Washed in Pocket, ammo

[kenemoore]

So...
Left a speed strip of .38 Special Hornaday XTP in my trousers. Went through the washer without a hitch.
When I put them in the dryer, there was quite the racket. Discovered the speed strip. So it did not go through a dryer cycle.

Question: Is the ammo okay? It looks fine, no verdigris, I think I will remove it from my EDC, and shoot it next range trip, out of my .357 Speed Six, just to be safe.
Has anyone else washed their ammo by mistake? Any issues?

[berettabone]

I'd say those trousers are shot....................

[Bawanna]

I'd wager the ammo is fine, that being said I'd do exactly what you said. Replace it with new stuff and shoot it next range visit. We'll be waiting to hear the results.

While at the PD the guys would open boxes of ammo and dump them in a 5 gallon bucket at the range so they were'nt always opening boxes which can be a chore. Just take the bucket with any left over back to the station. Often times it was raining and the bucket would get several inches of water in the bottom. Of course no one but myself would ever bother to empty the water and sometimes that was days after the range session. It was all training ammo but I never heard of any issues of it not firing.
Again if it had been duty ammunition, I would have taken it out of service. (usually brought home for myself) Not worth the risk of a failure.

[NeilWise]

Whoops! Sounds like your laundry day took an unexpected turn! At least it didn't make it all the way through the dryer, that could have been a real headache.


Thankfully, .38 special ammo is usually pretty tough stuff. If it looks good to the naked eye - no dents, cracks, or weird discoloration - you're probably okay. I've never personally washed ammo before (knock on wood!), but I have heard of people finding old rounds in the dirt or something, cleaning them up a bit, and they still fired just fine.


Now, since you're planning to shoot these in your .357 Speed Six, that's a great idea to err on the side of caution and test them out at the range first. Just start with one or two rounds and see how they perform. If they cycle and fire normally without any issues, then you should be good to go with the rest.

[dao]

Good plan Ken. But still, let us know how it goes. I'm curious. If nothing else, to see how ammo of today stacks up against the stuff from back in the day.

[sharpetop]

I've washed my ammo in the past myself! Took it to the range and fired it with no problem.

[Bawanna]

I've mentioned it before but I was impressed with the 1942 Colt a friends uncle gave me along with his M1 Carbine. Both were in his duffle bag sat in a corner untouched since Korea I think? When he gave them to me it had two full magazines and one in the gun. He started to unload it but I requested he just leave em. I took the gun apart just for a checkup to make sure it was all there an safe to shoot. Didn't oil or clean, it wasn't bad. Took it to the range and all 3 magazines shot and functioned perfectly. The M1 also had 2 full mags but I've never shot it. It's pristine, I don't think he ever took it out of the canvas case it was stored in. The Colt he carried, had some honest wear but still not bad. Two of my best possessions.
Funny part was I was looking for an M1 Garand. He said he had one, but when I saw the bag I knew it wasn't a Garand but, in this case, even better.

[NeilWise]

I've mentioned it before but I was impressed with the 1942 Colt a friends uncle gave me along with his M1 Carbine. Both were in his duffle bag sat in a corner untouched since Korea I think? When he gave them to me it had two full magazines and one in the gun. He started to unload it but I requested he just leave em. I took the gun apart just for a checkup to make sure it was all there an safe to shoot. Didn't oil or clean, it wasn't bad. Took it to the range and all 3 magazines shot and functioned perfectly. The M1 also had 2 full mags but I've never shot it. It's pristine, I don't think he ever took it out of the canvas case it was stored in. The Colt he carried, had some honest wear but still not bad. Two of my best possessions.
Funny part was I was looking for an M1 Garand. He said he had one, but when I saw the bag I knew it wasn't a Garand but, in this case, even better.

That's an incredible story! Finding a piece of history like that, untouched for so long, must have been amazing. It reminds me of a time I helped a friend clean out his attic. We stumbled upon an old dusty box filled with his grandfather's hunting gear. Inside was a beautiful Winchester lever-action rifle that looked practically brand new. Turns out his grandpa had bought it right before deploying in WWII and it never left the box.


Those M1 Carbines are fantastic guns, by the way. Especially a Colt from 1942 – that's a real piece of WWII history right there. I think you made out like a bandit, even if it wasn't the Garand you were originally after. Those Colts are known for being reliable shooters, so it's no surprise all the magazines worked flawlessly.