Hunting Forum

I had some old 777 pellets that I wanted to get rid of.  The best way was to shoot them, but after one load went through 6 caps and never went off, I decided that putting up with the misfires and hang fires was more frustrating than it was worth.  Any ideas on how to dispose of the rest of them?

Burn them, long as they are not confined in something they will burn just like rifle powder, they dont blow like black powder but do flare up.

Take them out in the grass and stomp them. They will break up, and after the first rain they will be disappeared. I would hate to think how much powder has been spilled in my lawn. The trouble with burning them is most people end up burning their fingers. If you must burn them, put them on a METAL surface, and with a long nose lighter, set them off one at a time. Don't burn the entire crowd.

Actually after reading your post I need to ask.. are you trying to set these pellets of with #11 percussion caps? What kind of rifle are you shooting? Because if that is the case, its no wonder they are not going off. They might actually still be good. I went to a friends house once. He called and said he could not get his muzzleloader to fire. Well I knew he had a Traditions Hawken type rifle. And I get there.. ask him the problem, and sure enough.. he's pushing pellets down that barrel. Now his traditions works off a drum system of ignition. A #11 cap throws spark into loose powder only needing to ignite one or two small grains to spark off the rest of the charge. Pellets can be much more temperamental. So to fix his rifle we loaded it with black powder LOOSE and it shot just fine. I got to take the pellets home. And they were fine.

If this is a nipple rifle with #11 caps.. remove the nipple, drizzle a little powder under it. Replace the nipple. Apply the cap, and try that.

You can just spread powder on the ground and it is perfectly safe. Nitro-based powders are actually good lawn fertilizer. Black Powder will dissolve quickly.

I put them in a bucket of water and they dissolve,then pour them in a dirt hole.

I certainly do not recommend burning old powders, just too dangerous. I use only real bp and a couple years ago used a very old can of 3f. Do not know just how old but was in the oval can. It worked just as well as the new stuff. From what I read that is not true for the substitutes.

Most smokeless powders and black powder subs. do deteriorate over time. However, in a controlled environment it takes many years, even decades to happen. While some lose power over this time, some others actually gain power and many also become quite unstable. When i was at school we had a class on powders and the instructor warned us that on smokeless powders that are nitro-based like most are, if you open the can and smell a stron amonia odor, you should immediately and extremely carefully carry it outside and gently spread it on the ground to get rid of it. When the amonia odor happens it has started breaking down and all it takes is static, or friction or even a sharp jolt to cause it to burn and in a pile and confined as in a can or bottle you have a rather large white-hot instant fire ball in your hands. But, as I have several cans of various things that date back 20 years in my own stash and have never smelled that and never noticed any changes in power I think it probably takes that long at least and probably variations in environment to get it ti happen.

I second the dumping them into a bucket of water and after they have dissolved then simply pour the water around any plants that might need a little fertilizer. As wiith any fertilizer do not pour it to close to the base of whatever you are dumping it on.

guess I never had any long enough to experience that problem.
Yea, safest way is to melt or toss out when raining.
I do not stock too much of it at one time.