Cheap Ammunition Event La Crosse Wisconsin – 24 Oct, 2020

Image from La Crosse County website, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten

U.S.A.-(AmmoLand.com)- La Crosse County, Wisconsin may have engineered a new event, the cheap ammunition event. Ammunition has often been accepted at gun turn-in events, though it is not paid for. Some excellent deals have been found for ammunition at these events.

The event will be held at 3202 Berlin Drive, La Crosse.  It appears to be the local landfill, from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, the 24th of October.

The La Crosse event is specifically organized to collect unwanted ammunition. The county states it often receives requests to dispose of unwanted ammunition. Someone in La Crosse County organized this event to collect unwanted ammunition. They promised all ammunition collected would be incinerated!

Private parties can do much better, of course. They can promise the ammunition will be disposed of properly, which gives much greater and more frugal options. From lacrossecounty.org:

Residential ammunition disposal is a service frequently requested by our customers. We are happy to announce that the La Crosse County Hazardous Materials Facility will be hosting its first ammunition drop-off event on Saturday, October 24th from 8 a.m. to noon. This is a great opportunity for La Crosse County residents to dispose of unwanted or unneeded ammunition in a safe and responsible manner. All collected ammunition will be shipped to a licensed hazardous waste facility where it will be incinerated.

WXOW gives a bit more information. People who dispose of ammunition at the disposal site (near a landfill) must remain in their vehicles. Any ammunition greater than five pounds (Two boxes of 12 gauge or 650 rounds of .22 LR) will be required to pay a disposal fee of $5 per pound. ($12.50 per box of 12 gauge or $5.75 per 150 rounds of .22 LR.) The county will not accept reloads. It is not clear if they will accept smokeless powder or primers. They would probably take empty cases From wxow.com:

The drive-through event is open to La Crosse County residents only. Anyone who comes to the event must remain in their vehicles.

Disposing of the first five pounds of ammunition is free and $5 per pound after that.

They are accepting only factory rounds of .50 caliber and 8-gauge or less. No black powder, military munitions, fireworks, or explosives are accepted. No other waste materials are accepted during the event.

This presents an interesting scenario. After the first five pounds, the county will charge people more than the ammunition costs at retail to dispose of it by destroying it.

Might some widow, knowing nothing of ammunition, but wanting to get rid of it, turn in some boxes of 7mm magnums? .45-70? .455 Webley? Perhaps they will wish to rid themselves of cases of 5.56, or 7.62×39, which was purchased cheaply 20 years ago?

Enterprising Second Amendment types could make signs and advertise to properly dispose of the ammunition for free, or to pay for unwanted ammunition. They might even agree to dispose of black powder and reloading supplies. At gun turn-in events, folding tables have been handy.

I have heard of widows turning in many thousands of dollars of ammunition to the police to dispose of.

There appear to be only two entrances to the landfill. Perhaps it is a one-way road. It would not be difficult to find a place where people could park and a deal could be made. If there are two entrances, Second Amendment enthusiasts who wish to perform a public service could arrange to cover both entrances.

Those disposing of ammunition could be asked if they had any firearms they wished to dispose of as well.

Wisconsin does not have any laws forbidding the purchase of ammunition or reloading supplies, or firearms, which I know of, by private parties. Felons are forbidden to purchase firearms, generally.  This is not legal advice; readers should make their own inquiries.

If any readers attend the event on Saturday, the 24th of October, please take numerous pictures. You can contact the author at AmmoLand.

Pictures and a personal account of the action would be an excellent candidate for an AmmoLand article, but nothing can be promised or guaranteed.


About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

Dean Weingarten

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Get Out

Wow, someone needs to set up down the road from this place with a sign, No questions asked and all ammunition, powder, projectiles, cases accepted. Will accept reloading presses and tools too.

Wass

A better idea: Guys, in drawing up your will, specify how you want ammunition, as well as your guns distributed. In the matter of ammunition (since its bulkier and heavier), arrange for it to be donated to either a gun club or a state 2A organization. By no means should your widow turn it in to the police.

Tionico

any woman eligible to marry ME would not be turning in unwahted ammunition to gummit. Nope. She might give some away to our friends, or to a group that would USE it. But surrender it to gummit? Nah. Such craziness would disqualify her from being MY Bride.

Wass

In the immediate trauma of losing a spouse, you never know how you’ll behave, not to mention you’ve got lots of other things to think about, besides guns and ammo.

Darkman

My wife knows exactly what to do with the cache if I pass. It’s money in the bank and she really likes money.

JPM

I usually dispose of my ammunition one round at a time and then to be environmentally friendly, pick up the brass to recycle in my reloading room.

Rock

NEVER give up a gun OR ammo. N-E-V-E-R !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RoyD

“From my cold, dead hands!”

Dr. Strangelove

I’m just a few hours from La Crosse. Maybe I’ll head up there with a wad of cash.

buzzsaw

Mystery powder isn’t good for much, but it is nitrogen-rich and would make good fertilizer. Maybe spread it in moist garden soil and roto-till it in.

Courageous Lion - Hear Me Roar - Jus Meum Tuebor

And NEVER smoke in your garden again!

Tionico

never mind the lead mercury and other heavy metals that would be mixed in there WITH that gunpowder. If you do that, and eat what your graden produces, who knows if you might not grow a new head off your left shoulder? Or die of Alzheimers or Parkinsons.

buzzsaw

You have a point there about the heavy metals. Lead is certainly in the primers, and mercury possibly in the primers of really old ammo. I wouldn’t expect the powder to be contaminated unless the primers were in bad shape. Of course, the older the ammo, the more likely that’s true.

The advice I read about using it for fertilizer was referring to powder that for whatever reason had become questionable, be it due to deterioration, or lack of proper labeling.

RoyD

On the flip side it might just put more lead in your pencil. LOL!

Finnky

@Dean – Thank you for these PSAs. I doubt any of these collection events will take place near me, but it warms my heart to see you assisting others to right these wrongs.

If anything like this or “gun buybacks” occur near me, I will do my part to better compensate victims. OTOH I live in gun-nut capital, so expect there would be plentiful competition.

Swany

That’s the long way of saying they have no intentions of destroying the ammo. It will be “ re distributed “ with ammunition in such short supply the “collectors “ will be looking at the bounty like it friggin Christmas. 🙂

RoyD

That was my initial thought also.

hippybiker

“There’s a sucker born every minute!” P T Barnum.
Don’t be a Sucker!

hippybiker

PS. People don’t remember or study American history! Understand that the most sought after, traded and bought item during the last Great Depression in America was ammunition of all types and calibers! Food for thought!

RoyD

Well, I don’t know about that. I don’t remember the Waltons episode dealing with the shortage of ammo. Not saying it ain’t so.

Circa 1960’s: I do remember being accountable for my Uncle’s ammo down at his place. One 410 shell-one hare, five 22 rounds-one hare. Though I don’t ever remember it being checked on; just that waste wasn’t to be common place. And then my stock investments started paying off and money for ammo wasn’t a problem for me anymore. Good times.

Tionico

and those fools are easily parted with their money.
GOd said that in His Word. Both are correct. Wisconsinits should take action. Heh, I’ offer to PAY five bucks the pound as long as its intact.