Reloads smell like urine when fired?

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ScottRiqui

New member
Kind of a strange question, but does any of your reloaded ammo umm... smell like pee... when you fire them? Specifically, cat pee?

I'm sure it's just the nitrogen compounds in the powder, and I'm probably just associating it with cat urine because I have cats, but a few of my reloads have been downright eye-watering.
 
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Beagle333

New member
Nope. I just fired a few dozen and I just opened the ziplock of empties and took a li'l whiff, and it reminds me of the smell of the waiting room at a transmission repair shop. :D

(no idea why..... but that was the picture that jumped to the smell):cool:
 
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Ozzieman

New member
When I got married my wife had 6,,,,, yes 6 cats so I know of the smell you’re talking about.
I use Titegroup and shoot a lot with it and many other powders. Never noticed that smell other than very old powder that was going bad.
How old is the powder your using and how does it smell in the can? Smelly powder is normally a sign that it’s going bad.
 
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BillM

New member
What powder? Titegroup has it's own smell, as does Trailboss. Some
shotshell powders are distinctive. An ammonia smell is one of the
indicators that powder is going bad---is it an old can?

SO--specifically what powder are you using?

eta: Ozzie, looks like great minds think alike, but you are a little
faster on the keyboard!:)
 
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BDS-THR

New member
ScottRiqui said:
does any of your reloaded ammo umm... smell like pee... when you fire them? Specifically, cat pee?
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No. Never, regardless of powder manufacturer.

You powder may be bad and I would check it. Take off the cap and take a whiff. It should have a clean solvent smell to it. If it smells foul or rancid, it's bad or going bad.


Where do you store your spent cases? Perhaps a cat peed on them?
 
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deepcore

New member
Holy Pee Shooter Batman!

I've heard of this happening....putting the "ammo" in ammonia.
I think it's a powder selection (or age) thing.
I haven't experienced it myself with my (limited) experience with powder.
I tend to stick with what works for me so nothing but the beloved gun smoke smell from W231, W748, RL22, IMR 4895
 
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Lost Sheep

New member
There's another caution here

Aside from odd smells perhaps indicating powder that is going bad, there is another caution to be aware of.

Urine decomposes into ammonia. Ammonia (even fumes) weakens brass. I read on another thread where ammunition stored near a cat's litter box wound up being dangerously weakened. (Warning: second hand information.)

I know some metal polishes contain ammonia, but most brass does not have to contain thousands of pounds per square inch pressure.

Take care,

Lost Sheep
 
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armoredman

New member
4 cats, lots of litter boxes, whew, what a smell. None are in the same room as the reloading gear.
Well, if you only wing him, you can tell the cops to look for the bleeding guy who smells like cat pee...sorry, couldn't help it.
 
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res45

New member
IMR-4227 has a distinctive smell to it when fired. I wouldn't say the smell is like cat pee but it's different than the rest of my powders.
 
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Vance

New member
In my case, it's only after I fire the round that I smell the ammonia smell and only with titegroup. The powder doesn't smell like anything to me when it is in the plastic bottle it comes in. I only buy 1 pound at a time from the local store and it usually only takes me a couple of months to us it up.

I cast my own bullets and use White Label Lube's BAC for the bullet lube. I wonder if it's a reaction between the powder and the bullet lube?
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
I've smelled a lot of weird smells when shooting over the years.

Probably the worst was Fiocchi .32 Long ammo. AWFUL smell.

But none of it smelled like pee.
 
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ScottRiqui

New member
Well, like I was saying earlier, I may just be smelling the nitrogen compounds burning and thinking "cat pee" because that's a smell I'm familiar with. Someone else might smell the same thing and think of fertilizer.

I remember getting the smell with a can of VV powder I used several years ago. Right now, the only powder I'm using that burns with a strong smell is WST. I don't know how old it is, since I was given a 4-pound jug by a friend who couldn't keep it. But it smells okay in the can.

Someone mentioned cast bullet lube earlier - I'm also shooting cast bullets almost exclusively, so I'm wondering if that's contributing.
 
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603Country

New member
After my target got pulled at the range the other day, I saw a few folks holding their noses. I'm really glad to think that it was that powder smell that made em do it. :cool:
 
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BDS-THR

New member
ScottRiqui said:
Someone mentioned cast bullet lube earlier - I'm also shooting cast bullets almost exclusively, so I'm wondering if that's contributing.
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No again. I shoot lead loads in 9mm, 40S&W and 45ACP and have used various commercial brand bullets with different lubes and powders and no smell of cat pee.

Our perception of smell could be subjective. Could you have someone else verify the "cat pee" smell next time you are at the range?

If the powder smoke/smell is indeed bad, my guess is that the powder is going bad or bad already.
 
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