug some pretty nasty looking 22s from under seats, corners of glove compartments. The ones in the console have had coffee spilled on them. No mater how green and or fuzzy they were, once wiped off they fire. I bet I have found loose 22 shells that are old enough for social security. I keep finding them and tossing them in a can and one day I will haul them all to the range and blaze away. I recently bought a box of reloading stuff at an estate sale. Yup lots of loose 22 shells in the box.

The wife washed my P32 once. It was in my jacket pocket (I had come in for lunch and it was on the coat rack) and she needed "filler" for her load. I was not in the room when she took it. Miraculously it made it through the wash cycle and she discovered it loose in the washer. Unfired. She will no longer wash any of my clothes.

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Remain Viable

What detergent works best?
Should I bleach them?

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Sounds like a clean shoot

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Even older, even crankier....

Slightly different ammo but years back a shop I used to frequent had a warehouse flood and several cases of Winchester AA shotshells were under water for at least one week. I spent a few days there helping them clean up and we bagged these shells and sold them for a great discount and disclaimer. To our knowledge none were ruined. They all fired well.

It is surprising how much abuse well made ammunition can actually take. We used to drop shotshells in the shallow water frequently when hunting. They always ran.

My lovely wife would find a single casing, BB or 22LR dud before anything actually goes in that wash

There are much worse things certain dummies can put in the washing machine!

We have ADT. Along with the regular entry protection and motion detectors, they provide remotes you can carry around in your pocket-----arms and disarms the system from a good distance, and even has a panic alarm. We figure all this is worthwhile because we live out in the country, out of sight of pretty much anybody anywhere besides God. The best indicator of this isolation is our driveway is 3/4 of a mile long!!

The front doorbell rings. This simple thing is cause for alarm because anybody we know, or know is coming goes to the back door simply because that's the part of the house where we're likely to be. I grab a gun, and go to a front window where I can see what's what---and peek through the blinds.

There are THREE Sheriff's cars in the driveway----also THREE Deputies on the front porch! One is at the door, the other two are flanking----with shotguns at the ready!

I go to the door---unseen from the other side. "Can we help you?" I ask. "Are you alright?" comes the reply. We're alright, so I reply in the affirmative, put the gun down, and open the door.

It seems ADT received a panic alarm, notified the Sherriff's office who notified the deputies, who arrived on the front porch in FOUR MINUTES FLAT (from three different locations)----with shotguns at the ready. This snappy response was explained thus: "We don't mess around when we get a panic alarm!"

The panic alarm came from my remote---which turned out to be in the washing machine-----and took offense at the strange environment.

The lesson to be learned is check your pockets carefully before you throw your britches in the washer!

Ralph Tremaine

Oh----and ADT gave us a new remote---a dry one------no charge!

Over my lifetime of hunting , fishing , trapping and shooting I have accidently left a round or three , never a whole speed strip , in my pockets and washed them ... every factory loaded round fired . I was interested to know if I fell into the water ... would factory ammo be water tight ...and generally speaking they are ... have washed and fired 30-30 , 30-06 , 7X57 and 38 special 357 magnum and some G.I. 45 ACP and a few 22 LR ... my experience shows most factory loaded ammo to be Dunk Proof !
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Rule here, check all pockets !!

I had a neighbor who mopped up some gasoline with rags then threw them in the washing machine. It did not end well! No one got hurt but the washing machine took a beating


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Has to be a GAS dryer

We had shag carpet back about 1970 or so and I dropped some .22 shells ion the carpet. I thought I found them all but my mom found a few with a vacuum cleaner. None went off but I was given long talking to.

Reading the title, I was thinking maybe one of these situations.

Attached Images

washing.jpg (12.4 KB, 52 views)

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The best I can with what I got

But, Did the Sheriff send you a bill for services??
Around here they charge for false alarms

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Still Running Against the Wind

I no longer have a wife, what do I need to do?

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Always Stay Strong!

Nope---we live in an area where damn near everyone acts like your friend---never mind if neither party ever even heard of the other.

Ralph Tremaine

Clearly, you are neither as old nor as absentminded as I... ;-)

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Pisgah

That is nice to hear, we have thought about moving to TN.
I want to live out in nowhere but the Wife doesn't

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Still Running Against the Wind

You could rent one Fred, but that might be misinterpreted!

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Even older, even crankier....

I have accidentally washed rimfire ammo severAl times over the years and never had any of them fail to fire.

Once cleaned a Glock in the dishwasher. Came out fine.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

My cleaning lady let herself in one day with the alarm primed. The PD responded but she said it was OK when she explained to them that she also cleaned for the Chief.

I have run ammo through the washing machine and it still fired, BUT, in The Incident, my ammo was exposed to fire hoses and then to rain through the burned out roof. So it was soaked for a good while. Some of it fired, some of it didn't. If it could get through a magazine with one or no misfire, I shot it in practice. More misfires and I trashed .22s and pulled centerfire bullets.

USGI was perfect, and some commercial. Reloads with cast bullets were better than with jacketed.
The pretty red lacquer on one brand was no sort of sealant, many misfires, the rest of that ammo was pulled to salvage bullets and brass. Lots of the powder could be seen to be wet.

Aluminum Blazer was dreadful. Many cases split or burned completely through. There are scorch marks in the chamber of that gun that I did not find until a companion told me of flash out the ejection port.

Great idea. but at my age why?

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Always Stay Strong!

I guess I should be wondering why I needed a turbo tumbler and media to clean brass/rounds, when I could just put them in with the dark clothes.

I am a duck hunter and my boys would drop the shells in the water frequently. They were still good too.

And here I thought picking the lint out of the hollow points with a toothpick was the best way to clean back-up ammo. I wish someone had spoken up sooner!

I found a .22 long round once in the Suwanee River while diving for artifacts and fossils. It had a antigue headstamp that probably hadn't been made in fifty years.

It rattled around in one of my "junk" artifact boxes for ten years or so and I decided one day to try to fire it. It went "bang!" just like any other low power .22 round.

I dare you to say that out loud where she can hear.

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Release the Kraken

I've accidentally washed a few rounds in the washing machine over the years. Even ran one or two through the dryer by accident.

My cousin had a couple of boxes of 22LR that got left outside in a heavy rain over a weekend. He shot a few of them but had problems with some misfires so ended up tossing the rest of them. He was afraid of ending up with a bullet stuck in the barrel.

Well, clean cars always run better, so . . .

I had read it was OK to put a stainless Ruger Old Army (minus the grips) in the dishwasher, soap and water being the recommended cleaning agent for black powder residue. So when I got one I tried it. Came out spotless, but the black (blued?) front and rear sights had a thin film of rust all over 'em.

I cleaned it by hand from then on.