Old Ammo

Any ammo, modern Remington, Federal, Winchester or some stuff from WWII should (IMHO) be held in chamber and downrange for at least 45-75 seconds. But with the old stuff I would be more concerned with corrosive priming compounds. Make sure you give it all a good swabbing Soon after usage.

After that I try to eject into safe container or clear area downrange. The container should be a steel drum or at least a metal bucket. The bullet will not travel except as shrapnel, along with the rest of the brass.

Nemo

You got that right Nemo. The ammo was so dirty I had to take the rifle outside to clean it.

45 seconds to a minute and a quarter?

That's a long time to expect a possible hang-fire.

I've only had a few hang-fire rounds in my lifetime, and they fired within a second or two of being hit by the firing pin.

Doesn't the NRA, or SAAMI, have a standard recommended time delay before you pull a "misfire" round out of the chamber, because within that time it might actually be a delayed-detonation hang-fire? What do they recommend?

gunsmoker said:

45 seconds to a minute and a quarter?

That's a long time to expect a possible hang-fire.

I've only had a few hang-fire rounds in my lifetime, and they fired within a second or two of being hit by the firing pin.

Doesn't the NRA, or SAAMI, have a standard recommended time delay before you pull a "misfire" round out of the chamber, because within that time it might actually be a delayed-detonation hang-fire? What do they recommend?

Click to expand...

Yes.

30 seconds for a hang fire then it's considered a misfire.

Almost all hang fires will occur in the first 2 to 3 seconds but can delay up to 30 seconds.
Best to not take a chance on a long delay hang fire. Wait the full 30 seconds before counting it as a misfire. 30 seconds is more than enough time for even the slightest ignition of the primer to take hold. If it hasn't fired in 30 seconds the primer did not ignite at all.

I like my fingers and parts well enough to give it some extra time.

Nemo