Loose ammo under the seat, is this irresponsible or am I over reacting.

[fastfredracing]

Finishing out my day working on a ratty GMC envoy. Multiple electrical faults , so I had every fuse panel open. The rear seats tilt up on these, and this is what I found .
They were laying right in the hinge even , I could see how they could get crushed .
This guy is ex military, and a prison guard.
I thought it pretty sloppy for someone who is trained to handle firearms, but what do I know?
Can you explode a centerfire by crushing it ?
Any how, I cleaned them all up and put them in a box before I worked in the area, and closed the seat . Maybe I should just take them for payment
Are they .223?

[varmint]

Green tip.

The vehicle just doubled in value.

[Baz]

That's extremely sloppy and (I'll let others pitch in their adjectives).

I used to listen to G. Gordon Liddy's radio show and I'll never forget he made the comment once that prison guards are the lowest form of humans on earth.

I realize that's painting a broad brush but I never forgot that statement and still wonder how much credibility it has.

[sc_rufctr]

That is ridiculous... and yes they're .223 or 5.56mm.

How long would it take to pick those up? He must be really stupid and lazy.

[flatbutt]

Green tip is M 855 IIRC. Even if it wasn't steel core that's exceptionally irresponsible.

[HardDrive]

While I think the chances of setting of a round are remote, its not impossible. When a round goes off without the barrel to contain it, the case becomes the projectile, and it could injure someone badly. Blown away by the negligence. Have to wonder how things are around his house. Was there a child seat in the car?

[Arizona_928]

I've known a Mormon family to bring loose 223 (in the center console) down to Mexico. Stopped on the Mexican side. Jailed. Posted 30k cash bond and fled to the US.

As for that guy. Dumb. You would see empty cases in my truck.

[fastfredracing]

My extensive firearms training ( hunters safety course at the age of 12 ) kicked in right away when I saw this .
Not the first time I have seen loose ammo in a car . I frequently see it in door pockets, or glove box or center consoles, but one look at the hinge of the seat, and the way it closed, and the location of this ammo made me think it pretty far from o.k

[porsche4life]

Pretty irresponsible. I’ve found a round or two in a vehicle before, but never anything in that volume.

I have a live 7.62x54 that I found under the seat of a truck. Looks like it got caught sideways in a seat track and is bent and dented. Owner was damn lucky it didn’t hit the primer that hard.

[Jeff Higgins]

What a flippin' slob. Gotta really wonder about someone so irresponsible as to allow this to happen. And we trust him to be a prison guard?

That said, there is really no danger posed by loose ammo laying around like that. It's damn near impossible to set it off. Even if it was somehow ignited, it poses no real danger. All it will do is fizzle, unable to generate any kind of pressures high enough to propel either the brass case or bullet at any kind of dangerous velocity. It won't explode or anything like that, all you will get is kind of a "pfffft" as the bullet and case separate.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Baz

That's extremely sloppy and (I'll let others pitch in their adjectives).

I used to listen to G. Gordon Liddy's radio show and I'll never forget he made the comment once that prison guards are the lowest form of humans on earth.

I realize that's painting a broad brush but I never forgot that statement and still wonder how much credibility it has.

He ought to know...from direct experience of having been the only watergate guy to not roll over and testify, so they sent him to one of the nastiest pens the feds have. One tough SOB!

As to loose ammo? Like Jeff said, no real danger...but it sure displays a lack of care...I know an old gunny who would gladly take them.

[Bill Douglas]

I think the stuff is a danger.

It doesn't take much to set off a primer. A few weeks ago I had one go off in the reloading press (ears, near heart attack ). If they were skating around and the tip of a bullet hit the primer or crushed in the seat adjuster.

Also why, duh.

[Jeff Hail]

Lots of guys who keep a box of ammo in the glove box or console learn the hard way when the gun blows up. See this in lots of "ranch vehicles".

Ammo bouncing around for long long periods of time in a vehicle breaks down the powder kernels into smaller pieces. At some point it can become dust. Slow powder becomes very fast burning powder when this happens.

No way to know how long that ammunition has been sitting under that seat.

Pull the bullets, dump the powder on your lawn, makes great fertilizer.

[vash]

You asked. You’re over reacting.

The car is obviously a mess. And the dude thinks ammo grows on trees, but his car, his life. There is no real danger.

I bet you’ve seen bigger messes in clients cars.

[drcoastline]

Here in NJ if there were a weapon in the vehicle (obviously one that fires that round) it would be illegal.

I think the chances of a round discharging are remote. I'll be the one that gives the guy a pass. If they are in the seat he may not know they are there? Maybe an ammo box opened and they spilled out and those I got pushed into the seat and he doesn't know? Maybe the guy doesn't know the seat tilts and he thinks he can't get to them?

When I had my Acura SLX it was some time until I realized my rear seats reclined. When I got the Xterra it was a year or more before I realized the rear seats could be removed. I knew they were hinged to create a larger cargo space but I didn't realize they could be removed completely to create even more space.

[cabmandone]

You're rich!
As for danger, Jeff covered that.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

Here in NJ if there were a weapon in the vehicle (obviously one that fires that round) it would be illegal.

I think the chances of a round discharging are remote. I'll be the one that gives the guy a pass. If they are in the seat he may not know they are there? Maybe an ammo box opened and they spilled out and those I got pushed into the seat and he doesn't know? Maybe the guy doesn't know the seat tilts and he thinks he can't get to them?

When I had my Acura SLX it was some time until I realized my rear seats reclined. When I got the Xterra it was a year or more before I realized the rear seats could be removed. I knew they were hinged to create a larger cargo space but I didn't realize they could be removed completely to create even more space.

2 words

"owner's manual"

[Seahawk]

I was hoping you would contribute because I really had no clue if the loose rounds posed a danger.

I do truck carry on occasion and count the rounds, in and out, every time.

I cannot imagine a car that messy.

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

What a flippin' slob. Gotta really wonder about someone so irresponsible as to allow this to happen. And we trust him to be a prison guard?

That said, there is really no danger posed by loose ammo laying around like that. It's damn near impossible to set it off. Even if it was somehow ignited, it poses no real danger. All it will do is fizzle, unable to generate any kind of pressures high enough to propel either the brass case or bullet at any kind of dangerous velocity. It won't explode or anything like that, all you will get is kind of a "pfffft" as the bullet and case separate.

[jamesnmlaw]

Pick them up, put them in a bag. After he pays the bill, ask him if the rounds belong to him or some other dumbass.

[Jolly Amaranto]

I remember finding what was left of WWII era 306 rounds that had been abandoned in the hills on Guam. The brass looked like pealed bananas (without the banana). My dad said they probably were touched off by random brush fires.
Then there are the urban legend horror stories of guys crossing into Mexico with stray 22 rounds rolling around in the trunk. They wind up Mexican prison.